By STEVE MURRAY
Cox News Service

Like "Spider-Man," "Daredevil" is a Marvel Comics adaptation about a New York do-gooder with a dual identity, a cool costume and a commitment to fighting bad guys. But unlike the young, idealistic Peter, Matt is a hardened attorney who fears that the legal system is sometimes as blind as he is.

As a child, Matt lost his eyesight in a toxic spill. His remaining senses hyper-developed, giving him a radarlike awareness of everything his eyes can't see. Thus he can prowl through the city in his leather uniform, wreaking nighttime justice on the scum who slip through legal loopholes by day.

Would you be surprised to know he's motivated by the unsolved murder of his prizefighter dad?

That's a familiar plot detail from the superhero canon. Comic book flicks are ruled by formulas just as much as romantic comedies are. That's not a criticism, it's the territory. In a romantic comedy, the boy and girl have to Meet Cute. In a superhero movie, we want the hero and heroine to spar, face peril together, and maybe find themselves on the opposite sides of a fight. A romantic hero needs a ditzy best friend and opinionated parents. An action hero requires a nerdy sidekick, and his parents better be dead -- preferably killed by the movie's Big Bad.

"Daredevil" fills out its checklist faithfully. Jon Favreau is Matt's schlubby law partner. Jennifer Garner provides sizzle as Elektra NatchiosCQ, hardbodied daughter of a crooked billionaire who catches, so to speak, Matt's eye. The thunder-throated Michael Clarke Duncan, twirling a cigar, is uber-thug Kingpin who hides his evil behind corporate polish. And the ubiquitous, scenery-chewing Colin Farrell is Kingpin's psychopathic, blade-hurling hireling, Bullseye.

For its first half, "Daredevil" is a steel-blue, hard-tooled ride that generates a grim glamour reminiscent of Bruce Wayne's Gotham or "The Crow" movies' dystopian cityscapes. The problem is, these movie reminders keep coming. Matt and Elektra share a romantic scene in a rainstorm, like Peter Parker and Mary Jane's. The action scenes include some "Matrix"-style rooftop jumps, and dizzy aerial tours of Manhattan that recall the antic camera work of "The Lord of the Rings." Though early computer-generated shots of Matt whipping around Manhattan are impressive, a climactic, gravity-defying battle in a cathedral ("Batman" again) between Daredevil and Bullseye is a prime example of the unbearable lightness of CG'ing. It looks fake, like some similar footage in "Spider-Man."

The movie never carves out its own identity, never finds the superhero highs to counteract Daredevil's dark obsession. For instance, when a smitten Matt follows Elektra to a playground, trying to learn her name, they face off in a flirty, martial-arts duel. On the page, it's a delirious, sexy concept. Onscreen, it's merely pleasant. You keep waiting for the sequence to explode with the kinetic romanticism you find in graphic novels. It doesn't happen. Director Mark Steve Johnson lacks the inspired, fan-boy madness of a Peter Jackson ("LOTR"), Tim Burton (the first two "Batman" flicks) or Sam Raimi ("Darkman," "Spider-Man"). His work is decent, never dazzling.

The same applies to Affleck. He's not rotten, he's just as blank as the pale contact lenses he wears. You may leave the theater wanting less Matt, more Elektra, thanks not only to Garner's convincing way with knives, but her emotional power. (Keep an eye out for cameos by Stan Lee and Kevin Smith, too.)

It could've been a lot worse. Previously director Johnson besmirched us with "Simon Birch," a film "suggested by" John Irving's novel "A Prayer for Owen Meany." The result was gooey treacle that could make the makers of "Touched by an Angel" yack. He's also guilty for writing "Jack Frost," "Big Bully" and other assaults on moviegoers' intelligence. So maybe we should just be glad for a decent movie, instead of a dreadful one.