Daredevil

After its renaissance of the last couple of years (X-Men, Spiderman, Blade, Hulk), basically printing money, the comic book adaptation genre seems to heading into the downward spiral that unleashed badness like Captain America, The Punisher and Batman and Robin. And while Daredevil doesn't signal the death knell of comic movies, it does show the first cracks in its tight-fitting armour, having as much in common with the current wave of popular titles as the previous wave of cheese. Blinded by toxic waste as a child, which takes his sight in some of the movie's better CGI work, Matt Murdock gains heightened senses and a form of radar/sonar (geekdar?) that allows him to visualise sound. Still seeking vengeance years after his boxer father is killed for not throwing a fight, Murdock struggles in the courts as a lawyer but prowls the streets as a vigilante, even as he's gradually losing himself in the process. Ben Affleck does an acceptable job portraying Daredevil, mitigating the movie's incredibly uneven CGI effects, overly familiar origin story and numerous superhero clichés, while Colin Ferrell goes way over the top in his role as the super-villain Bullseye, Alias's Jennifer Garner stuns as Elektra (Daredevil's love interest/martial arts equal) and Michael Clarke Duncan plays criminal mastermind the Kingpin fairly low key. Daredevil's hearty extras include everything from the martial arts training Affleck underwent, to the debate over Daredevil's costume and its colour, to making L.A. pass for New York. But the most interesting tidbits come during the producer/director commentary, where they discuss a number of re-shoots, religious imagery and meaning (reading too much into it, as geeks tend to do), and some of the "battles" they had with Fox, including almost getting the production shut down for shooting Jennifer Garner with her hair up. Extras: commentary; documentaries; enhanced viewing mode; featurettes; music videos; more. (Fox)