Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Stars: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell, Jon Favreau, Scott Terra, Joe Pantoliano, David Keith, Erick Avari
Certificate: 15
Running time: 105 minutes

Daredevil is the story of Matt Murdock, lawyer by day, and vigilante crime-fighter by night. After an accident involving radioactive waste left him blind, Matt has been left with heightened senses, and has the power to "see" via a kind of radar-type awareness. Fighting against the type of petty criminals you'd expect to find in the seedy New York underworld, Murdock eventually comes up against The Kingpin, Wilson Fisk. Throw in Kingpin's hired help, Bullseye, and the romantic interest, the feisty Elektra, and you've pretty much got everything required for a super-hero flick.

Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting, The Sum Of All Fears) stars as Matt Murdock/Daredevil. Affleck manages to show the suave, sophisticated lawyer side, whilst also showing the tortured soul that is out to avenge the death of his father. He is very good in the role, in both the action sequences and the straight acting scenes, and is believable as both a lawyer, and a super-hero, whilst rarely letting the two different personas crossover. His performance seems like an echo of Christopher Reeve's performance in Superman.

The gorgeous Jennifer Garner, from TV's Alias, plays Elektra Nachios. She is Daredevil's love interest, but has shades of both super-heroine and super-villain mixed in. Garner is very good in the role, and her role in Alias has clearly put her in good stead for this role, as she handles the action sequences very well. The fact that she is often wearing either tight leather or a stunning evening dress does help a bit too!

Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile, The Scorpion King) plays Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin. As he is a very large man, Clarke Duncan brings the type of screen presence that is required, and has no problem whatsoever in making The Kingpin seem to be that much larger-than-life. He is good in the role, although he doesn't have as much acting to do as he did in The Green Mile.

Colin Farrell (Tigerland, Minority Report) plays the hired gun Bullseye. Blessed with an uncanny ability to hit the target with anything he throws, he's definitely going to prove a match for Daredevil. This character trait leads to a few comic scenes, mainly his introduction to the film, and he is given the type of one-liners that you'd normally expect the film's lead to have. Farrell excels in the role, and makes a likeable baddy: likeable for all the wrong reasons.

Of the other cast members, two stand out: Jon Favreau (Swingers, Made), and Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix). Both have rather small roles, but are very welcome on screen. Favreau as Franklin 'Foggy' Nelson, Murdock's law firm partner, is essentially the comic relief, but he is very good at it. Pantoliano is the reporter who is trying to find out whether or not the urban myth of Daredevil exists or not, and he is also very good.

The director handles the action sequences very well, and gives the film a look more reminiscent of Tim Burton's Batman than that of last year's Spider-Man. He gives enough time for the story to be fleshed out, and make the character of Murdock/Daredevil that little bit more believable by showing how he adapted his senses to develop his crime-fighting skills.

Daredevil is a very enjoyable film, your standard Hollywood blockbuster. There will be obvious comparisons to Spider-Man, but I enjoyed this film a whole lot more. With 2003 practically being the year of the blockbuster, I just hope that the likes of The Hulk, X-Men 2, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Terminator 3, and all the rest of them can match up to this. Daredevil has set the mark for the blockbusters this year, and if the other can match it, then we're all in for a very enjoyable time ahead.