Daredevil

There are redeeming features to this high-kicking Marvel comic adaptation - not least its strong visuals and attractive cast - but these do not add up to a satisfying whole. As a child, Matt Murdock is blinded by radioactive waste that simultaneously heightens his other senses. He grows up to be a New York lawyer (played by Ben Affleck) who doubles as a nocturnal, leather-clad crime-fighter. As the first instalment of a potential franchise, the film goes through the motions of setting up the story and characters, with the flashbacks to Matt's boyhood the strongest episode. Thereafter the narrative gets flabby - introducing a soppy love story involving Jennifer Garner of TV's Alias and a cursory game of cat and mouse against Colin Farrell's poorly sketched villain - and the action is sapped of clarity and subtlety by rushed editing and the relentless heavy metal soundtrack. The Marvel TV series version featuring Charlie Cox as the Man without Fear is a much better rendition of the hero's adventures.