Set in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen in the ’70s, a young Matt Murdock (Scott Terra) lives in the shadow of his father, Jack “The Devil” Murdock (David Keith), a struggling boxer who moonlights for the mob. Matt adores his father, thinks of him as a straight up fighting machine, until Matt catches his dad shaking down people for crime boss Eddie Fallon. Heartbroken, Matt flees, but suffers a freak accident when toxic waste spills on his face, permanently blinding him.
As Matt’s eyesight deteriorates, his other senses are heightened to an almost superhuman level. He develops a sonar-type of perception of the world, enabling him to “see” through sound waves. Insistent upon guarding himself, he trains intensively, learning how to press his sharpened senses on the environment to the advantage of violence. Motivated by his son’s accident, Jack pledges to give up his life of crime and re-commit himself to his boxing career. But when he won’t throw a rigged match, Fallon has him killed, leaving Matt heartbroken and an orphan.
The Rise of Daredevil
Years later, Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck) matures into a pious lawyer, working for a small law practice with his best friend, Franklin “Foggy” Nelson (Jon Favreau). They mostly handle cases for innocent people who can’t afford high-profile lawyers. Yet Matt’s pursuit of justice doesn’t end inside the courtroom—at night, he suits up in red and a mask, becoming the vigilante Daredevil. Using his unique skills and modified cane-turned-weapon, he tracks down the criminals who get away with things the law can’t catch them for.
One of his first targets is a violent rapist, Jose Quesada, who is acquitted in court because of corruption. Matt, as Daredevil, tracks him down and ensures that he’s brought to justice, but his brutal methods show a more savage, vengeful streak. Meanwhile, journalist Ben Urich (Joe Pantoliano) at the New York Post becomes obsessed with trying to figure out who Daredevil really is, noticing a trend in attacks.
Blood is thicker than water: Elektra Natchios & Kingpin’s Deadly Game
His life changes after he meets Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner), a wealthy heiress with expert martial arts skills. The two form an instant bond, spurring a romance that appears to give Matt a most unlikely taste of a normal life. But Elektra’s father, Nikolas Natchios (Erick Avari), is some kind of deeply entwined with Wilson Fisk (Michael Clarke Duncan) — the ugly and utterly unscrupulous crime lord secretly known as Kingpin, who rules the underbelly of this city.
When Nikolas attempts to sever his ties with Fisk, the Kingpin seals his fate, enlisting Bullseye (Colin Farrell), a lethal assassin who never misses his mark. Bullseye weaponizes Daredevil’s own weapon against Nikolas, killing him and framing the vigilante. Thinking Daredevil has killed her father, Elektra vows revenge.
Betrayal, Tragedy and the Last Battle
Fueled by rage, Elektra hunts down Daredevil and confronts him in a vicious battle. She misses and he overpowers her and she stabs him in the shoulder before he unmasks and she sees that he is Matt. Horrified, she barely has time to process the revelation before Bullseye turns up, killing her in cold blood as Matt watches helplessly.
Matt tracks Bullseye down to a cathedral where he’s determined to avenge Elektra and his father. The assassin attacks Daredevil’s weakness to deafening sounds, but Matt eventually fights in his favor, tossing Bullseye out of a window once an NYPD sniper shoots his hands, robbing him of his deadly precision.
With Bullseye taken care of, Matt now has Kingpin in his sights. He sneaks into Fisk’s office, getting into a savage tussle in which his heightened senses help him prevail. He’s beaten down at first, but he finds a way to turn it all around and bring Fisk’s crimes to light. As the police start pouring in, Fisk threatens to expose Matt’s true identity, but Matt replies he hasn’t had time to explain how no one in Hell’s Kitchen believes a blind man can be Daredevil.
A Hero’s Legacy
Afterwards Kingpin is arrested, but Matt weeps for Elektra. He goes back to their rooftop rendezvous and finds her necklace engraved with her name in braille, suggesting she might be alive. Meanwhile, Ben Urich, who now knows Matt’s secret identity, decides he won’t share the information with the press, understanding that Daredevil is a good force.
And at the end of the film, he welcomes the fight; jumping and leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
Directed by Mark Steven Johnson
Character Details:
Matt Murdock / Daredevil (Ben Affleck) — A blind lawyer by day and masked vigilante fighting crime in a corrupt world by night.
Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner) – A fierce and skilled martial artist who begins a relationship with Matt but becomes entangled in a tragic fate due to her family’s criminal heritage.
Wilson Fisk / Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan) – A high powered crime boss posing as a businessman on the up-and-up, Fisk is the real cabal behind the city’s organized crime.
Bullseye (Colin Farrell) – A sadistic hitman with supernatural precision hired by Fisk to kill threats like Daredevil and Elektra.
Franklin “Foggy” Nelson (Jon Favreau) – Matt’s best friend and law partner, here to provide comic relief and unwavering support.
Ben Urich (Joe Pantoliano) – A relentless journalist bent on getting to the bottom of the truth behind Daredevil and Kingpin’s criminal empire.
Nikolas Natchios (Erick Avari) – The father of Elektra, whose decision to exit the world of crime places him in the crosshairs of Kingpin.
Jack Murdock (David Keith) – Matt’s father, a boxer with a checkered past; his murder helps inspire Matt’s metamorphosis into Daredevil.
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