Netflix Wows With ‘Daredevil’ (TV Review)

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It was an alliance almost too tantalizing for words when the announcement was first made. Netflix—quickly establishing themselves as the kings of high quality, beyond the pale content—struck a deal with Marvel—a company who rocketed back from the brink of bankruptcy to become a billion plus dollar a year enterprise, as well as the standard bearer of superhero entertainment—to produce five interconnected shows that took place within the highly acclaimed Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anticipation has been building for well over a year now, as fans debated the pros and cons of such a lofty enterprise. On the one hand, Marvel’s movies are known for their wild popularity, with each new release seemingly breaking all records and crushing all expectations. On the other, there was some mild trepidation about the entire enterprise as many fans still had a sour taste in their mouth over the perceived slowness of Marvel’s flagship TV effort Agents of SHIELD’s first season.

Naysayers were unassuaged as news trickled out that the first of Marvel’s Netflix offerings was to be Daredevil, a popular comic character previously brought to life by a much maligned 2003 movie starring Ben Affleck. The cinematic version of Daredevil was so bad that, over a decade (and one Oscar) later, Affleck has yet to live it down. The difference between now and then, of course, is now Marvel has full control over the character, as opposed to then, when live action rights were owned and controlled by Fox. Still, despite their reputation for staying true to their IP in their productions, pessimists across the net fretted over whether or not even Marvel could redeem the character from the sins of its celluloid counterpart. They hemmed and they hawed and they doubted, right up until Daredevil’s premiere on the streaming service last Friday.

Then, within roughly about three minutes of starting the first episode, those fears were washed away entirely. It only takes about that long to see that Marvel and Netflix not only mean serious business, they intend on kicking ass while conducting it.

For those not in the know, Daredevil follows the adventures of Matthew Murdock (played by Charlie Cox), a low level defense attorney working out of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen who, by night, takes to the street as the costumed vigilante Daredevil. He also happens to be totally blind. Relying on heightened senses that allow him a sort of “SONAR vision” of the world, Murdock embarks on a singular mission to rid his city of the wretched and villainous which plague it.

Set in a world that saw New York City nearly destroyed by an alien invasion (see The Avengers, true believers!) after being ravaged by a street brawl between two genetically altered super beasts (The Incredible Hulk) Daredevil remains shockingly grounded in its ambition and scope. The series finds Murdock at the beginning of both of his careers. He’s just starting his law practice, along with his best friend and business partner Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), while taking his first steps into the shoes as protector of Hell’s Kitchen. Both ventures lead Murdock towards uncovering a vast criminal conspiracy led by Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk (the always amazing Vincent D’Onofrio).

Daredevil marks some serious changes to the tone of Marvel’s typical output. While all of the movies and shows produced by them so far have had a glossy, fantastic façade, Daredevil is as dark and gritty as a secluded New York City alleyway. Though the movies have always been violent, there’s always been an element of fantasy involved that you could separate yourself from and the blood was sparse if present at all. Not so with Daredevil. Bones are broken with impunity, the protruding fragments eliciting screams of pain from characters as the audience recoils in shock. Eyes are gouged, heads are lost, and the blood flows freely. Surprisingly, all of this works. Despite being as diametrically opposed to “the Marvel feel” as you can possibly get, it still manages to feel like Marvel.

On top of that, showrunners Drew Goddard and Steven S. DeKnight (both former underlings of Avengers director Joss Whedon back in his Buffy and Angel days) have crafted a beautifully tense and action packed story that builds and builds until the final showdown between Daredevil and Fisk. Each episode adds to the mystery and intrigue, creating a vast tapestry that’s impossible to turn your eyes from. In typical Netflix fashion, there are no stand-alone episodes and the format is such that binging is not only encouraged, but preferable.

Of course, the show itself is not stand alone; in addition to being a new and integral part of the ever expanding MCU, it’s also the set up for the next major coup for both Marvel and Netflix. Daredevil introduces the world to Marvel’s vision of Hell’s Kitchen, a setting to be explored later in three additional shows (AKA Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist) all of which will crossover in the Netflix miniseries event The Defenders. Much like Marvel did with Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers series, they’re clearly playing the long-con with this. Plot points are introduced and left hanging, presumably to be resolved in later chapters in the MCU Hell’s Kitchen saga. The result, like their movies, feels as much like reading comics as you can get with live action.

To that end, Daredevil manages to establish this corner of the MCU beautifully. The characters come alive, thanks to amazing performances from all involved. D’Onofrio, especially, gives a shocking, nuanced performance that tops almost anything he’s done in at least the last decade. His Fisk is all at once quietly subdued and intensely terrifying, and the actor moves between the two states with ease, often at the drop of a hat. He manages to straddle the line between horrifically brutal and emotionally relatable. There’s a greyness to his character and his performance that is indicative of the entire series. While he’s very clearly the antagonist, as well as a very bad man, there’s a kind of logic to his approach that forces you to wonder if his motivations and intentions aren’t actually pure. The same can be said for Murdock, who while clearly the good guy, often does very bad things in his pursuit of justice.

The moral greyness of Daredevil is something that has always been present in the comics but hasn’t yet been fully explored within the MCU. This dynamic has the potential to breathe new life into the series while introducing the world to new characters who might not be able to hold their own in the confines of a full movie. While we cannot yet say whether or not the follow up series and concluding crossover will be able to maintain the level of quality and badassery introduced in Daredevil, there’s no reason to think that Netflix or Marvel will let us down. Time will tell on that front, but for now, at the very least, Daredevil has been redeemed.

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