by Michael Dequina
February 21, 2003
Two big question marks were attached to the big screen adaptation of the beloved (but not exactly mainstream-known) Marvel Comics superhero DAREDEVIL: writer-director Mark Steven Johnson, best known for the decidedly un-superheroic SIMON BIRCH and writing the two GRUMPY OLD MEN flicks; and star Ben Affleck, who wasn't exactly who most DD readers envisioned donning blind attorney Matt Murdock's famous red horns. The finished film shows those two big gambles paying off in a solid, though not perfect, start to a possible screen franchise.
Of the two gambles, the one that perhaps incited the most fan fretting was the casting of Affleck, and he proves to be up to the challenge. All of the so-called "Afflecktions" (the smirk, the cocksure persona) are completely absent in his portrayal of Matt, who lost his sight--and, in turn, gained a superhuman heightening of his remaining senses--at an early age in an accident involving radioactive waste. Affleck does a convincing job of acting sightless and makes a capable action hero when donning Daredevil's red leather get-up; but more importantly, he captures the anguish at the heart of the character: the unquenchable thirst for justice fueled by his father's (David Keith) years-ago murder, which led to his contradictory existence as a lawyer by day, law-flouting masked defender of Hell's Kitchen, New York City, by night.
That all said, Affleck's is the least colorful performance in DAREDEVIL, which is a measure of just how well Johnson cast the supporting characters. Walking away with top acting honors is Jennifer Garner, who completely nails every facet of Matt's lady love--and Daredevil's nemesis--sexy sai-wielding heiress Elektra Natchios. As she shows every week in her regular TV gig on the spy series ALIAS, she is more than up to the role's demanding physical requirements, but she also has a vulnerability that lends the character and the Matt/Elektra love story genuine pathos. With his imposing size, formidable presence, and booming voice, Michael Clarke Duncan is a snug fit for the part of "kingpin of crime" Wilson Fisk; Colin Farrell is a scary hoot in his fairly limited screen time as assassin Bullseye; and Jon Favreau has some choice wisecracks as Matt's partner Franklin "Foggy" Nelson.
However, that supporting cast points up one of the chief flaws of DAREDEVIL With no less than three primary adversaries facing our hero over the span of only about 100 minutes, the film feels overstuffed and rushed; once everyone is set up, the film is barreling headlong into its climactic stretch. It's understandable that Johnson would want to cover all three of Daredevil's main villains in the film in the event there would not be a sequel, but something cannot help but feel as if it's given short shrift--namely, Kingpin. Johnson would have been wiser leave him out or keep him at the fairly background status he has for most of the film; with the tied-together Elektra/Bullseye resolutions carrying both a visceral charge and dramatic weight, the final face-off that follows between Daredevil and Fisk feels tacked-on and anticlimactic.
While it helps to have an avowed fanatical fan in the director's chair to protect the integrity of the material (and, despite some necessary alterations and cuts, the Elektra thread is a worthy homage to Frank Miller's legendary original storyline in the comics) Johnson, as his previous credits would indicate, isn't too seasoned when it comes to action, and it sometimes shows. The first action sequence in particular, set in a bar, is too murkily edited and lit to make much sense, let alone thrill; and while Cheung Yan Yuen's wire martial arts choreography works wonders for a memorable fight sequence between Daredevil and Bullseye, his elaborate aerial stunts stretch the already-shaky credibility of the meet-cute between Elektra and an out-of-costume (!) Matt.
Nonetheless, DAREDEVIL is a faithful translation of the character and there's definitely potential and promise for any future installments.
GERRY-ing the Movies--in a Good Way
While Ben Affleck is donning superhero duds in a big-budget studio franchise starter, his GOOD WILL HUNTING collaborators, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck and director Gus Van Sant, have gone in the extreme opposite direction with GERRY. To describe the film's story as being about two guys (Damon and Affleck) who get lost in the desert is not to be flip and vague: as far as straight narrative goes, that truly is all there is to the film. That in mind, it's not terribly difficult to understand why the film has deeply divided audiences since its premiere at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, sometimes flat-out enraging viewers. At the recent Los Angeles press junket for the film, one reporter barely disguised his disgust with the film by continually badgering Damon and Affleck as to why an established star and an up-and-comer would make "a little camping movie" (a description that just showed how much said writer wasn't paying attention). But why not try something experimental when you have the power to do so?
Not that GERRY is noteworthy simply for its avant garde ambition. Actually, I can't quite comprehend how anyone can completely dismiss the film as being no better than awful when the cinematography by Harris Savides is, quite simply, jaw-dropping; the desert landscapes are stunning and intimidating in their beautiful vastness. Not lost in the scenery, however, are Damon and Affleck. Their nameless characters begin as aimless goofs, but their initially silly, everyday banter makes their dying desperation in the film's latter stages all the more relatable and involving. GERRY is a difficult, demanding sit, but it wouldn't have been nearly as fascinating and rewarding a film if it weren't.
Imprisoned in Formula
By basic description, a prison potboiler produced by and co-starring Master P doesn't exactly set the expectations soaring, so the extent to which LOCKDOWN does work comes as a bit of a shock. Most of the credit goes to actor Richard T. Jones, best recognized for his co-starring roles in THE WOOD and the television series JUDGING AMY. In his first leading role, Jones displays great charisma and promise as Avery, a talented young swimmer whose hopes for collegiate glory are quickly dashed when he and his less-honorable friends Cashmere (Gabriel Casseus) and Dre (De'Aundre Bonds) are incarcerated for a crime they did not commit. Writer Preston A. Whitmore II's and director John Luessenhop go through the familar motions, putting these three men in precarious situations that test their loyalties to each other and their strength of character: Cashmere quickly falls under the wing of the prison's chief goods smuggler (Master P); Avery does his best to stay out of trouble per the guidance of his older, wiser cellmate (Clifton Powell); and Dre, the youngest of the bunch, is confronted by both physical and psychological abuse. The story never surprises, and the extreme brutality would have been shocking if it weren't so completely expected. But there's no denying this piece of pulp fiction's watchability, which can be directly attributed to the able cast: Casseus, Bill Nunn (as a college athletics recruiter), Melissa DeSousa (as Avery's girlfriend), and most of all Jones. Here's hoping he'll get a chance to display his chops in a real movie sometime.
Sight Unseen
After the inexplicable box office success of last year's awful PETER PAN sequel RETURN TO NEVER LAND, Disney is unleashing another direct-to-video-worthy desecration, THE JUNGLE BOOK 2, onto the big screen. Haley Joel Osment and John Goodman assume the vocal reins for the characters of jungle-raised boy Mowgli and Baloo the bear, respectively.
At the Video Store
Even though its seemingly never-ending theatrical run is still chugging along, that unlikely box office phenomenon known as MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (HBO Home Video) makes its debut on video and disc, which coincidentally coincides with the film's Original Screenplay Oscar nomination and not-so-coincidentally arrives a few weeks prior to the debut of the spinoff CBS sitcom, MY BIG FAT GREEK LIFE. Not surprisingly, this slight but pleasant enough romantic comedy about a mousy Greek woman (Nia Vardalos, who also wrote) who snags the all-American man (John Corbett) of her dreams plays a lot better on the small screen than the big. The DVD includes commentary by Vardalos, Corbett and director Joel Zwick.
Of Steven Soderbergh's two bold film experiments of last year, FULL FRONTAL (Miramax Home Entertainment) was the more audacious and the least successful. The story behind ragtag, improv-heavy digital video shoot is far more interesting than the result, a mess of intertwining relationships and films-within-a-film that all tie into a birthday party for a Hollywood producer. I imagine the ensemble (which includes Julia Roberts, Blair Underwood, David Hyde Pierce, Catherine Keener and Nicky Katt) all got a thorough workout of their thespian muscles during production, but it doesn't translate into exciting entertainment. The DVD includes commentary by Soderbergh and screenwriter Coleman Hough, deleted scenes, in-character interviews and more.
Two lifelong best friends (Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs) discover that hip-hop music isn't their only shared passion in Rick Famuyiwa's formulaic but highly appealing romantic comedy BROWN SUGAR (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment). The DVD includes deleted scenes, music videos and commentary by Famuyiwa.
See for yourself--or better yet, don't--one of last year's (and perhaps one of cinema history's) most notorious fiascoes, the Guy Ritchie-directed, Madonna-starring remake of the 1975 Italian film SWEPT AWAY (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment), in which married American rich bitch Madge and a surly Italian fisherman (Adriano Giannini) inexplicably fall from venomous hate to true love when they're stranded on a deserted island. Ritchie, ever the trouper, offers feature commentary on the DVD, which also includes deleted scenes and a making-of featurette.
Although its spectacular costume and set design begs for a big screen, DVD is perhaps the best way to view François Ozon's all-star, Douglas Sirk-inspired murder mystery 8 WOMEN (Universal Studios Home Video). While there are many a catty zinger exchanged as eight of France's most prominent actresses (including Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert and Fanny Ardant, all obviously having a blast) point fingers at each other after the man of the manor turns up dead, the flexibility of the DVD format allows one to skip over some of the clunkier musical numbers in the film. Yes, it's also a musical.
After stretching his wings with the more whimsical dark comedy NURSE BETTY, Neil LaBute moved on to straight-laced romance with considerably less success with the genteel-to-a-fault POSSESSION (Universal Studios Home Video), in which two scholars (Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart) investigate the secret romance between two Victorian poets (Jeremy Northam and Jennifer Ehle).
The vamp with a soul (David Boreanaz) pulled up stakes (yeah, bad joke) from Sunnydale and settled into P.I. work in L.A. in ANGEL: The Complete First Season (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment), now available on DVD. The six-disc set includes commentary on two episodes, interviews with cast and crew and other featurettes.
Ben Affleck week wouldn't be complete without a mention of the not-so-coincidentally timed DVD premiere of the 1996 campus comedy GLORY DAZE (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment), which also features appearances by Sam Rockwell and Matthew McConaughey. The movie isn't exactly the finest hour for Affleck or anyone else involved, but hey--Alyssa Milano's in it.
Looking Ahead...
Next time, THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE, DARK BLUE and more. As usual, check out my home site, Mr. Brown's Movie Site, for my longer takes on older releases.
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