Looking back at his comic book movie career recently, Ben Affleck has officially admitted that Mark Steven Johnson’s Daredevil was “kind of silly.” Affleck, of course, portrayed the titular vigilante in the 2003 film, which continues to grab headlines, despite (or perhaps because of) Netflix’s grittier drama.
In a recent interview for the Cinemability: The Art of Inclusion documentary, which director Jenni Gold is releasing for National Disability Awareness Month, Affleck discussed how working with blind performer Tom Sullivan helped him add another layer to Murdock. “I think that was the most interesting thing about the movie, frankly,” the actor confessed, before admitting that, “a lot of the other stuff was kind of silly.”
REVIEW: Daredevil Season 3 Reaches a New High For Marvel’s Netflix Dramas
Affleck’s comment seem to have been filmed some time ago, but his opinions haven’t changed much over the years. Since the mixed reception of Daredevil, he has been outspoken about the movie’s flaws, while admitting that the film’s learning curve eventually persuaded him to join Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
With an all-star cast of Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan and Colin Farrell, Daredevil fared poorly among critics. A second Daredevil movie had been planned due to the first movie’s box office success, but the failure of spin-off movie Elektra led to 20th Century Fox canning the project.
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Still, considering that Murdock’s blindness is an integral part of what makes the character tick, at least Johnson put thought into how Daredevil’s perhaps most well-known trait could best be represented on-screen. It’s also reassuring that, despite Affleck’s overall thoughts on the movie, he can still recognize its positives. And he’s not alone.
While his portrayal of the character is markedly darker, Netflix’s current Daredevil star Charlie Cox has praised Affleck’s performance as fantastic; interestingly, this praise is seemingly becoming increasingly adopted by the wider community in the years since the film’s release.
Arriving October 19th on Netflix, Marvel’s Daredevil Season 3 stars Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Joanne Whaley, Vincent D’Onofrio and Wilson Bethel.