IFDB Review: Daredevil: The Man Without Fear:

I'm only knocking the A/V due to the unavailability of an HD version, but for a DVD release, it's a 10.I'm not going to apologize, but Daredevil was always a guilty pleasure movie for me. It was one of the first of the golden age of comic book films that actually showed the main character make each day a physical struggle. You can see a lot of pieces that were used in better films like The Dark Knight with a protagonist that gets hurt but keeps pushing forward. That said, it's a guilty pleasure for a reason. The script is weak and the direction is a mess.Thankfully, Uncanny Antman has delivered with an exceptional edit that rearranges the narrative in surprisingly effective ways. If you hate Daredevil, this may not turn the tide, but it's certainly far more interesting (especially if you have yet to see the Director's Cut).Starting right from the beginning, losing the narration lets the images speak for themselves and expects a bit more from the audience. The story is there, but it doesn't spoon-feed what the characters are thinking, which is nice. Also, keeping the music period to the 80s in the origin story is key. The Theatrical Cut always felt messy because of the constant barrage of current music. This cut widens it, not worried about selling a soundtrack CD.The opening title sequence is the biggest nail in the coffin of the theatrical version. Uncanny Antman's new sequence is amazing and does so much with such a little amount of time that brings the viewer into the present, while not short-changing Matt's training and his mission over a long period of time. Amazingly well-crafted and utterly professional that is miles above the insipid original titles.Cutting down Quesada substantially is also a stroke of genius. We only see him in the biker bar and Daredevil beats him and his goons down without saying a word. No stupid lines about justice or giving the devil his due. Just a hard-hitting beatdown. Also, Uncanny Antman THANKFULLY removes the shot of Daredevil stopping mid-fight to "watch" bullets wizzing by through one of the worst uses of the CGI for super-hearing. Daredevil doesn't kill anybody this time around, but they're surely heading to the hospital.The only weak link in the chain is in Elektra. Unfortunately, by removing the playground fight completely, it feels like there is a piece of the story missing. It truly sticks out that we don't see Matt use his charms at all on Elektra. We see her act coldly to Matt in the coffee shop. Then the next time we see her, she's on the rooftop in a romantic scene with Matt. It's an A to C moment that is a bit jarring. We also never see that she actually is a bit of a fighter. I would love to have seen just a tiny bit of the beginning of the playground fight, that ends the scene at Matt saying, "You sure you don't want to tell me your name?" and before all the crazy flipping around and terrible score kicks in. It's too bad that Elektra takes off her jacket because it creates a continuity error to use the bookend of the Director's Cut sequence when Elektra's bodyguards show up, which would have helped wrap the scene.Despite my misgivings about Elektra's story, which is truly hindered by the original film that Uncanny Antman worked from, everybody else's story and performance is boosted by removing extraneous comedy and melodrama. It's a wonderful domino effect that leads into major moments of the ending being removed entirely. At first, it felt like it may have removed too much, but watching it a second time and unburdening myself from the original film's structure, I realized that the indeed the church fight and Ben Urich learning the truth about Daredevil are truly unneeded. Urich still has an arc because he's the tie to the truth in the Lisa Tazio case and Bullseye is just an assassin with no personal vendetta to Daredevil. He killed Elektra, job done.Side bar: I loved the "Psycho Killer" bar darts sequence. Very creepy use of music and tone. Also, the new Kingpin introduction with a moody orchestral is definitely the way to go. N.E.R.D. is a welcome casualty of this cut.The fight scenes are much shorter, but they have more brutality in its ferociousness. It just plays better without all the Crouch Tiger style flying about. Kudos on these cuts. There are many and they all work for the better, especially in the final fight with The Kingpin. There were numerous times in this version that I was wincing. Even what looked stupid in the original cut (Kingpin tossing Daredevil across the room into a wall) is expertly sped up and just on the right side of believable. Also, no "use the Force" moment with Daredevil remembering his water trick to see The Kingpin. Truly amazing.Honestly, there's so much that's great here and the restructuring of scenes was surprising in a way that left me wondering why it wasn't done that way in theatrical cut! By giving Matt some time to grieve, it gives more weight to losing Elektra and ties in better to Uncanny Antman's subdued and hopeful ending. No "here's where all the characters are" type of ending montage, just a look of actual happiness for the first time on Matt's face. Cut to credits.Finally, that swinging bit to kick Bullseye off the motorcycle. Genius.Watch this version. You won't be disappointed. It's definitely my go-to in the future.

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