Poster © 20th Century Fox. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction, Crime & Drama
RatedPG-13
Runtime1 hr 43 mins
ReleasedFebruary 14, 2003
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorMark Steven Johnson
StarringBen Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan
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Daredevil (2003)
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| Daredevil's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Crime & Drama |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 02/14/2003 |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 43 mins |
| Budget | $78M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Daredevil by Stan Lee and Bill Everett |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Daredevil's Interests | |
| General | Rooftops, rain, church bells, red leather, a sensory deprivation tank he sleeps in. |
| Music | Graeme Revell. The soundtrack album also had Evanescence's Bring Me to Life, peak 2003. |
| Movies | Elektra (2005), the spinoff. Spider-Man (2002), same era, same New York rooftops. |
| Television | Daredevil, the Netflix series. Charlie Cox took the suit and the hallway fights. |
| Heroes | Foggy Nelson. Law partner, best friend, holds the whole firm together. |
| Daredevil's Crew | |
| Director | Mark Steven Johnson |
| Writers | Mark Steven Johnson |
| Producers | Arnon Milchan, Gary Foster, Avi Arad |
| Cinematography | Ericson Core |
| Music | Graeme Revell |
| Edited By | Dennis Virkler, Armen Minasian |
| Production | Regency Enterprises, Marvel Enterprises, New Regency, Horseshoe Bay Productions |
| Distributed By | 20th Century Fox |
Daredevil and Elektra meet cute by sparring on a playground in front of a crowd of kids, and that’s the tone problem in one scene. This Daredevil wants to be gritty and also a flirty music video, and it lands on neither. Ben Affleck broods hard as Matt Murdock, the blind attorney with a very busy night job, and the movie never figures out whether he’s tortured or cool. The radar sense is the best idea here: rain falling on Elektra’s face so he can finally see her is legit beautiful. Colin Farrell is clearly loving every second as Bullseye, turning paper clips and peanuts into weapons, and he’s more fun than anyone else on screen. Michael Clarke Duncan is great casting as the Kingpin with too little to do. Jennifer Garner deserves a better romance than this rushed one. It made $179.2 million worldwide on a reported $78M. A 3.4 because Farrell and the rain scene shine and everything else just broods. $859 says you flick a peanut at somebody this week and miss by a mile.
What works: Colin Farrell’s gleefully unhinged Bullseye and the rain scene with Elektra are the best things in it.
What doesn’t: Affleck’s Murdock is all brooding and no personality, and the rushed romance with Elektra never earns its big moments.
Who it’s for: Comic book completists and anyone curious about superhero movies from before the genre figured itself out.
Spoilers
Bullseye kills Elektra’s father and frames Daredevil, and Bullseye later kills Elektra in a duel. Matt beats Bullseye, learns the Kingpin ordered his own father’s death, and spares him so the law can handle it. The last scene hints Elektra may still be alive.
As a kid in New York, Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck) is blinded in an accident with radioactive waste, and his other senses go into overdrive. Grown up, he's a lawyer who only takes clients he believes are innocent, working with his best friend Foggy Nelson (Jon Favreau). At night he puts on a red suit and goes after the guilty ones the courts let walk. Then he meets Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner), who can match him move for move, while reporter Ben Urich (Joe Pantoliano) chases rumors of a crime boss called the Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan). Mark Steven Johnson directs. One hundred three minutes, radar sense fully cranked.
Anyone who can hear this message from three blocks away.
| Ben Affleck | Matt Murdock / Daredevil |
| Jennifer Garner | Elektra Natchios |
| Michael Clarke Duncan | Wilson Fisk / Kingpin |
| Colin Farrell | Bullseye |
| Joe Pantoliano | Ben Urich |
| Jon Favreau | Franklin "Foggy" Nelson |
| David Keith | Jack Murdock |
| Leland Orser | Wesley Owen Welch |
| Ellen Pompeo | Karen Page |
| Lennie Loftin | Detective Nick Manolis |
| Erick Avari | Nikolas Natchios |
| Derrick O'Connor | Father Everett |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $179.2M; Domestic box office $102.5M; Opening weekend $40.3M; Profit / loss (est.) -$27.4M; Rotten Tomatoes 42%; CinemaScore B; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 42% (229 reviews); Metacritic 42 / 100; CinemaScore B; IMDb users 5.3 / 10 (243,085 votes); movie.guru score 2.8.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.