Daredevil (Netflix 2015)

This week I'm reviewing a new 'Netflix Original' series that you've probably seen mentioned across the internet recently, Daredevil. This series revolves around the Marvel character and protector of Hells kitchen in New York as he begins his crime fighting career and becomes a well known vigilante in the area. We see him progress as he defeats petty criminals to Mafia, Yakuza and Drug lords all revolving around antagonist Wilson Fisk.

Daredevil is the first of four miniseries planned in conjunction by both Netflix and Marvel which is set to include other heroes such as Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage, the plan being to have all of these characters meet up to form an Avengers style team up series, The Defenders. I think this was a wise move by both Marvel and Netflix as perhaps these characters would not have been popular enough alone to make their way to the big screen, it really does make you appreciate these perhaps lesser known heroes.

In a way it kind of reminds me of the 90's Marvel cartoons that all kind ofcrossed over from time to time, in fact most people who watched those as kids will probably be watching Daredevil, it's almost as if Marvel is growing up with the more mature format of shows like this but unfortunately it doesn't seem as though the movie side of things will become more mature any time soon, but then this series probably wouldn't stand out as much if the films delved into the subjects we're familiar with in this show.

I'm quite pleased that Netflix has delved into producing some Superhero based content, and with DC releasing multiple series such as Arrow, Gotham and The Flash there was no doubt that Marvel would be soon behind them especially as the world of movies is becoming dominated by yearly Superhero based releases. I feel as though this partnership between Netflix and Marvel is fantastic as Netflix Originals are becoming increasingly popular with titles such as Orange is the new black and House of Cards being in their third seasons.

But with Netflix originals the entire series is usually released on the same day, which some find to be great and some find to be a problem. I personally find it to be great because I don't have to wait weekly to continue a show I'm hooked on and if I don't watch to 'binge' on the entire show I can just watch maybe 2 or 3 episodes every other night or so, it's completely up to the viewer. Some however would like this weekly gap between episodes because they feel it ruins the discussion on the show in that the first week or so everyone will be talking about it but shortly after discussion may be non existent.

A point that I really enjoyed about this show was that it doesn't focus much on the origin story of the characters in the first episode. It's more interspersed throughout the show, it is only during episode 7 that we see how Matt began to hone his skills and use his heightened abilities to his advantage due to his training from Stick and right after that with episode 8 we take a look in to Fisk's past and a glimpse into how he became the man he is today. I believe having the show give little parts of a characters past every few episodes is great, especially in a time where Superhero movies are taking over and some are even being rebooted multiple times at this point.

A lot of people already know most Heroes origins and don't need them to be the focus of the film or show at this point, having them be interspersed really works well as it gives a chance for the first episode to be more action packed and grab the viewer rather than having to adhere to the same old story and boring audiences, in terms of movies this works well because it doesn't have to eat up too much time and allows the film to stand on it's own more as a new story featuring that hero. Of course with the likes of Luke Cage and Iron fist their series may focus more on their origins as they did not have a movie featuring them like Daredevil did.

This also leads into the pacing of the show which worked rather well, of course with movies we have around and hour and a half or two hours to get the entire plot set up and resolved while sometimes leaving some room for a sequel to be set up. With television we can take our time and while Daredevil is a shorter 13 episode show it really does seem to make use of its time having the story slowly unfold and showing the progression of the character as he builds himself as well as friendships around him that benefit his vigilante career. On the opposite side we see this almost untouchable Fisk at the height of his career slowly start to lose his grip as enemies conspire against him and our protagonists close in on him.

In terms of the casting and characters I generally can't complain I find Charlie Cox to be a great Matt Murdock and while portraying a man who seems to be disabled he really does bounce off the other cast members with witty comments and comedic timing, In the Daredevil roll I feel he also works well as he can portray this angry character who will do whatever he can to help his city without going to Christian Bale levels of trying to be this intimidating character. I feel like Cox relies on his mostly calm portrayal to put the fear into his enemies until he really has to turn up the heat. The fact that he can put this across while only having half of his face visible half the time is fantastic, although I don't feel it works as well when he gets his proper costume later on.

I also really enjoyed Elden Henson as Foggy, I believe he works so well as a comedic relief and as a close friend to Murdock, the way they bounce off one anther is great and the emotion between the two during episode 10 where Foggy finds out Daredevils identity really shows how close they really are. We see a friend worried about his 'blind' business partner and best friend along with the state he has found him in after an intense battle with Nobu. I felt the flashbacks to when the characters first met in this episode were hilarious at times and a nice change of pace to the violence and more action orientated scenes of the series.

Now Vincent D'Onofrio as Fisk is an overall amazing presence in the show and quite possibly one of the best representations of a Marvel villain we've had on our screen in some time. Fisk is presented quite well at first as this charismatic guy who loves art and even the odd flirt with the right woman, but we soon see a much more darker side to him when he begins to cave in the head of a man who 'embarrassed' him while he is on a date. We slowly see why this man is so revered and respected in the criminal underworld as well as seeing how manipulative he can be when he begins to play other gangs off against Daredevil by making them believe he was the one to kill certain members.

D'Onofrio plays both the respectable and the villainous sides of Fisk so incredibly well and while his attempts at romance can be a little cringe worthy at times overall we see a complex man with a motive not dissimilar to Daredevils, the cleaning up of the city, it's just the way in which the characters attempt to do it that differs.

Moving back to the brief flashback aspect of the show I feel like a lot of flashbacks in some series feel forced and are just used to eat up time but in this series they really matter to the overall development of the characters, such as Matts training, his time with his father and his opening up to Foggy. I feel that because these are split in to different episodes it honestly makes me care more about the character, I would hate to have all this spill into one origin episode.

This show in many ways does feel like Marvels take on Batman in that it focus' on a man with pretty basic 'powers' who wants to turn his city into a positive place free from the crime that has become rampant over time, both will do whatever it takes to combat these crimes but also stick to a strict code that they will not kill a criminal, which in Matt's case is more due to him being a man of the law. Both seem to go by the 'this is my city' mentality in that they are a lone protector, which is strange in Daredevils case seeing as he shares the city with not only some of the Avengers but soon the likes of the Defenders.

The more I think about it this series is almost like Batman Year One, in which we see the beginnings of Batman but more so his training and first few attempts at becoming a vigilante, in this comic there are no real villains other than common criminals and a few key characters surrounding the situation This series is the same, it's the beginnings of Daredevils career and doesn't delve to deep in to his rogues gallery, choosing to focus more on common criminals and a few gangs. Now while I have never read a Daredevil comic in my life I do read a lot of Batman and I'm aware that Frank Miller, who did some of the best Batman stories including Year One but before this he worked on Daredevil so perhaps this is why there are a lot of similarities between to two over the years.

What I really enjoy about the Daredevil character is that he is a lot more grounded, he doesn't have a power on the level of the likes of the Hulk or Thor and he doesn't deal with the threats they do and I feel this makes him a lot more human, even more so than the likes of Tony Stark. He can't easily take out a bunch of enemies, he even has a lot of trouble against some of them and when he gets hurt, he really gets hurt which we can see an example of during episode two when he fights against a large number of enemies whilst being highly fatigued.

We see this character progress both mentally and physically throughout the show but what I really enjoyed was how he progresses visually. In a world where people are already aware of these flashy superheroes and their eye-catching outfits it was quite funny to see people comment Daredevils first costume saying it sucks or even leaves him open for certain attacks. Towards the climax of the show we see him take on this advice and don a costume a lot more similar to what we'd expect although it is a little more practical with some armour plating here and there.

During the beginning of his career we see Daredevil become quite sadistic in the way he deals with criminals, he really doesn't seem to give a shit what happens to them as long as they live, it's almost as if he enjoys the pain he gives to criminals, which he shows by throwing people off of buildings or even impaling them. This is one of the aspects of the show that makes it stand out more compared to the rest of the universe it's set in. The show really does not shy away from brutal beatings and some gore, especially when Fisk is involved.

Honestly there was not too much I did not enjoy about this series, but this is not to say it is perfect. I did find some issue with the character of Karen Page, I thought she was alright in the first few episodes but slowly found her annoying over time, I felt like she could be removed altogether and have Foggy fill her role somewhat and it wouldn't take anything away from the series, she just felt like our bridge into the Ben Urich Character.

As much as I enjoyed Vincent D'Onofrio in his portrayal of Fisk I did find the focus on him and Vanessa a bit much, I understand it's to show everyone has a weak point and that he could be this nice guy on the outside but remain the same man he has always been on the inside but I just found the scenes with them both in to be almost like a goofy nerd who has never spoken to a woman in his life just falling over himself, desperately trying to impress. I found myself laughing at him in these scenes more than anything, but again I don't know much about the character outside of the old Spiderman cartoon so perhaps I'm just not informed enough about how he usually acts around Vanessa in the comics.

In all, Daredevil is a fantastic series that delves into the darker tones of the Marvel universe and is not something you'd really expect given the track record of the other Marvel TV series Agents of Shield. While this does rely on the cinematic universe for its setting it quickly becomes its own thing which doesn't need to rely on goofy references every few minutes like Gotham. In fact id argue this could be a great starting point to that universe as you really do not need to know anything before going in to it, perhaps this would be perfect for those who dislike the movies but still like the characters.

Having the show avalible on Netflix you could easily watch the entire series at any point you wish and with a second series announced already for 2016 it's clear these new batch of shows being produced are on the right tracks and may even begin to rival the cinematic universe itself in terms of popularity, I really cannot wait to see where they go next with Jessica Jones which I believe is being filmed at the moment, it's clear the bar has now been set high.