Daredevil
Dir: Mark Steven Johnson
2003
**
Marvel's 2003 Daredevil was a fairly shocking first feature outing for the hero, especially considering everyone who was involved. Kevin Feige was quoted as saying it was the strongest Marvel script yet at the time, which just shows you the level of narrow minded thinking that was involved in Superhero/Comic adaptations before things really took of at the end of the 00's. Daredevil is so run of the mill that it is forgettable at best. I don't think anyone did a bad job performance-wise but I do think every actor was miscast. The story was uninteresting too and it is only the direction that has any merit. Ben Affleck is good mates with Kevin Smith, why didn't he ask him for advice? I know he said that he'd only appear in a sequel if Smith wrote the script (based on the comic he'd already written) but I'm not sure he ever intended to wear the suit again. Indeed, the 8th Batman said he'd never star as a Superhero again, stating that "..wearing a costume was a source of humiliation for me and something I wouldn't want to do again..". However, in many respects we have to thank Daredevil for a change in direction in the genre. The Electra spin off may have been the final realisation that not all Superhero/Comic adaptation will automatically make money but daredevil must have got them thinking. Jon Favreau certainly took note of what needed doing from where he was standing, if anything we have to thank Daredevil for him.