Posted by Kevin at adsl-64-167-89-22.dsl.lsan03.pacbell.net on May 04, 2002 at 16:38:19:
So I went back to the "Daredevil" set to see Ben in action, and I may
be biased, but fuck - that boy is doing some of the best work of his
career.
And mind you, I made "Chasing Amy" with him, so that's not an easy
thing to say.
I think what's so interesting about his performance is that this is the
first time he's not able to rely on his Affleck charm - the eyes, the
delivery, the killer smile. For those of you who don't know much
about DD, the character is blind. As Matt Murdock, Ben's in shades
most of the time, and wearing "blind" contacts when he's not. As DD,
the mask covers his eyes and brow completely. This prohibits our
boy from relying on the usual tics and "Affleck-tions" that've helped
support his performances over the last few years (the shit I'm a
sucker for). And because he can't work that magic, he's turning in a
performance that I've never seen him give prior to this - a very
stripped down, no-frills approach perf that's working like mad. I was
just blown away by the stuff I saw... and really proud. He's nailing DD
like Reeve nailed Superman, or Keaton nailed Batman. Kudos to the
boy.
And kudos, also, to Mark, the director, and Ericson, his D.P. They're
making one gorgeous fucking picture. Mark and Ben showed me a
ton of footage they've shot over the last few weeks, and it's all
beautiful stuff. The suit looks fantastic and the way they're lighting it
makes it look even more bad-ass.
And big, big props to Jon Favreau, whose turning in a really, really
funny Foggy. I saw some flat-out brilliant takes of his that made me
laugh out loud. He was an excellent cast.
Haven't seen any footage of Bullseye or Elektra, but I'm going to go
back in two weeks to watch some of the DD/Elektra rooftop fight
being shot.
Mark Steven Johnson's making, for my money, the best comic book
movie we've seen since... maybe "The Rocketeer" (which, along with
Donner's first two "Superman" flicks may be the best superhero flicks
ever made). I apologize for my gushing, but I haven't been this
excited over a movie I'm not really involved with since "Batman." I
want this flick out now.
"Spider-Man" does forty one million on opening day, there's a "Hulk"
teaser out, and "Daredevil" is shaping up to be a pimp-and-a-half
flick.
Fuck, it's a great time to be a comic book fan.