|
Movies that Rock By D. A. Muse |
|
|
|
Daredevil
|
|
Justice is blind and the blind have no fear, at least in the case of this superhuman sight-impaired crime fighter. It's escapism at it's best, if you're looking to unplug from the real world, Daredevil might be the film for you. This is the latest of Marvel's heroes to spring from the comic pages to life on the big screen. Overall, it's a pretty entertaining movie - as long as you don't think too much. Just sit back and let it take you for the ride. Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, is a stoic, sarcastic lawyer by day and a brooding super-hero/vigilante by night. Both halves of his altered ego have one major chip on their shoulder, which is explained by his cruel childhood, the loss of his eye-sight and the death of his father. There are some great action sequences. One fine example features Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner showing off their moves in a carefully choreographed session of "street fighting fore-play". Talk about your sexual tension! Garner was a nice choice to cast opposite Affleck as his ass kicking love interest. Bullseye, played by (the "it boy" of the moment) Colin Farrell, and the Kingpin, portrayed by Michael Clarke Duncan, were the hyper-baddies making Daredevil's life miserable. Jon Favreau and Joe Pantoliano also share some nice screen moments. The appearance of Kevin Smith (Clerks and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back) in this film is somewhat out of place, and seems like it was done as a favor either to Affleck or Stan Lee the comic book Godfather and the executive Producer of this Marvel film. The cinematography created an unusual atmosphere in this film. The use of high contrast color balanced against low light was almost a little off-putting and uncomfortable, becoming almost another character in this moody film. The sets and special effects are believable most of the time. The CGI only had a few fleeting moments of absurdity. The plot line was overly-simplistic and definitely took a back seat to the true star of the film - the action. Character development was virtually non-existent, riding shotgunt to Affleck in that tight red suit. Flaws aside, the film worked on a most elementary level. You could drive a fleet of semis through the gaping holes in the plot - but why bother when it looks so damn good? Never underestimate the power of tuning out and getting your superficial ya-ya's off. The soundtrack had some nice moments, but could have been much meatier. Action films almost cry out for music with some real balls. Musically, it falls short of adding some weight and swagger to walk the walk while Daredevil's attitude talked the talk. Sonically, the tracks that made the cut failed to add any backbone to match what we saw on the screen. Most of what made it into this film were halfhearted nu-rock ballads from bands like Nickelback. It was just a bit too sleepy for this kind of film. A couple of the more notable musical moments didn't make the final cut of the CD - "Lap Dance" by N.E.R.D., the track used to intro the Kingpin, and "Top O' the Morning to Ya" by old-but-still-killer Irish rap group House of Pain, used to introduce Farrell's character Bullseye. All in all, unless you're a serious fan of this sort of thing, you can probably turn a blind eye to this disc. |
|
|
Daredevil Soundtrack (Wind-Up Records)
On D.A. Muse scale this gets a 2 1/2 guitar rating
|
|