Review Detail

Let me start by saying, I am one of the few fans of the original theatrical version of Daredevil. I also enjoy Evanescence and their particular brand of what I call "drama rock." Then the director's cut came out and addressed some of the problems with the original, but it still wasn't ideal. Finally along comes Uncanny Antman with "Daredevil: Man Without Fear." If Marvel or 20th Century, whoever owns the rights to this film currently, were smart they would enter into negotiations with UA in order to release this cut as a "for profit" venture on DVD. It is that good. The editing, music editing, credits, and effects were as professional as any movie I have seen.

I will say this movie, the way it was cut by UA may have those not already familiar with Daredevil scratching their heads a little bit, thinking they are missing something. But if you are familiar with DD, you are in for a real treat.

my below comments contain some spoilers.

The handling of the murder of Jack was much better with him being shot, presumably by Falcone instead of having Kingpin do it (too on the nose). The interactions with Foggy were left mostly intact. I always felt the back and forth between Matt and Foggy was well played in this film. I liked the insertion of Matt's nun mother and Stick in short dream sequences, revealing glimpses into Matt's past. UA effectively ditched most of the bad wirework and CGI from this cut, leaving the action with a pretty gritty feel. All of the added soundtrack was great, but I was also happy to see some of the Evanescence tracks left in place. The rearrangement of the scenes was very well thought out and the film flowed very well. I was very happy with most of the material cut, including the subway killing of Quesada. All of the credits were incredibly professional looking and the placement of the opening credits was well thought out. It was good to see S.H.I.E.L.D. get due credit for its assistance in the making of this film in the end credits.

Now as far as nitpicks go, I would say I could have done without Matt's vision of the murder of Lisa Whatsername. Also, I am maybe the only guy on earth that prefers seeing Matt stay with Electra instead of running off to beat some people up. To me it makes him more human and gives their relationship along with her later feelings of betrayal and shock more impact. Finally, the showdown with Kingpin loses its connection and meaning due to the story rearrangement. It kind of leaves the viewer wondering why Matt is so pissed off at the Kingpin when 'twas Bullseye that killed his lady love. No real solid evidence is left in the film that Kingpin ordered Electra's killing. To me, the Kingpin comes off as a profit motivated gangster who will eliminate anyone in his path, but any connection to Electra's killing is merely circumstantial.

Technically, this cut seemed perfect. I didn't detect any problems at all with the video or audio edits. I've only seen the avi so far, so I can't comment on the menus and special features.

It took UA a long time to complete this edit and it took me a very long time to get it downloaded, but by God it was definitely worth the wait. UA, I seriously think you could do film editing for a living (if you don't already). What is the release date for Daredevil: Return of the Kingpin? It looks like a great sequel.