From the very first scene the ‘Devil of Hell’s Kitchen’
appears, I was on board. As someone who wasted two hours of his life on the
initial Agents of SHIELD episodes, I was hesitant to get invested in another
Marvel show. But my God, watching a blind ninja endlessly pummel a human-trafficker
and moving like a character from the Matrix – it got me hooked immediately.
Let’s talk Marvel’s Netflix-exclusive show, Daredevil:
1.
Protagonist
Matt Murdock (played by Charlie Cox, of Stardust fame), is
eminently likeable. He’s not a brooding Bruce Wayne, nor is he a total dickhead
like Tony Stark – he’s a relatable, but driven, guy.
Throughout the series, you get flashbacks to his childhood;
we see the origin of his powers and his relationships with the two men who
shaped his destiny. Matt’s dad, Battlin’ Jack Murdock, was an amateur boxer who
struggled to support his blind son in the slums of Hell’s Kitchen, leading to
him getting in trouble with the wrong type of people. An older blind man called
‘Stick’ helps Matt hone his skills to the point where his remaining senses are
at a near superhuman level.
The character’s Catholicism is a feature which almost
bookends the series; the first time we meet adult Matt Murdock he goes to
Confession to beg forgiveness for all-dat-Daredeviling he’s about to do. And
later in the story, he returns when he is contemplating resorting to murder.
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2.
Antagonist
Vincent D’Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket, Men in Black, Jurassic
World) plays Wilson Fisk, AKA The Kingpin, in a fascinating way. You would
assume a man who is building the vastest criminal empire known to man – and has
the comfort of having the media, police, judicial system and politicians on his
payroll – would exude arrogance and talk as though he were untouchable.
D’Onofrio, however, opts to portray the character as unsure, hesitant, and even
socially awkward.
It’s often said the best villains are the ones who are
convinced they’re doing good, and you really get the sense this man is desperate
to help his city. When Fisk says he takes no pleasure in the cruel things he
has to do, you believe him – just as you believe the events of the series lead
to him truly accepting the fact he is the bad guy. But for every moment of
bumbling shyness, there’s an explosion of pent-up rage. Stay away from car
doors around Wilson Fisk. Nuff said.
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3.
Secondary
Characters
Foggy Nelson – Matt’s legal partner and friend. He’s very
much the comic-relief of the show, but not all of his jokes hit, and sometimes
the actor looks out of his depth when alongside the movie-star cast. That being
said, he too is a very likeable character, and as the relationship between the
two lawyers is explored, we see how their bond is and the effects of the
dynamic between the two being seriously challenged, as certain information
comes to light.
Karen Page – framed for murder after moving to New York,
Karen becomes Nelson & Murdock’s first client and then their secretary once
released from custody. Karen is desperate to bring to light those who framed
her, and works with the attorney duo to try and do just that. This however,
grates after a while, as it seems the character’s whole deal is trying to
convince people to do something they don’t want to. Although, we do get several
allusions to her dark past, which is enough to keep us interested.
Ben Ulrich – a respected but tired journalist, Ben Ulrich
agrees to help Karen Page in her efforts to expose those who framed her before
their grip on Hell’s Kitchen becomes unbreakable. Ulrich knows exactly how he
and Karen should approach this new story – even if his editor is not interested
in supporting them. His wife, however, is in the hospital with a debilitating illness
and he is struggling to fund her care, so he is hesitant to invest too much
into this dangerous and possibly pointless endeavour.
Claire Temple – a nurse who patched up Matt after finding
him in a dumpster following a night of Daredevil-ing. Played by Rosario Dawson,
she has a smaller role as the series progresses, but is another anchor in Matt
Murdock’s life, keeping him from losing himself to the Devil inside. Comic fans
will know she also had a romantic relationship with Luke Cage – one of the
other three Marvel characters getting the Netflix treatment before a team-up
series – and so it may be that this is the character who links the different
shows to each other (which would make sense, considering the calibre of actor
they hired for a seemingly small role).
James Wesley – clean-cut, impeccably dressed and an expert
at manipulation, Wesley is Wilson Fisk’s right-hand man. Just as Fisk will go
to any lengths to ‘protect’ his city, Wesley will do whatever is necessary to
ensure his employer’s whims are satisfied, and wear a polite yet threatening
smile while doing it.
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4.
Plot
The main theme of the show is that sometimes good people
have to do bad things. From Battlin’ Jack taking a bribe to throw a fight so he
can support his son, to Daredevil jabbing a knife in someone’s eye to get
information, to Wilson Fisk taking control of the city via criminal means in an
effort to rebuild it following the ‘Battle of New York’ in the first Avengers
film; no-one walks away from this series with their hands clean.
The show isn’t bloated in a way that other shows tend to be;
there are only thirteen episodes, as opposed to shows like Arrow and the Flash
that have 23 per season. No sub-plots feel forced or unnecessary and each
episode advances the story in a meaningful way. It’s consistent, concise and
keeps you guessing all the way.
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5. Action
The combat scenes in this show are incredible, as the video
at the top of the review will show. The punches feel heavy, the kicks feel
swift and we see how Daredevil’s enhanced senses give him the advantage, without
the need for any heavy-handed cuts to his point of view – just watching him be
still and wait for his opponent to make a move before he reacts instinctively
is a subtle way to keep the choreography flowing while also being true to the
character.
It isn’t just the fighting where the action shines: the way
he moves through environments and uses his surroundings convey just how agile
and graceful he is as a result of his powers is so well done and supported by
clever camerawork. There’s no shaky-cam obstructing our view unless the
circumstances call for it – we get to see the expertly choreographed combat and
set pieces unimpeded.
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5.
Drama
As light and danger-free as most of the Marvel movies have
been, this is the dark corner of that universe. Characters die throughout the
series and there is quite a bit of blood – there’s no magical hammers or
unbreakable shields on show; people get shot, stabbed, burned alive, hanged,
thrown off buildings and beaten to death.
We get glimpses of both Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk’s
upbringings and how it set them on their respective paths, and both backstories
are equally brutal. The show’s best dramatic moments, however, come in the
heart-to-heart scenes. In particular, a scene towards the end of the series
where Matt asks Father Lantom whether he believes the Devil exists in human
form, which results in the Priest recalling a terrifying memory from his time
giving aid in Africa.
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7. Comedy
As mentioned previously, Foggy is overused as a comic
relief. However, there are enough well-crafted moments of levity where he does
shine, and as the series goes on and things look bleaker and bleaker, it is
Foggy who breaks the tension and offers something other than despair and rage.
Half a Mark
8. Romance
The show is interesting in that it is the villain who has
the love story. Wilson Fisk begins a relationship with an art dealer, who at
first is scared of his work but grows to love the power being at his side
brings. It’s a very believable dynamic between the two and it isn’t focussed on
too much as to weight the story down, which is a problem some comic-book related
properties tend to have.
A connection between Matt and Claire is hinted at, but she
realises it would be too painful to become attached to someone who might step
out at night and never come back. Likewise, Foggy is shown to have feelings for
Karen, but they are clearly not mutual.
Half a Mark
9. Pacing
The series is paced brilliantly in terms of the overall
story-arc. For example, we don’t meet Wilson Fisk until very end of episode three,
and not properly until episode four, and so we have three episodes of build up
to this mysterious unseen force before we see first-hand why his name is feared.
In terms of screen-time for Daredevil, the occasional episode
will have him in costume for the majority of it – and these are the best
episodes – but most episodes divide up the time between Matt’s solo story, the Karen/Ben
Ulrich plot thread and Wilson Fisk’s dealings very well, with a sprinkling of
Daredevil in each act.
Although, perhaps too much time is dedicated to the Karen Page
and Ben Ulrich story at times. While it certainly pays off in the end, I
sometimes felt their slice of the cake tended to slow down individual episodes
as more interesting things were happening elsewhere; there was a little bit
of repetitiveness in how their arc developed.
Half a Mark
10. Re-watch-ability
Well, I’ve watched it twice already, and plan on buying the
Blu-Ray when it comes out. So take that how you will.
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Ranking Daredevil alongside the Marvel movies, I’d put it
comfortably in third place, behind Avengers Assemble and Captain America: The
Winter Soldier, but ahead of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Guardians of the
Galaxy in the top five.
Final Score: 8.5/10
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