A Spoiler Free Look At "The Defenders"

The Defenders (2017)

TV-MA

Starring Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, Finn Jones, Elodie Yung, Jessica Henwick, Scott Glenn, Simone Missick, Eldon Henson, Wai Ching Ho, Rosario Dawson,

Created by Douglas Petrie & Marco Ramirez

The Story:

The Hand has used the last of their mysterious life restoring energy to resurrect Elektra from the dead. With her leading the charge, their goal is to retrieve the Iron Fist to unlock an ancient door and give The Hand the ultimate power. The downside, opening that door will cause the total destruction of New York City. Looks like the heroes of New York will need to band together and save the day.

Now that is more like it.

8 episodes.

Very little drag to them at all.

Not as much time for redundancy and stalling as the tale needs to be told and finished with far fewer episodes than the Netflix series have previously enjoyed.

And it shows.

The first 2 episodes cut back and forth between Jessica Jones (Ritter), Luke Cage (Colter), Daredevil (Cox) and Iron Fist (Jones) and the members of their supporting cast who will be seen briefly in The Defenders.

I would argue if you've not seen, or didn't care for certain characters, this is the show for you that will give them a chance to shine and change your opinion on them.

The weak link is still Iron Fist, but the show acknowledges that, and actually spotlights that this is kind of the point.

He's still "a kid" in theory. He's learning the ropes as a superhero who has been handed a ton of responsibility in life and realizes he's already failed at just about everything he was born to do.

Everything wraps up fairly nicely and sends the heroes back to their own shows, ready to hit the ground running.

There are also a few surprises and changes for some characters along the way as well.

Finally, once you've completed episode 8, stick around after the credits for a trailer for Marvel's next Netflix Original.

Final Grade: A-

The Universe Expands..."Daredevil: Season 2"

Daredevil: Season 2 (2016)

TV-MA

Starring Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Royce Johnson, Jon Bernthal, Elodie Yung, Scott Glenn

Created by Drew Goddard

The Story:

With Wilson Fisk (D'Onofrio) behind bars, you would think life in Hell's Kitchen would slow down. However, there's a new crazy in town, killing bad guys and making a name for himself as The Punisher (Bernthal). Matt (Cox) will have to suit up as Daredevil to try and bring him down before the entire city is bathed in blood. If that wasn't going to be difficult enough, there's another blast from Matt's past just around the corner as Elektra (Yung) comes calling.

Another solid season in the books for Netflix and Marvel.

While there is still some pacing issues that feel like 8-10 solid episodes drag out to 12, it's a bit better this go-round.

I'd even go so far as to say the first 4 episodes are must-see, dynamic storytelling at its finest.

There is a beginning, middle and end to the story that flows just like a perfect comic book story arc.

The problem, once Elektra arrives on the scene, I began to lose interest.

Truth be told, I was never really a fan, and I think I mentioned before that I've never truly cared for Daredevil.

The focus in the storyline shifts, and takes away from the entire Punisher storyline.

I was greatly disappointed that the trial, which could have been 4 riveting episodes on their own felt rushed and shortchanged.

Foggy (Henson) is being criminally underused in the series when he is the glue that holds the show together.

They could have easily worked the trial for 4 episodes, and then put the final 4 episodes on Castle in prison doing what he needs to do to survive and get close to Fisk.

Then you end the season by getting Frank out of jail which leaves the rest of the Elektra story for season 3, and continue Frank's tale in his own series, which thankfully is going to happen.

I'm still not the biggest fan of Karen Page (Woll) but making her a journalist is a great change of pace and one that shakes up the dynamic.

Much like Jessica Jones, I'm really more interested in the supporting cast than the main character.

Because when you pull back from the show and judge it from a distance, Matt Murdock is possibly the biggest jerk in the Marvel Universe right now.

He does what he wants, when he wants to, consequences and friendships be damned.

Plus, I'm willing to suspend belief on what Daredevil can do.

But when he becomes the ultimate super-ninja of all time...

Yeah, I hated that in the comics and it drives me batty on this show as well.

So critical of a show I can't wait to see Season 3 from, right?

:)

Final Grade: A-

Because The Internet Demanded One More Review For "Daredevil"

Daredevil (2015)

TV-MA

Starring Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Vincent D'Onofrio,

Created by Drew Goddard

The Story:

Matt Murdock (Cox) was blinded as a youth. Years later, the blind lawyer hopes to make a difference by defending the defenseless in Hell's Kitchen, New York. He does this by day with his lawyer partner, Foggy Nelson (Henson). However by night, Mr. Murdock has a secret. He's the crime-fighting vigilante known as Daredevil.

This is his story.

:: insert Law & Order bomp bomp here::

So a while back, Marvel announced they were partnering with Netflix to bring some of their 2nd or 3rd tier characters to the small screen.

Guardians of the Galaxy hadn't hit yet.

Agents of Shield was doing so-so in the ratings.

Perhaps this was a chance for Marvel to recoup what was looking to be a dismal future?

Hahahhaha....

Hardly.

Instead, it stands as the latest stroke of genius from the House of Ideas.

Those that know me, and my love of Marvel comics, also know that I have no love for Matt Murdock.

Daredevil is a comic that I can read for an issue, maybe 3-4 tops before I simply cringe and throw it away.

He's a preposterous character. 

He's been portrayed as the quippy-jokester... well, that's Spidey's gig.

He's the bad-ass vigilante... Batman's been there, done that.

And really, a blind lawyer? That can only go so far in comics before the reader is bored to tears.

And no, I've never bothered with Frank Miller's take on the comic, I really don't care that much about Daredevil, in print.

So it was with a big fat, "meh", that I approached the launch of Daredevil on Netflix.

Would it be grim? Would it be gritty? Would there be humor? Would I care to finish the first episode, let alone come back for seconds?

I'm happy to report that the answer to all of those questions is, Yes!

It's dark. It's brooding. But there's a light touch of humor laying over the cast which makes the show quite entertaining.

They could have easily left out the naughty language and toned back the violence if they wanted to grab the mainstream superhero audience, but they opted not to.

That could be a genius move on the part of Marvel and Netflix.

Wait, what? Comic movies aren't just for kids?

Nope, these are the Walking Dead-ish Superhero shows for adults who don't want to watch superhero movies.

They walk a nice line between Law & DisOrder. You get Murdock as lawyer, then you'll get a bit of Murdock as vigilante.

It's a nice balance, and they show never stays too much on either, nor do they seemingly shortchange the other part of the story.

All this being said, I've only watched the first episode. I'm not a big fan of binge watching, I like to take my time and enjoy what I'm seeing. I'm in no hurry.

Cox is great in the role. Looking over his roles, I'd have to say this is probably the first time I've ever seen him. He's great, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table in future episodes.

Heck, I haven't even seen the villain yet, but you feel the gravitas that they've given D'Onofrio for the role.

Looking forward to the remaining 12 episodes.

All in good time.

Final Grade: A-