Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

OK, how do I even start this review... I promise, I was not paid to write this :) This is an ASTONISHING edit!!! It's an amazing technical, visual and auditory accomplishment. The chronology has been majorly and meticulously restructured with great success. The cuts have been chosen carefully and with precise intent. New music have been added which really adds to the atmosphere. Even special effects have been revised and improved! Uncanny Antman had a crystal clear plan and it shows. I hope to be half as good one day for my next fan edits! SPOILERS will follow...

Right from the start, after the customary credits , the professionalism and quality of the edit reveal itself. The original introduction with Matt Murdock dying in the church has been removed and the movie begins instead with an important part of our hero, his relationship with his father as a kid. This is a great way to introduce our main character and prove that you don't have to use flashbacks to be interesting.

Judicious cuts have been made throughout the prologue to remove the cheese and create an interesting drama we're invested in. Those smart cuts continue all the way to the very end of the movie. The training montage was an highlight for me and the choice of music was excellent to set the period and the mood. The prologue ends with an interesting choice as the big baddy is not responsible for creating our hero. It's a really refreshing idea.

We now go to the movie titles. I'm telling you, I watched it two times in a row, it's that good! The music was superb, the titles were amazing, the imagery revealing Matt's fight training with a known mentor, it was awesome. And then, the main story begins with a bang and a few surprises. Bad CGI scenes have been removed without compromising the flow of the story and... there are no voiceovers! I liked Ben Affleck in the role, he has a passion for the character, but I thought his voiceover lines were pretty bad and his delivery was poor.

OK, I can go on and on with nearly every scenes of the edit but I should wrap-up this review. Uncanny Antman really shuffled a lot of scenes with great efficiency and the movie becomes much more interesting in the process. I only have two less positive comments. You tend to notice very little things when dealing with a nearly flawless edit such as this.

Firstly, when Daredevil kicks Bulleye from his motorcycle, the CGI is really, really bad. Maybe by cutting before the CGI character hits the ground and then switching to the character rolling on the road would have hidden the CGI a little bit more. Lastly, when Daredevil is looking for Bullseye on the roof, we have the cliché bird (or sometimes the classic cat) appearing on the other side of the sheet, surprising our hero just before being attacked by Elektra. I think the birds could have been removed entirely and it would have given the impression that Elektra surprised him.

All in all, I'm repeating myself but this is an ASTONISHING edit!!!

You can be very proud of your work Uncanny Antman!

Having seen Spence's edit of Daredevil, I knew Daredevil was a film that was able to be salvaged. I had originally trolled the Internet looking for Uncanny Antman's Daredevil the Man Without Fear, but was sorely unable to find it. Having mentioned this in my review for Spence's edit of Daredevil, I promptly received a PM from UA a few days later on how to obtain this truly technically advanced fanedit. Having seen both gives me a little bit better perspective on what sorts of things the Daredevil movie could've been and the sort of things it just simply wasn't.

Overall the visual effects of this edit are truly stunning. The frame by frame details, the removal of the floaty wire work, the recoloring of the devil vision; all of it was truly inspired. The action was greatly cleaned up and the narrative streamlined. The Kingpin's involvement has been made more clear than it was in Spence's edit and overall there is a fair amount of resolution to be had.

Of the things I didn't like, the only thing that was really noticeable was a complete lack of resolution with the Bullseye storyline (though if a sequel had been made, this sort of inconclusiveness would have made a for a great lead in where Daredevil and Elektra go after Bullseye). I realize that the church fight scene is terrible and in most ways I'm happy that Uncanny Antman didn't even bother to try fixing it. I don't think that fight scene could have been saved, though I do think there was a way to have Daredevil confront Bullseye and then work his death scene in somehow (but again, as a lead in for an imaginary sequel the lack of resolution with Bullseye works quite well). I think it's completely justified to remove it entirely and while the church plays an important role in the movie and Matt's talks with the priest are included, we have been spared the organ fight scene. After watching this I ended up watching the Elektra movie which sadly doesn't have a fan edit though honestly it's pretty standard run away from the kidnappers faire and it was really not a particularly good movie. Overall I think a Daredevil/Elektra edit combined could work fairly well though it would have to be done in such a way as to not detract from the otherwise good parts of Daredevil (and is not a project I would want to take on, I honestly just don't think the source material from these two movies is enough to make a satisfying movie for BOTH characters). A few scenes from Elektra were incorporated into this edit mainly the training scenes with Terrence Stamp, as well as some of the Elektra revival stuff. The training scenes were actually nice to have as there was more or less no explanation as to how Matt becomes so good at fighting (I mean every superhero movie needs some kind of training montage no?). The only other thing I felt was lacking was the finale of the court case which felt a little rushed especially towards the end. Though honestly as viewers were not terribly invested in the case anyway except that Kingpin decided to frame somebody which gives Daredevil the clues he needs to find him.

In short, technically astounding, narratively better, but not even this truly inspired edit completely saves this movie. The action is remarkably better and simply for that I would check this edit out if you have any interest in DD. At just 90 minutes the pain has been minimized and the best parts of this movie have been compiled into something that's worth more than the theatrical or director's cuts.

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.

I've been anticipating this edit ever since it was announced, and it did not disappoint. Uncanny Antman has turned what I originally thought a 3/10 film into a much more decent 6/10 film. Much of the cheesiness and poor CGI of the original is gone, resulting in a leaner, more serious superhero movie. Spoilers follow…

A/V Quality – 10/10 – I won’t comment here, because I compressed the DL down to an SL before watching.

Editing – 10/10 – Completely smooth. No complaints whatsoever. The color correction, soundtrack changes, and new credit sequence were all top-notch.

Narrative – 9/10 – For the most part, I absolutely loved the plot re-structuring. I didn't notice any prominent plot holes created by the rearrangement. In my opinion, there are a few flaws though: the pacing, while generally solid, is a bit too fast at both the beginning and the end. The removal of the Bullseye fight probably had something to do with the pacing at the end – it seemed odd that Daredevil never had a showdown with the primary villain. I call him the primary villain because, while Kingpin was behind it all, Bullseye had much more development as the antagonist and was directly responsible for the deaths of both Elektra and her father. It seemed incomplete when he wasn't brought to justice. A hint that Daredevil would hunt him down or something probably would have remedied this problem. Also, the sequence where Daredevil beats up everyone at the bar lost a lot of its meaning because we never see Quesada’s fate. It almost seemed like Daredevil was beating up all the patrons of a bar just for the heck of it, despite the further information we receive later. Finally, the after-credits sequence was a bit too direct in implying – or rather, confirming – Elektra’s survival.

Entertainment – 9/10 – Although I do have a few complaints about the narrative, this is overall a fantastic edit. Many of the original film’s myriad problems have been excised, from the painfully corny playground fight to the moments of laughably bad CGI. Plenty of cliché lines remain, but I doubt much can be done about it. Bullseye’s self-conscious “cool” factor always bugged the heck out of me, and it’s been toned down some here. The new musical choices result in some brilliant scenes. The plot alterations are inspired and are executed seamlessly. There’s even some surprising emotional depth made deeper by the editing decisions. DAREDEVIL can only be improved so far, and I think Uncanny Antman has done just about the best job possible of it. Bravo!

WARNING!!! This review WILL contain SPOILERS!!!!

First off, I am one of those few who actually LOVES the Director's Cut of DAREDEVIL. For me, while a bit uneven (playground scene, poor CGI) at times, it is a very engaging and entertaining movie that is respectful of its comic book origins. Maybe this is why I am so forgiving of this movie, as it's heart is in the right place. Yeah, the CGI action is crazy, physics defying, over the top but it is still tame to the regular ninja acrobatics of the monthly comic.... and for me, I guess that is the point, this is a comic book universe, not the real world, and this is what I want out of most comic book movies.

With that said, welcome to the Daredevil universe as envisioned by the Uncanny Antman! It is a dark, gritty, dangerous place filled with great character development, polished action scenes and tighter, smarter storytelling.

Where to begin? So much good stuff, so foregive me if this review is very random....

The SHIELD Briefing Menu design is inspired! LOVED it!!!
Great bonus materials!

The new opening credits that hint as Matt Murdock's training to become Daredevil (something the original movie never explained) was brilliant. I love the use of Stick from the Elektra movie and clever use of footage from the Forbidden Kingdom.

The post-end credit scene was spot on and fits nicely with the other Marvel movies.

What struck me most about this fan edit is it does not just try to fix things, it actually subtly and cleverly changes the tone and dynamic of many key scenes and thus creating a very different story from the original or director's cut. The relationships Matt has with characters like Urich, Fisk and Bullseye are all very different. Urich is no longer trying to unmask the vigilante or even suspects Matt. Bullseye, while still psychotic, is more professional and has no vendetta against Daredevil (no "you made me miss") and Kingpin is no longer the killer of Matt's father (or is he?). And it all works wonderfully. The tone and mood it creates is completely unique and adds a freshness to the story where I was actually uncertain what was going to happen next.

I really liked how Antman has sculpted the story to be truer to the comic source material from the cutting of Subway killing scene to the keeping of Matt's mom the nun. For me, in terms of character, this felt much closer to the Daredevil I used to read. Thank you for that Antman.

The biggest change is the removal of the final confrontation between Daredevil and Bullseye and I gotta admit it, this one shocked me. But in the new context of the story, it makes sense. Bullseye is just a paid hitman who has vanished into the darkness. How is Daredevil going to find him? Besides he knows who is ultimately responsible for Elektra's death -- Kingpin. And being the most powerful man in New York, he is easy to find. So yes, it works and makes sense but I must admit it left me feeling a bit unsatisfied that justice had not been fully done. I kept hoping there would be a post credit scene with Daredevil confronting Bullseye... alas... no....

There is so much amazing editing going on in this edit! I loved the recut of Daredevil jumping off the roof and kicking Bullseye off the motorcycle!!! In fact, Antman has made the best possible use out of the many poorly rendered CGI fx -- he uses just enough to suggest the action without it seeming to be laughable. Great stuff!

The new audio work is exceptional! All the new music worked very well for me, it never felt injected or forced. Bon Jovi, eh?

The only scene that felt a bit too awkward, is the last one of Matt returning to his apartment after defeating Kingpin and touching his Dad's boxing gloves. I love the idea of it, but I wish the scene could have held and lingered somehow a few moments longer... it just felt almost too brief to be a proper scene thus the emotional impact does not quite have time to register.... but maybe that is just me.

Overall, this edit is MARVELOUS! It is an exceptional achievement both technically and artistically. Antman proves himself to be a master storyteller. Stan the Man would be proud!

I could go and go and praise this edit, but honestly, no words I have will do it justice. One just has to sit back with a bowl of popcorn and hit play on the remote and let this movie entertain you as all great movies do.

Again, thank you Antman for an absolutely FANTASTIC FAN EDIT!