Details not in ‘Daredevil’

“Daredevil,” the newest comic book adaptation turned into film,

offers escape, but at the needless expense of integrity and

character. The film, written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson,

(“Simon Birch,” and “Jack Frost”) almost proves why filmmakers ought

to opt for less control instead of all.

While the film at various times offers dazzling special effects,

poignant symbolism and background development of its title character,

it is fundamentally inconsistent. Ben Affleck is convincing, but not

ideal as Matt Murdock, a blind attorney with superhuman senses and

abilities that he uses to punish the guilty when they elude

conviction. Jennifer Garner is energetic and intense, but miswritten

as Elektra, who is characterized as an innocent heiress with

unexplained agility and mysterious assassin training, in addition to

being a romantic interest for Murdock. Colin Farrell as Bullseye is a

caricature, albeit an evilly amusing one, and he’s overused. Michael

Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin, who is supposed to be the film’s main

“bad guy,” seems out of place and hollow like window dressing, while

the standout performance and wry one-liners in the film came from Jon

Favreau as Murdock’s law partner, Foggy Nelson.

Garner and Affleck have good chemistry, but the poor writing

pushes their characters together far too quickly. However, the kiss

in the rain that they share (reflections of “Spiderman”) is more

“revealing” in Daredevil.

The film also features Paul Ben-Victor, Scott Terra, Ellen Pompeo,

Joe Pantoliano, Leland Orser, Lennie Loftin, Erick Avari and Derrick

O’Connor; none of whom stand out in my mind.

One positive point in the film is the way in which the director

“visualizes” Daredevil’s senses. They are explained as a form of

sonar, and the more captivating sights come from our ability to see

Daredevil’s perceptions.

Perhaps if the film had been longer than 100 minutes, it would

have made more sense. I think filmmakers do a real disservice to an

audience when they assume that we expect them to trim a movie as

close to 90 minutes as they can. Daredevil suffers not only from the

tinkering with the source material by Johnson, but by also not

explaining the origins of Elektra, Kingpin and Bullseye. When we

don’t know who the people are that we are watching on the screen, we

can’t care for them whether they succeed or fail. We also never see

Daredevil “save” any civilians in costume. He’s always hunting and

fighting or defending himself.

The music is morose and sanguine, which lends to the bleak, muddy,

overall feeling you are left with at the film’s conclusion. If you

haven’t had enough of Bullseye by the film’s conclusion, stick around

for an epilogue midway through the credits.

Comic book fans will want to see this film, but may not be

satisfied. Average viewers may not realize what has been tampered

with and might simply enjoy the escape, as slapped together as it may

be. I can only hope that a “Daredevil” sequel is more of a

collaborative effort among different filmmakers.

* RAY BUFFER, 33, is a professional singer, actor and voice-over

artist.

Chan and Wilson back in “Knights”

Unless you’re an inveterate snob, you sometimes need to take a

break from haute cuisine and enjoy the guilty pleasure of a good

cheeseburger, or perhaps spend a day at the ballpark versus a night

at the opera. Similarly, after wading through the sometimes-

ponderous Oscar contenders introduced at year’s end, a funny and

entertaining piece of fluff is a welcome respite.

Such a worthwhile diversion is “Shanghai Knights,” a sequel to the

very successful “Shanghai Noon.” Once again set in the Old West and

teaming the well-matched Jackie Chan as Chon Wang and Owen Wilson as

Roy O’Bannon, “Knights” is unlike many other sequels, as it is

actually superior to the original.

The movie opens in the Forbidden City, where Chon Wang’s father is

murdered by the evil Lord Rathbone (Aidan Gillen) during the theft of

the Great Seal of China, despite the heroic efforts of his daughter

Chon Lin (Fann Wong). The killers flee to London with Chon Lin in hot

pursuit. Before leaving for England, Chon Lin sends word to her

brother Wang, now a sheriff in Nevada.

Wang goes to help her, but stops in New York along the way to

collect his share of gold from O’Bannon to finance his passage to

London. Not surprisingly, O’Bannon has blown the money on bad

investments (including zeppelin futures) and must accompany Wang to

stay one step ahead of the authorities.

Of course, all this is simply a precursor to the film’s true

purpose; brilliantly choreographed fight sequences for Chan and

hilarious one-liners for Wilson. Chan rebounds nicely from the

disastrous “The Tuxedo,” which wasted his martial arts talents by

trapping him in computer-generated special effects.

“Shanghai Knights” allows Chan to once again perform his own

stunts with remarkable inventiveness and energy. One sequence using

umbrellas is explicitly reminiscent of “Singing in the Rain” and

should bring a smile to the lips of the most confirmed curmudgeon.

Wilson’s O’Bannon consistently uses Southern California surf

vernacular to hilarious effect, particularly with Victorian England

as a backdrop. Wilson and Chan have a wonderful rapport and they

establish the primary prerequisite for a “buddy film,” namely, you

believe they are buddies.

The plot is full of historical inaccuracies and ludicrous moments,

but it’s all in good fun and easily forgiven. Several real-life

characters make appearances, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jack

the Ripper, Charlie Chaplain and even Queen Victoria herself. Several

urban myths involving these characters are humorously and neatly

wrapped up in ways I won’t divulge so as not to spoil the fun. The

energetic 1960s rock soundtrack, another incongruous but effective

device, helps propel the film’s nonstop action.

If you are in need of a couple hours of pure, unmitigated fun, I

recommend “Shanghai Knights.” As any confirmed Jackie Chan fan knows,

don’t forget to stay for the hilarious outtakes during the credits.

* VAN NOVACK, 48, is the director of institutional research at

Cal State Long Beach.