Movie Smack vs. Buttman Daredevil

I don’t care if he’s saving the world from a big ass piece of space rock. I don’t care if he’s knee deep in J Lo, romancing her wildly on her Jenny from the Bronx video. And, it only bothers me slightly that he has an academy award (for writing, not acting). But straight crap: Ben Affleck will always, ALWAYS, be Shannon Hamilton, aka Buttman.

You may have seen ‘Mallrats,’ a fantastic little journey into the lives of wasted youth at a local mall. Kevin Smith isn’t a huge fan of his film that made Jason Lee and Jay & Silent Bob icons, but his knack for comic book writing came in handy, turning a slightly chubby unknown Affleck, into, well, Buttman. Honing his skills of screwing people in uncomfortable places (this time the movie-goers who paid six bucks) Buttman tries to expand his acting resume in ‘Daredevil.’

Based upon the very popular Marvel comic (popular if you’re into anime and Dungeons & Dragons), the movie by the same name recants the tale of Matt Murdock (Buttman) who gets hit by a radioactive barrel, becomes blind, and dons a ‘scary’ red costume. He hooks up with a rich, highly deadly chick named Elektra (Jennifer Garner, the other J Lo…sort of); battles a drunken Irishman (Colin Farrell); and tries to take down THE mob boss known as the Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan).

Being one of those aforementioned geeky ‘hey look at the pixels on that chick’ anime/dungeons & dragons aficionados I can credit the writing staff of ‘Daredevil’ in keeping, very closely, to the comic. However, there’s something to be said for their inability to write dialogue. In one scene Buttman has a villain trapped in a subway and says “you see that light at the end of the tunnel, it’s not heaven, it’s the a-train” or some really non-inventive phrasing similar to all the dialogue in say, ‘Money Train.’

The action is ok. It’s not really any faster than ‘Spiderman.’ The acting is blasé for a handful of A-listers. And other than Jon Favreau doing what he does best (acting like a schmuck) it’s not all that interesting. Look for ‘The Hulk’ to improve on the dregs of ‘Daredevil.’ The one surprising element is the soundtrack. A good mix of techno, rap, punk, and even some romantic ‘hey look at the guy in the dark red leather jump suit kissing the girl who’s wearing almost nothing’ music.

Otherwise, this movie does nothing for Affleck’s career, as all the other 20 or so films he’s done since nailing Trish the Dish. So save some cash, or buy the Frank Miller or Kevin Smith Daredevil comic book collections, since Buttman can’t save the day this time around.

- Doc Nutz