Before he was the Batman nobody wanted, Ben Affleck made his first superhero appearance as Daredevil in the blind hero's only current big screen adventure in 2003. It's difficult to believe right now, given the incredible popularity of the character thanks to some popular comic releases in the decade since the movie debuted, but this was not a well-received entry into the world of comic book movies. With such a poor movie to study, it would usually be difficult to pick out the worst of the worst bits. Fortunately, however, this movie makes that very simple, with an exposition shot in which the producers attempted to demonstrate how the hero's heightened senses work. The scene, which quite likely made you genuinely weep for the future careers of the people responsible, shows how Daredevil is able to hear love interest Elektra's face as rain drops fall against her skin. Err, what? Shots that demonstrate the extraordinary and unique powers of their heroes can be very effective; see Amazing Spider-Man 2's spider sense sequence in Times Square for a fantastic example. In this case, however, the result was nothing more than a shoddy attempt at forcing a few rom-com close ups onto a character that did nothing to deserve them. If you didn't shudder with dismay when you beheld this sequence, then you are probably as blind as the hero himself.
Gareth is 28 years old and lives in Cardiff. Interests include film, TV and an unhealthy amount of Spider-Man comics and Killers songs. Expect constant references to the latter two at all times.
Follow on twitter @GJCartwright.
