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Daredevil (2003)

tomatometer

45

Average Rating: 5.2/10
Reviews Counted: 211
Fresh: 94 | Rotten: 117

Passable if derivative as entertainment, Ben Affleck fits the role but the film is not up to par with recent superhero films.

26

Average Rating: 4.4/10
Critic Reviews: 35
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 26

Passable if derivative as entertainment, Ben Affleck fits the role but the film is not up to par with recent superhero films.

audience

46

liked it
Average Rating: 2.8/5
User Ratings: 435,552

My Rating

Movie Info

One of Marvel Comics' most popular characters comes to the screen for the first time in this sci-fi action-thriller. Matthew Murdock (Ben Affleck) is a lawyer whose father, a prizefighter, was killed by gangsters when Murdock was just a boy. Since then, Murdock has devoted his life to bringing wrongdoers to justice and is willing to help others by taking on cases no other attorney will touch. Murdock is also blind, after being struck down by a truck while trying to save a man from being hit.

Jul 29, 2003

$102.5M

20th Century Fox

Cast

All Critics (213) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (101) | Rotten (118) | DVD (44)

Torn between moody grandiosity and cartoonish mayhem, Daredevil tries to have it both ways, and succeeds at neither.

July 7, 2010 Full Review Source: Newsweek | Comment
Newsweek
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[A] dull actioner.

April 18, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The numerous fight scenes have been filmed in Confuse-o-Rama, a headache-inducing technique that mixes a dozen too many cuts per minute, projectile P.O.V., and intermittent glimpses of the hero's sonar sensorium.

February 19, 2003 Full Review Source: Village Voice | Comment
Village Voice
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A collection of false starts interrupted by an awful lot of angst-ridden contemplation, the picture serves up soul-searching gush with scant pulse-pounding rush.

February 19, 2003 Comment
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Daredevil has electric energy, a wickedly dark sense of humor, some ingenious fight scenes and that high-powered cast.

February 18, 2003 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | Comment
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Kind of lousy.

February 15, 2003 Full Review Source: Slate | Comment
Slate
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Superhero is darker, more violent than Spiderman.

December 22, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

The film is impressively dark and gritty, but the melodrama and Daredevil's relationship with woman warrior Elektra are labored.

July 7, 2010 Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | Comment
Sacramento News & Review

Justice may be blind, but the only enjoyment to be had out of this is to be blind drunk.

July 7, 2010 Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | Comment
Dark Horizons

Lo and behold, this is a superior movie.

April 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comments (2)
Cinema Crazed

It may not have the heart of Superman, the charm of Spider-Man or the thrills of X-Men, but Daredevil is an engaging B movie in the tradition of good Saturday afternoon entertainment.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment
Urban Cinefile

Affleck's lanky, offhand softness hardly suits the superheroic archetype...[but] The R-rated Director's Cut...deserves an extra half-star. [Blu-ray]

September 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | Comment

I enjoyed Daredevil while it lasted, but ... very little of it has stayed with me.

July 29, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
eFilmCritic.com

A disappointment at nearly every turn.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | Comment
Big Picture Big Sound

There are enough strong moments to guarantee a good night out.

December 30, 2006 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment
Empire Magazine

It's not bad so much as it is disposable and forgettable.

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

Convincing in the physical demands of the role, Affleck persuades us of the pain of sightlessness and supersensitive hearing, although writer/director Johnson's scrappy construction fails him and everyone else as the showdown approaches.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

The shame of this mess of a movie is that it could have been quite good.

September 30, 2005 Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | Comment
Three Movie Buffs

It is Colin Farrell as villainous Bullseye who steals the show.

July 5, 2005 Full Review Source: Bullz-Eye.com | Comment
Bullz-Eye.com

A faithful translation of the character and one of his more memorable tales on the page; it satisfies as an adventure and as a more intimate story.

January 15, 2005 Full Review Source: Movie Poop Shoot | Comment
Movie Poop Shoot

Du cinéma préfabriqué qui donne envie de revoir Hulk et X2.

December 16, 2004 Comment
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Daredevil

This is my 2nd favorite comic book movie, mainly because I can't find anything bad to say about it. I don't care what other people say about it, it rocks. First, let's begin with the cast. I loved Ben Affleck's subtleness as Matt Murdock, and you can tell he's had experience with similar roles. He even looks a lot

January 24, 2011
Marc L.
Marc Lewis

Super Reviewer

I am surprised by the low reviews, it actually was an okay superhero film. The plot was a tale of revenge, which i actually really got into and the start of the movie makes it feel like this will be an intense story, and sure enough, it was pretty good. Ben Afflek and Jennifer Garner suck, they did not catch my

June 11, 2011
DreamExtractor
Brad Wright

Super Reviewer

    1. Franklin Nelson: He paid in fluke. Fluke is a fish, Matt. Did you know that? Because I sure as hell didn't.
    2. Matt Murdock/Daredevil: Well, Mr. Chang is a nice guy, he doesn't have a lot of money and he likes to go fishing on the weekends.
    3. Franklin Nelson: Yeah, well I like to go salsa dancing on the weekends. But I don't shake my ass to pay my phone bill. You know what I'm saying?
    – Submitted by Robert H (24 days ago)
    1. Bullseye: I never miss!
    – Submitted by Andrew O (7 months ago)
    1. Kingpin: How's your daughter?
    – Submitted by Marc L (7 months ago)
    1. Elektra: You don't know how I feel.
    2. Matt Murdock/Daredevil: Revenge won't make the pain go away. Trust me.
    – Submitted by Marc L (7 months ago)
    1. Kingpin: Send the guards home.
    2. Wesley: But sir...
    3. Kingpin: I was raised in the southside Bronx, Wesley. This is something you wouldn't understand.
    – Submitted by Marc L (7 months ago)

Latest News for Daredevil

July 12, 2011:
Marvel Movie Madness! Part 28: Daredevil
Tim: Why on earth does this movie have such a lousy reputation? The mind boggles. Daredevil is a...

June 8, 2011:
Brad Caleb Kane Hired to Write Daredevil Reboot
It looks like Frank Miller's "Born Again" storyline is coming to the screen.

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