daredevil

[thecolorsblend]

I'll defend this movie on the grounds that it was a fun action movie. 2003 was kind of a dud for film in general so this one scores points simply for not being atrociously bad. It wasn't the Daredevil movie I've always wanted but it could've been a lot worse.

[Silver Nemesis]

I'll always defend the director's cut of Daredevil. It's a solid film and I enjoy it more than the majority of MCU movies. Some of its more dated qualities add a bittersweet taste of nostalgia whenever I re-watch it. The film was made at the tail end of the Matrix-chic era. After 1999, almost every movie, videogame and TV show was aping the look and tone of The Matrix. That trend died overnight in autumn 2003 after The Matrix Revolutions killed everyone's interest in the property. But for a brief 4-year period, The Matrix was the defining action franchise which every other IP strove to imitate. I'd say the two CBMs that best reflect that trend are Daredevil and Catwoman '04. DD '03 has all the hallmarks of a Matrix clone.

Gravity-defying wire fu.

A strong female character dressed in leather pants and a tank top.

Nu metal.

Anime references.

Bullet time effects. Well, technically CG slow-mo rather than actual bullet time, but near enough.

Leaping across rooftops.

Trench coats.

Whenever I see these things now, it takes me straight back to my teenage years. And for that nostalgic reason alone I enjoy revisiting it. I'd also argue Daredevil '03 was the last CBM to follow the gothic superhero trend started by Tim Burton's Batman. If it had been made just a few years later, I expect it would have been a very different beast. In the same way that Batman Forever transports the viewer to the mid-nineties, Daredevil takes you back to the early noughties. For better or worse, it's a product of its time. But I've grown to appreciate it for what it is.