whstrock

Here's the Hollywood pitch I imagined for this flick (slightly twisted): OK let's do a disaster flick like Armegeddon only we include every worn out, overcliched character archetype known to Hollywood. That way we can just cut and paste from the scripts of a dozen "B" movies and not have to pay anyone to write a script! Each character is perfectly predictable in their behavior just based on the fact you've seen these characters sooo many other times. I think the key to including these cornerstone characters without making people puke is to disguise them at least a little. Some movie-goers make a hobby out of analyzing each character to determine which archetype they are based on. This movie disguises nothing and the character interaction is made corny by the predictability of their actions.

If you remember the days of the Batman standard of having at least two villains per movie starting with Catwoman and Penguin then you remember that it made the movies very busy with multiple stories none of which got enough attention to make any of them worthwhile. In this instance I don't think the movie falls apart nearly so much but then Batman had several other problems added to the mix. Daredevil whips quickly into the story of this comicbook character's arch enemy (Bullseye), his greatest love (Elektra), and the great evil force behind everything (Kingpin) all in one movie. And on top of it all the movie has to take time to cover the origin of Daredevil himself. The lawyer Matt Murdock's partner is well cast, played and written. Daredevil is correctly portrayed (for the most part) both as a character and visually. The casting choice for Kingpin although not in line with the character as drawn in the books makes more sense than the books and works to the movies advantage. Bullseye was relatively well done (crazy and talented). Elektra was OK but the point is that each of these parts were thrown by the viewer at a reckless pace. It was like going to the ice cream store and only getting samples, never buying a full cone of ice cream. By the time the spinning sensation stopped the movie was over. There is a fight scene in a playground that should not even made it into the movie. It makes little to no sense. Liking the Daredevil comic book is probably the main reason that I stuck this one out. A few more like this and comics won't make it to the screen any more.

Oh my word, is Nick Cage channeling Segal or some other action-movie retard?

I can't believe that John Cusak is in this. Money must have been tight at his house. Stupid stunts, ridiculous situations, lame attempts to be cute all culminate in a giant dung heap of a movie. The sickening sweetness of Nick Cage's sob story is horrible. Rambo was more believable. If there was one more "interesting" dilemma for Nick to be "heroic" about I would have run out of the movie puking. Nick Cage hit the bottom and drilled a hole in it a mile deep. John Malcovich must have been high to have signed onto this one. Ving Rames is in his usual role as tough guy. On the positive side, John Cusak has some cute lines and "Mr. Pink" is interesting. Action movies as a whole aren't worth a crap if they take place in a real-world setting and don't stay a little closer to real-world scenarios and stunts. I miss believable movies like "Magnum Force".