Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

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!

i was never a big fan of daredevil as the only thing i liked about the movie was bulls eye.
i never thought this could be a better film......but i was wrong.
this is one awesome fanedit. this is the cut people have to see, all the sloggy fat is gone,
the movie didn't feel bogged down at all and ran at a good pace the editing is seamless.
this is a daredevil movie everyone has to see.

all the stuff that was cut was ll the excess crap that needed to go.

i highly recommend this cut.

P.S if only the produces and director could have released this cut the movie would have done a lot better

Okay, full disclosure, I've seen a LOT of FanEdits. I don't use these forums a lot but I've also done several edits of my own and sometimes when people describe their edits they seem too ambitious. I felt like this would be good but for real, despite limits to resolution and audio, this is BEYOND what a lot of people think they're doing with their work.
Song choices were nice on top of being REALLY thoughtful about the character and the title/art work and bits from "Elektra" and "Forbidden Kingdom" were EXCELLENT. The image scrubbing for the bandana tails was INVISIBLE. I want to THANK UA again for doing this work and sharing it. As someone who became a fan of DD after seeing the 2003 movie as a 12 year old, this was like getting to dive into that movie with no shame/reservations.

With this being my second exposure to the awesome works of Uncanny Antman, following on from T3 the Coming Storm, this edit is as slick as they come.

The origin/prologue sequence is beautifully done, as are the opening credits. The restructuring of the narrative is to dramatic effect and feels as though it should have always been this way. There are perhaps a few transitional scenes missing but this can't be helped and thankfully it doesn't leave the film feeling choppy. I love how the relationship between Matt and Foggy plays out. The directors cut did this well also but everything was too padded out. Action sequences are wonderfully edited to appear more realistic and thank goodness the worst of the CGI is gone.

Some reviewers have commentated that the removal of Daredevil's fight with Bull's Eye leaves the ending feeling a little hollow. I didn't have this problem as it puts all the focus on Matt's loss and him tracking down the Kingpin.

My only complaints and bear in mine these are minor. The film has a slightly depressing vibe. Possibly as a result of one too many humorous moments removed and some soundtrack choices. The Terrance Stamp cameos seem unnecessary and I'm not at all keen on the post end credits sequence. The subtle ending with Matt pondering over the charm was a nicer way to end things.

Overall though this is a fantastic fan edit and now replaces the Director's Cut as my go to version.