6. It Was Remarkably Dark
Nowadays gritty, dark, superhero films have shown they can succeed; Christopher Nolans Dark Knight Trilogy taught us this very valuable lesson. But Daredevil predated this revolutionary concept for the genre; since Tim Burtons Batman films, Hollywood had seen the pun-packed, slapstick heavy calamity of Batman and Robin forced upon the world. Daredevil was one of the films that broke this trend, opting to show Daredevil as almost an anti-hero. X-Men and Spider-Man struck an almost perfect balance between believability, comedy and seriousness. Daredevil failed to match this balance, but it is better to be too dark than it is to be to comedic and childish; the Fantastic Four films catered for a younger audience, and lacked this sombre tone, making it a pretty poor film. There were attempts throughout the film to break this tense atmosphere through some comedic relief, and while this was positive, the dark tones of Daredevil made possible the shadowy world of Batman Begins. This achievement in itself should be applauded, as Nolans trilogy has fundamentally altered the way superhero movies are made. As the intermediary between the overly childish Schumacher Batman films, the realistic(ish) Marvel films, and Christian Bales unforgettable portrayal of the dark knight, Daredevil was a landmark in the superhero genre; it facilitated a fundamental overhaul of the way heroes are portrayed.