Before the MCU was created with 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel tried a mini shared universe with the 2003 movie Daredevil starring Ben Affleck and 2005’s Elektra starring Jennifer Garner. Neither movie was considered massively successful, but I thought today I would take a look back at both of them, specifically the Director’s Cuts.
Daredevil (2003)
Plot: Attorney Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck) is blind, but his other four senses function with superhuman sharpness. By day, Murdock represents the downtrodden. At night, he is Daredevil, a masked vigilante, a relentless avenger of justice. When Wilson Fisk (Michael Clarke Duncan) hires Bullseye (Colin Farrell) to kill Daredevil, Murdock must rely on his own senses and search out the conspirators against justice — which may include his own girlfriend, Elektra (Jennifer Garner).
It’s been a few years since I last watched Daredevil starring Ben Affleck and I wondered how it would hold up after the Daredevil Netflix series which remains arguably the MCU’s finest hour.
The Theatrical Cut of this movie was never the greatest, but I do think the Director’s Cut is still an entertaining if flawed piece of entertainment. I thought Affleck was decent as blind lawyer Matt Murdock and he was convincingly blind too. He made the life of Murdock look truly hellish as he is forced to live in a deprivation tank to drown out the noise of the outside world after an accident takes away his sight, but enhances his other senses.
During the day Matt and his partner Foggy Nelson (Jon Favreau) represent only innocent clients, but after nightfall Matt becomes the avenger known as Daredevil seeking justice for those who have escaped the law. I need to mention that I love the way Affleck growls the word “Justice” during the rather awesome bar brawl.
I love Michael Clark Duncan (R.I.P.) as Wilson Fisk AKA The Kingpin as he makes him nearly as unhinged as the Vincent D’Onofrio incarnation, but still doesn’t hold a candle to him. The scene where he kills two of his own bodyguards just for fun quickly shows that this is not someone who is redeemable and he lacks the nuance that D’Onofrio brings to the role.
The Director’s Cut of Daredevil is definitely superior as the story flows better including a totally removed plotline about a murdered prostitute where Dante Jackson (Coolio) is framed for her murder. This gives Foggy more to do rather than just being the comic relief as he has to work on his own while Matt and his alter ego try to take down Fisk. but also legendary assassin Bullseye (Colin Farrell).
Colin Farrell is a fantastic actor and the fact he was so unrecognisable as The Penguin in The Batman is only proof of that; in this movie however, he overacts horribly but it’s hard to dislike him as he is just having fun with the role. The scene on the plane with the old lady and the peanuts is darkly comedic and one of my favourite moments of the film. There is nothing subtle about this character and he is a bit one note, but he steals every scene. I need to also mention that he kills a guy with paperclips which is certainly something new.
This very much feels like an early 2000s film and it’s funny how (for me at least) movies from the era date worse than nearly any other time period. Maybe it’s the janky CG and the Evanescence fueled music which makes it feel exclusive to that era, but you always know you’re watching a movie from 2003.
Daredevil at least has a dark and gritty tone and although it’s nowhere near as violent as the Netflix series it has its moments. There are some impressive fight scenes however, I think we can all agree that the park fight between Matt and Elektra (Jennifer Garner) is rather toe curling. I like the final showdown between Daredevil and Kingpin especially when Fisk gets kicked in the knees which looks horrifically painful. My knees hurt just walking up the stairs these days…
Jennifer Garner was appealing as Elektra, and she clearly trained for the role as she can hold her own in the fight scenes. I find what they do with her eyes is a little distracting at times as they add an extra green glow to them.
Graeme Revell is one of the more underappreciated composers in the business and I like the score he provides here; it has a memorable but not overbearing main theme and I like the piano tune connecting Matt to his father/childhood.
Overall, the Director’s Cut of Daredevil is a vast improvement over the theatrical release, but after watching the Netflix series, it pales in comparison with some dated CG and cringe inducing scenes. Michael Clark Duncan was imposing as Fisk and it has some well done fight scenes, but like I said nothing that comes close to the Netflix show which you should just watch instead.
Elektra (2005)
Plot: Assassin-for-hire Elektra (Jennifer Garner) works for a mysterious international organization known as the Hand, for which she kills her targets without question, and in a conspicuous red bustier, no less. When the Hand asks her to kill Mark Miller (Goran Visnjic) and his daughter, Abby (Kirsten Prout), while they’re on holiday, Elektra’s conscience kicks in and she decides to protect her targets rather than eliminate them. Of course, the Hand isn’t so willing to let them off the hook.
I believe Elektra is one of the few movies I actually walked out of before it was over; I saw it with a buddy back in 2005 when it was in the cinema and we both hated it, finding it painfully boring. I hadn’t watched it since, but I thought I would revisit it properly and check out the Director’s Cut. It’s definitely better than I remember with some impressive visuals and a decent supporting cast including Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Will Yun Lee and Terence Stamp as Stick.
Like the Daredevil movie, Elektra doesn’t hold up to the Netflix Daredevil series, but it does have some familiar villains in The Hand; this goes more fantastical with a henchman called Tattoo (Chris Ackerman) who has a tattoo that can turn into wild animals which he uses to attack his enemies. Will Yun Lee is the main antagonist Kirigi and he has a relatively decent final showdown with Elektra.
Once again, I do love Jennifer Garner in the role but even she apparently hated this movie and even bashed it publicly. The pacing and story of this film really drag; I had to force myself to finish the movie. I wish I knew why I struggle to keep engaged with this one as there are plenty of worse movies out there, but it just never gets particularly exciting.
There is a deleted scene on the Blu-ray featuring Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, but it’s just a dream sequence that adds nothing really to the film. The Director’s Cut has a few changes like the opening scene with Jason Isaacs featuring some extra dialogue making me wish he had a bigger role in the movie. There are a few scenes using different angles and some of the vision scenes are longer; these are my least favourite aspects of the entire film as I found there are just to many, killing the pacing. McCabe’s death scene is different where he taunts Kirigi first and in some other scenes the dialogue is different or removed.
Terence Stamp is perfect as Stick coming across as stern, but wise as he sees the potential in Elektra even when she struggles.
Aside from a few fight scenes there isn’t anything that stands out in terms of action in this movie and I will likely not be in a rush to sit through it again.
Overall, Elektra still is not a great movie; it has a few fight scenes and an impressive cast but the story just never really engages. Like I said with Daredevil, just watch the Netflix show instead as we get better characterization and action scenes.
