Fighting for justice both inside and outside of the courtroom – Matt Murdock is Daredevil. All images ™ and © 2003 Twentieth Century Fox and Regency Enterprises. All rights reserved.

This is a review of two movies. Or maybe it’s two reviews, for two different audiences, of one movie.

As A Fan…
If you are now, or have ever been, a fan of Marvel's Daredevil as portrayed through various comics incarnations at the hands of a multitude of creators over the past 40 years, you’ll probably find this movie extremely enjoyable.

With small variations, the authentic origin of Daredevil is here. There’s Matt Murdock, the kid with the widowed pug-fighter dad who wants his son to be a doctor or lawyer. There’s the kid shocked at seeing his dad at work as a thumb breaker like Stallone’s Rocky. There’s Matt’s loss of his sight through a radioactive chemical accident and the intense magnification of his remaining senses and the development of a “radar sense.” It’s all there. So is the violent loss that changes Matt’s life forever, leading him to devote his life to seeing justice done, in and out of the courtrooms, where the grown up Matt practices law.

As a fan, you may take issue with the ultra violent and vengeful nature of DD, acting at times more like the Charles Bronsonesque Punisher than the wisecracking Daredevil of the '60s or even the grim and brooding DD of the '80s and '90s. But since you know in your heart that Daredevil, in his heart, is a good guy, you can sort of let it go. (I’m sure a lot of you won’t, but the movie does carry you along, most of the time.)

Michael Clarke Duncan's Kingpin (left) hires the psychotic Bullseye (Colin Farrell), who is deadly with everything from peanuts to paperclips.

You’ll love the pitch-perfect Foggy Nelson as played by John Favreau, and his easy and hilarious banter with best pal and law partner Matt. You’ll love the introduction of Elektra Natchios, including Favreau’s wisecrack about her name. You’ll thrill as Matt and Elektra engage in combat-choreography like a Kung Fu Astaire and Rodgers.

You’ll smile as Michael Clarke Duncan’s elegantly menacing Kingpin tells Matt that “nobody’s innocent.” (Of course, you might also be a little disappointed at how the Kingpin winds up this movie.)

New Yorker or not, you’ll get a big kick out of the generous and glorious use made of the city (much of it actually shot on location!), especially the Hell’s Kitchen locales that are so key to the film. And the special effects point-of-view shots of Daredevil traversing the city’s concrete canyons are really spectacular.