Badmovies.org Forum

DAREDEVIL LOOKS SILLY
by Tommy

I just saw the trailer for Daredevil out of curiosity.  I noticed that Ben Afleck looks buff on the promotion, but on screen he makes Tobey Maguire look like Arnold.  The costume looks cheesy like cheap leather a hooker would wear.  I also see a sappy and predictable love story between Ben and Jennifer Garner (Electra, I assume).  The action sequences on the trailer probably represent the bulk of excitement, which isn’t saying much.  Needless to say, curiosity killed the cat.

I heard that the "Kingpin" is played by a black guy in this upcoming film.

What the hell!!??

I swear, Hollywood should let me be at the helm.

I wouldn't let ANY of you down!

ASHTHECAT wrote:
>
> I heard that the "Kingpin" is played by a black guy in this
> upcoming film.
>
>

I think that's Michael Clarke Duncan of The Green Mile and Burton's Planet of the Apes fame.

Not much of an issue with me, if that actor can bring across the character, that's fine with me.

Speaking of Race in Comic Book movies, anybody notice that, according to Spiderman, there are no minorities in New York?  Save for a few adminitrative asssitants, that is.

There was the gal at the Wrestling match that Peter talked to, maybe one of the ringside girls, and then the guy in JJJ's office and, I think, and that was pretty much it.  Mmmmm, thoughts?

Mmmmm, thoughts?

I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a city with a population close to 600K.  Even in a city of that size (small by New York standards), we have parts of town where you will see no hispanics, and part where you see almost no gringos, and parts where you have a good mix.  Nothing racial about it, it just sorta is that way.  I wouldn't be surprised in a large city to have pockets of a city of exclusively one group or another.  It doesn't have to be racially oriented to have a movie set in New York with no minorities present.  (That being said, I've never been to New York so I don't know how likely that is to happen)

However, as I briefly mentioned  elsewhere, there does seem to be a high degree of profiling in Hollywood and a fair number of situations where you'll only see a minority actor if a minority part is called for.  Denzel Washington in "Fallen" could've been anybody and the put a black actor in the role because he's a really good actor, but the role itself didn't really call for a black actor.  Samual Jackson, on the other hand, while a really good actor himself, tends to end up in a lot of "black" roles where if not for him it would've been another black actor.

*****  Agreed on Duncan.  I think he's a good actor and I look forward to him playing a bad guy.  A guy like him (meaning his size) has a serious danger of being typecast and it's good to see him get a chance at a different kind of role.

There was the gal at the Wrestling match that Peter talked to, maybe one of the ringside girls, and then the guy in JJJ's office and, I think, and that was pretty much it. Mmmmm, thoughts?
*****  I grew up just outside NYC and lived in the Bronx for two years.  I've spent serious time in every borough except Staten Island.  If you are in NYC and you cannot see a non-white person from where you sit or stand, then you are indoors, and probably in a private residence.  Never read the comic book but it sounds pretty inaccurate.

ASHTHECAT wrote:
>
> I heard that the "Kingpin" is played by a black guy in this
> upcoming film.
>
>

Hey, if the X-Mens' suits can be black so can Kingpin. Name me a white guy big enough with enough presence to play the KP. Ben Affleck as The Man Without Fear, however, I take issue with. I could probably give you a list of 50 guys more appropriate for the role.

Name me a white guy big enough with enough presence to play the KP.

*****  It's my understanding this is a mafia-type guy.  Tony Soprano?  Probably not available.

Name me a white guy big enough with enough presence to play the KP.
******Thats easy! Brando! Marlon Brando!

James Gandolfini's not big enough and Brando's too old. And he'd probably play the part seminude and use a weird accent and cover his face in olive oil.

On Michael Duncan Clark, I agree more with Ash in regarding what comic and more specificlly Daredevil fans have been reading for years, and not race.  Granted, MDC is a good actor and probably can play a villain with ease, but I thought it would be believeable if the Kingpin was portrayed as he is: a very fat, yet very strong white man.  If die hard fans of the book knew nothing of the movie existence except on that day they do go and see it, and see that the Kingpin is played by a black guy, those fans would be like (and, I quote Ash) "What the hell...?"  It's like seeing D.D. in those wussy black tights in that Hulk telemovie.  I did have an idea on who to play Kingpin, but the movie would be in the bargain bin 2 days after it debuts (even without Afflecks help) and that man would have been King Kong Bundy.  But maybe Jon Voight  or Jack Nickolson in big, very big make-up would have played the part.  I like Michael Duncun Clark,  but I don't think he was a good choice. ( And this post is from a black guy too)
---------------------------------------------------
And may the Schwarts be with you.

I apologize if my previous post on this thread sounded racist.

That was not my intention.

I should've added more info to it then it wouldn't have sounded so bad.

Blackangel hit the nail on the head for me.  

What I meant is that Hollywood always has to fiddle and change and mess with things that have been around for years to their liking.

They can never leave it it just like it is.

Actually, Brando would probably show up for the shoot weighing 165 pounds with long hair and daisies tatooed all over his face.  Has anyone seen an interview with him lately?  He is one f**ked up wacky dude.

I just saw the trailer and it certainly doesn't make the movie look very good.

I have a feeling this movie (even with the high profile actors)was destined to go straight to video but after the money made with Spiderman they decided to release it in the theatres.

I will probably be foolish enough to see it in the theatre.  If nothing else to give my endorsement to Comic book movies.

Kingpin is white, so choose a white actor, for the sake of accuracy. As far as acting ability, MDC is fine. Its just i like consistancy in a well known character and his/her pals. Why Not?

Fair point, but if a character's race isn't inherent to the character and plot (for instance you obviously don't cast a black actor as a skinhead, or a white actor as an African tribesman), acting ability should be the key factor.  Actually, in this case, I think star-power has more to do with it.  Of the known box-office draws, MDC was probably the best choice.  And they wanted to get a known commodity in there because the movie-going public for whatever reason likes to see stars it's seen in other movies.

I might feel more like you do if I had ever read the comic book or even heard of Kingpin before a couple of weeks ago when someone brought this topic up on the messageboard.

First, if I remember correctly, Daredevil had a black costume for a very, very short time. Look it up, I am sure of it. Although the red costume is the best, this black one is betterr than the yellow one they could have used. However, I thought studios learned their lesson about casting star power over talent when the Nic Cage as Superman (everyone say huh!!>>>???) was scuttled. However, Affleck as DD is just a huge mistake, they were doing so well.
Michael Jai White as Spawn- Great
Wesley Snipes as Blade- Really Great
Michael Keaton as Batman- Great
Tobey Maguire as Spider Man- Great
Eric Bana as the Hulk- Really Great
Ben Affleck as DD- huh, whoops doh, as bad as George Cloony Batman

As for Kingpin. In the comics, for the past 40 years, Col. Nick Fury, Agent of shield, was white. One day, he is black. One day Prof. X is wheelchair bound, now he is walking. Comics are always subject to the crazy writer's ideas. So, there is no reason that a black guy, especially of his stature shouldnt play the Kingpin. Plus, DD is blind, does he even know the color of the people he is fighting? No! So if he doesnt care, why should we.

Michael Jai White as Spawn- Great
Wesley Snipes as Blade- Really Great
Michael Keaton as Batman- Great
Tobey Maguire as Spider Man- Great
Eric Bana as the Hulk- Really Great
Ben Affleck as DD- huh, whoops doh, as bad as George Cloony Batman
*****  Agreed on all counts except Michael Keaton (although I must have totally missed the Hulk, last I remember it was Bill Bixby/Lou Ferigno.  Eric Bana I know from Blackhawk Down) .  

Keaton's a fine actor for light comedies, but in the otherwise excellent Batman, I just was nagged by the presence of Mr. Mom as the hero.

Obviously I haven't seen Daredevil, but I know enough about Affleck to know that the Mr. Mom effect will be in play if he tries to play a dark superhero.  Smirky fratboy types make bad superheros.

I really liked  Keaton as Batman. I thought he did a great job of bringing together Batman/Wayne. He was the best by far out of the three imho.


Shop Smart. Shop S-Mart.

Ahab- From what I have seen, you are in the majority and I am in the minority where Keaton is concerned.  I do think that Batman ultimately worked with great direction, set and costume designs, music, and acting.  And if I wasn't nuts about Keaton, I will concede that he was certainly better than the other two Batmans.

I don't know how this conversation got turned around to Batman.

Maybe if I examine every thread on this post I'll find it.

Weren't we talking about Daredevil?

Oh well.

Oh, Eric Bana is in the upcoming Hulk movie this summer and the preview looks great

Check out the film called "Chopper".  
I watched it last year while in Australia when it came out.

He is an excellent actor!

I don't know the character of Daredevil or Kingpin to make an comment about that particular casting call. All l I can think is that it has to make sense.  If it makes sense for a person to be in that position, then it doesn't matter.  For example, a black guy as an Italian-style mafia boss is harder to be credible than a white guy.  I don't really know Kingpin's background, but if it's believable that a black man could be in that sort of position, than using a black actor shuold be just fine.

I personally don't see anything wrong with MDC playing the part of the Kingpin.  Race is irrelevant in Hollywood movies since they usually add their own twists.  Also, there is the underlying question, "Can a Black man play Santa Claus or Hamlet."  I say "yes."

Nonetheless, if I were to make a movie that defined Dare Devil's legacy, a White guy that fits the King Pin's profile would be better suited for the sake of consistency and relativity.

There are cases where Race is almost as important as talent.  For instance, Zulu Warriors are better depicted using their respective ethnic race.  The whole idea of using "Whites" to portray "Whites" and "Blacks" to portray "Blacks" just has more dimension and believability.

It's not too much about race, it's about content in movies based on comics, novels, cartoons, tv shows, etc.  Key word is "based".  When a movie is based on forms of media such as those, It suppose to give us a general idea on the character's profile and plot.  And most of these has been in american culture for years.  Here's what I'm talking about:

We all know about Mertaugh and Riggs in the Leathal Weapon series.  Now if a fifth sequal comes along, and instead of Glover and Gibson, it's Jackie Chan and John Leuguazamo playing the same role.

Or that bad mother-shut-your-mouth, Shaft.  But instead of Samue L. Jackson, it's Harrison Ford.

Or the next Spider-Man movie after the sequal.  Instead of Toby Maguire donning the webs, it's none other that Carrot Top (Spider senses tingling.  Someone didn't dial down the center)

The tv show Law & Order kinda fall under this as well.  But, it's based more on newspaper articles (or so they claim).  So the characters are more generally portrayed ( the focused individuals in these articles are white, but on tv, they're either black, hispanic , etc.)

The point is that Hollywood should not fiddle with things that have been with us for years.  MDC being the Kingpin is something I can take because basically, there's no one his size that can act as good as him.  Unless you want someone like King Kong Bundy or Paul White (The Big Show).  The fact is that the Kingpin is white.  Just like John Shaft is black.  That what I remember.
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And may the Schwarts be with you.

Hahahaha... BlackAngel you have a way of proving a point... Agreed... I like it.  Hahahahaa.

Or the next Spider-Man movie after the sequal. Instead of Toby Maguire donning the webs, it's none other that Carrot Top (Spider senses tingling. Someone didn't dial down the center)
*****  I just want to point out that I notice quite a lot of cheap-shots and bashing directed at Carrot Top on this message board.  I think this is good healthy behavior.  Keep it up.

What was the name of the big giant bald dude in the Ed Wood movies?  Would he have made a suitable King Pin?

Too bad Sydney Greenstreet (http://us.imdb.com/Name?Greenstreet,%20Sydney) is dead

Or we could always put Patrick Stewart in a fat suit!