With 30 minutes added, this is a considerable improvement on the original version, with harder violence, trimmed-down romance and something straight out of the comics: equal focus on DD and his lawyer alter ego, Matt Murdock. Among the most welcome changes are the removal of the horrendously camp fireplace shots in the love scene, and the restoration of Coolio's gangster sub-plot. All of which serves to address many of the fanboys' gripes, even if some flaws still remain.
Affleck still looks miscast in his red leather gimp suit, and Michael Clark Duncan's Kingpin is still disappointingly OTT, but this is far closer to the source material and begs reappraisal.