*This series is rated TV-MA*
Broadcasting Station: Netflix
Number of Episodes: 13
Official Synopsis: "Marvel's Daredevil" is a live action series that follows the journey of attorney Matt Murdock, who in a tragic accident was blinded as a boy but imbued with extraordinary senses. Murdock sets up practice in his old neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen, New York where he now fights against injustice as a respected lawyer by day and masked vigilante at night.
Official Trailer
STEPH SAID
Rating:
Review:
Daredevil is definitely good. But, is it the best superhero series out there? Not really.
First of all, the exposition of the first two episodes is terrible. If I hadn't been able to binge watch the series, I woudn't have watch it until the end. The first two episide have Matt and Foggy forcibly talking, and explaining their situation, to many different people in order set the scene. Also, we get to see scenes from Matt's past that help set the scene: his relationship with his father, how was his life without his mother, and how he adjusted to his knew blind life. However, in the first two episodes, and most of the third one, we don't have any clue about how Matt does what he does. If the audience doesn't know anything about Daredevil the character, they can think Matt can actually see and is just deceiving everybody. That makes it a little harder to relate to him as a person. Likewise, we don't know why he decided to become a vigilante, how he learned martial arts (his father is a boxer), what happened to Matt after his father died, or what happened to his mother. We don't even know who the villain is. So, in the beginning it is really hard to follow and enjoy the story due to all the unanswered questions.
On top of that, Karen is unbearable throughout all the series. She has this savior/spy complex. She believes she can take down an ubber rich/drug dealing/ trigger happy/ police controlling unknown mafia overlord all by herself. He controls the media, the police, the justice system, but she still believes she can write a pice of news and his whole kingdom will come crumbling down. In the end, I was even happy when one of the characters died because of her contant pestering. I thought she will finally understand who she is up against.
The series took off after the third episode, and the story began to unravel. We met all the villains, and find out about their collective plan. We, too, learned enough about Matt to relate to him. That's when the series draws the audience in, when it becomes very interesting. I appreciated how the main villain seem to be one step ahead of Matt all the time, yet he is the one damaging himself. He is the one that narrows the circle of villains and the circle of people who trust him. Though, that means that Daredevil didn't do as much to take down Kingpin as Kingpin did to himself. I also enjoyed the character Kingpin, his background story, and how he belives he is doing the right thing. In fact, in the beginning of the series Kingpin and Daredevil both stood on the same ground, for the same goal: to make Hell's Ktchen better. It wasn't until more than halfway through the series that Kingpin actually become the villain. That made it a little harder to see Daredevil as the “hero” and Kingpin as the “villain”.
If that weren't enough, the ending was anticlimatic; I didn't like it at all. It wastes two-thirds of its time in a legal battle, trying to teach the message that in the end legal justice is the best course of action, which contradicts Daredevil's core beliefs. Then, the series does yet another 180 degrees flip when Matt decides that the enforcement of the law is not enough, just as he already believed up to episode nine. On top of that, some personal relationships get a rushed make-up, so we could have a small scene of everyone happily drinking on the same table. And that is not all, because, in addition, the scene is not set for the next season. I don't know what to expect for season two of Daredevil.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the overall story quite a lot, mostly because of Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock and Toby Leonard Moore's Wesley. Both actors carry the weight of the series and move it forward, specially during the first half of the season. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have continued watching the series. Additionally, the fights! We definitelly need more three-minute-one-shot fights! The only thing that dampened my enjoyement of the series as a whole is Karen. Everything else on this review I can overlook. If I were to rationally and mathematically rate this season, the outcome would have been definitelly lower. But, I love Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and this darker take, along with Cox's performance (not the production of the series) makes him justice. Thus, the four stars.
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