Marvel's Daredevil (2015): Season Review

(WARNING: Potentially Minor Spoilers Ahead! Don’t worry, I won’t give away ‘too much’)

In 2003, Marvel made its first major attempt to bring the character of Daredevil to the big screen. But ultimately, the 2003 film ‘Daredevil’ starring Ben Affleck in the title role of Matt Murdock AKA Daredevil, ‘The Man without Fear’, ended up becoming one of the most hated superhero films of the pre-MCU superhero film era… at least amongst the people of the internet. A few weeks ago, I went on record stating that I didn’t ‘hate’ the film. I’m not saying that it was a ‘great’ superhero film, far from it in fact, but ultimately 2003’s ‘Daredevil’ was just a case of a film that got neutered by the studio to appeal to a larger audience despite the fact that Daredevil is considered to be one of Marvel’s darker lead characters. If anything, it wasn’t 100% the fault of either Affleck or director Mark Steven Johnson. Because of the mixed-to-negative reaction, plans for a sequel fell by the wayside and Fox’s attempts to reboot the franchise ultimately didn’t pan out either. So, in 2012, the rights to the character of Daredevil returned to Marvel Studios and as a result, now we have the ‘Daredevil’ TV series, the first in a new group of shows that Marvel will produce with Netflix over the next few years centered around the characters collectively known as ‘The Defenders’. This new ‘Daredevil’ immediately makes one hell of a great impression, much more so than its 2003 film predecessor, thanks to its perfect execution of tone and atmosphere as well as a terrific cast highlighted by one of the best screen villains of recent memory.

As a kid, Hell’s Kitchen native Matt Murdock was blinded by radioactive material after he helped save a man from getting hit by a car. But while he does end up losing his vision, Matt’s other senses become more heightened and after his father, wrestler ‘Battlin’ Jack Murdock, is killed after not throwing a fight, he begins to hone his newfound abilities with an old martial artist named Stick (Scott Glenn). Years later, Matt (Charlie Cox) and his best friend Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) open up a new law firm. At night, Matt becomes ‘The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen’, a vigilante who deals with the rampant crime of the area. Matt and Foggy soon take on their first client, a young woman named Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) who finds herself caught in the middle of a pension embezzlement scheme that is going on at the company she works for. While Matt and Foggy help protect her from being prosecuted, this soon leads Matt, through his vigilante persona, to investigate further into the matter. As he deals with the various criminal gangs of Hell’s Kitchen, from the Russian mob to the Yakuza, he soon ends up crossing paths with the one who’s really behind it all, businessman Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) who has plans for Hell’s Kitchen that Matt, Karen, Foggy, and many others soon find themselves roped into. 

Right off the bat, I can tell you that this is nothing like the 2003 ‘Daredevil’ in that it’s not a toned-down PG-13 affair; this show is rated TV-MA for a reason. It’s much darker in tone and far more violent than anything we’ve seen from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But at the same time, it’s not 100% dark to the point where it starts to become way too unpleasant to watch. Amidst all of the violence and darkness of the plot, the series still manages to lighten things up at just the right times, namely through the solid camaraderie between Matt and Foggy. I’ve talked before about my apprehension towards DC’s alleged ‘no joke’ mandate for their upcoming slate of films and if that ends up being the case, then DC should really take notes because this show, along with Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy, are prime examples of how you can do a more serious superhero film/TV series without being ‘too grim’, which I feel that DC went a little too far with when they made ‘Man of Steel’. Along with that, the show does a nice job in terms of pacing as it doesn’t rush into things too fast. It takes its time in order to develop the plot and characters. I guess you can say that’s the advantage that TV shows have over films in that they’re not constricted by having to get everything across in just around two hours.

The action sequences are quite excellent, with probably the best of the bunch being the one near the end of Episode 2, when Daredevil fights off a Russian gang in order to save a young boy that they’ve kidnapped. The whole fight sequence is done in a single long take which, if I’m right, we’ve never really seen before from superhero films. And keeping in line with the show’s darker tone and TV-MA rating, they’re much more brutal than what we’ve seen from the MCU films. When characters are injured, you hear the bones crack when they’re hit, giving you a clear idea of what just happened to them. You see the bloodshed whenever someone gets stabbed or slashed. And boy let me tell you, some of the deaths in this show are brutal, particularly in Episodes 3 and 4, without giving away any of the details about how they happen. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see action sequences as brutal as these in the MCU films but that’s okay because I prefer the films stay that way anyway. But suffice it to say if you are looking for a darker/more violent superhero property then you’ll definitely gravitate towards this series. I’m not one of those people who feel that a lot of these superhero films are all just the same but at the same time I will admit that this series does provide a nice bit of variety when compared to most superhero films due to it being much more adult.

With no offense to Ben Affleck, Charlie Cox immediately establishes himself as the superior Daredevil. In the role of the first major anti-hero of the MCU, Cox does a great job at capturing Matt Murdock’s moral turmoil as he constantly tries to justify to both those around him and even himself that what he’s doing is right. Backing Cox up are Woll and Henson as Karen Page and Foggy Nelson, two roles that, in this series, are expanded upon much more than what one might expect from this kind of show. If this show had gone another way, these two characters probably would’ve been nothing more than just the helpless damsel in distress and the goofy sidekick, respectively. But thankfully that’s not the case here as Karen and Foggy are just as fleshed out in terms of character development as much as Matt. Karen, as soon as she gets caught up in the main conflict of the series, gets involved with it just as much as Matt, without the whole ‘vigilante’ thing of course. And while Foggy definitely is the primary source of comic relief for the series, that’s not all there is to his character. One of the most crucial episodes of the series is Episode 10, aptly titled ‘Nelson v. Murdock’, in which a big reveal (don’t worry, no spoilers) at the end of the previous episode results in Foggy and Matt coming to odds over recent events. Overall, the series has a rock solid cast from top to bottom.

Ultimately, however, the biggest stand-out of the cast is easily Vincent D’Onofrio, who’s perfectly cast in the role of Wilson Fisk AKA Kingpin in the comics. In fact, I’m just going to say it; he’s the best villain that Marvel Studios has had to date, even better than everyone’s favorite villain Loki. Fisk, as D’Onofrio portrays him, is a truly fascinating main villain and is set up pretty well in that regard. Heck, he doesn’t even appear on screen until the end of the third episode, though he does make a brief vocal appearance in the first episode. A lot of times, he’s very soft-spoken but when he gets angry, that’s where you really don’t want to mess with him. That soft-spoken nature, along with the numerous times he tells people that sometimes he feels ‘alone’, definitely must’ve come from the character’s troubled past. And that troubled past is the focal point of what is, in my opinion, the best episode of this season, Episode 8, in which we see how Fisk truly became the person he is today. In some ways, there are times where we even pity Fisk, like when he tries to navigate through a relationship with his girlfriend Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) and we see how much that relationship affects him. The end result is an extremely well-layered main villain and I hope that Fisk might get the chance to appear in a future MCU film.

At this point in time, I’d argue that Marvel is now officially on DC’s level when it comes to Grade-A superhero TV series. After a rocky start, one that I still stand behind as being better than what most give it credit for, ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ has now really stood out as far as these shows go thanks in no small part to the big HYDRA reveal of ‘Winter Soldier’. Earlier this year, we then got a kick-ass period comic book show with a terrific female lead in the form of ‘Agent Carter’. And now, we can officially add ‘Daredevil’ to this mix of great Marvel shows. Unlike the last major adaptation of ‘Daredevil’, this version stays much more true to its comic book roots and, unlike its MCU film brethren, isn’t afraid to be more brutal in terms of violence and darker in tone. Thankfully, unlike something like ‘Man of Steel’, this show doesn’t go 100% dark and effectively lightens up the darker ordeals of the story at just the right moments. It’s all topped off by a terrific ensemble cast highlighted by Charlie Cox’s definitive portrayal of Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio’s outstanding turn as the Kingpin, a villain so great he even gives Loki a run for his money as the MCU’s greatest antagonist to date. Marvel Studios is off to a great start with these Netflix-produced TV shows and hopefully we’ll get to see another season of this fantastic TV show (not counting the definite future appearances of Daredevil in the other series).

Season Rating: 5/5!

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) review

Marvel Studios has made quite a few notable risky ventures in regards to establishing their Cinematic Universe. Heck, the very idea alone of a shared Cinematic Universe for all of Marvel’s superheroes was incredibly risky because at the time when the first ‘Iron Man’ film was released, nothing like that had really ever been done before. Not only that, but the studio didn’t have the rights to some of the company’s most popular characters, like Spider-Man or the X-Men. So instead, they had to go with some of their lesser known heroes to headline their films. Of course as we all know, so far that plan has been very successful as the studio took the proper time to introduce the various superheroes of this world through solo films before bringing them all together for the ultimate superhero team-up film, ‘The Avengers’. And sure, some of the films that the studio has released since 2008 are better than others but so far I’d say that they have yet to make a bad film. Before ‘The Avengers’ was released, probably the riskiest solo film out of all of Marvel’s Phase One would have to have been ‘Thor’ because they had to make that whole mythical universe that the God of Thunder resided in work within the confines of what had already been established in both the first two ‘Iron Man’ films and ‘The Incredible Hulk’. But Marvel’s latest film, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, takes the cake for what is probably the riskiest project that Marvel Studios has ever done since they started back in 2008.

Why is this, you ask? Well, it’s quite simple really… when this film was first announced, how many of you actually knew who these characters were? If you didn’t know about them, then don’t worry because I was right there with you and I’m guessing that even some of the most avid comic book readers were unfamiliar with them. So who are these ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’? Well, they are a superhero team that first debuted in Marvel Comics in 1969. The team mostly appeared in a few Marvel titles alongside other heroes like Captain America and the Thing. Then, in 2008, the team was brought back again as they starred in their own series that ran for about two years. So like I said before, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is clearly Marvel Studios’ biggest gamble at this point being that it’s based off of a relatively obscure series, especially when compared to something like ‘The Avengers’. But in the end, this film does not disappoint. I assure you folks that seeing this film will be the most fun time you’ll ever have in theaters this year (at least so far). ‘Guardians’ succeeds by not only being one of the funniest films in the MCU (in fact, it could arguably even be the absolute funniest of the franchise) but also one that you find yourself really emotionally invested in, which is saying a lot considering that is one of the strangest superhero films that I’ve ever seen.

The film begins in 1988 on Earth when, following the death of his mother, a young Peter Quill is abducted by a group of space pirates known as the Ravagers, led by Yondu (Michael Rooker) (Fun Fact: in the comics, Yondu was one of the original ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ back in the 60’s), who end up taking him in as one of their own. 26 years later, Quill (Chris Pratt), who now goes by the name Star-Lord, comes across a mysterious orb-like artifact which he soon realizes is being coveted by the radical Kree Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). When Quill tries to sell it on the planet Xandar, he soon finds himself thrown in prison by the planet’s police force, the Nova Corps, along with assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana), the adopted daughter of Thanos (AKA the big purple alien seen during the end-credits of ‘Avengers’, portrayed here through motion capture by Josh Brolin) and the bounty hunter duo of Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), a genetically-engineered raccoon, and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), a humanoid-like tree creature. Realizing that Ronan will soon be after them in order to get the orb, the four of them, along with the warrior Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), who seeks vengeance against Ronan after he had killed his family, team up in order to stop Ronan before he can get his hands on the mysterious orb and use the powerful artifact that resides within it in order to destroy the galaxy.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is easily one of the funniest films of the entire MCU, which you would probably expect going in seeing how this is directed by James Gunn, who has mostly been known for the comedies that he directed, ‘Slither’ and ‘Super’. This film is chock-full of hilarious lines of dialogue many of which will definitely produce some real gut-busting laughs. Some might even catch you off-guard. But at the same time, this film is not a straight-up comedy. Like many other superhero films, it still plays things seriously when it needs to but is still loads of fun to watch which, if I haven’t already noted before, is in my opinion one of the greatest strengths of the MCU in general. Sure, these films may not be as serious in tone as the DC films but I find that because they are more light-hearted in nature, I feel that they’re a bit more accessible to general audiences. Speaking of the MCU, this film really does a great job of expanding the universe and is definitely one of the biggest MCU films to date in terms of its overall scope. It may not necessarily connect with certain characters we’ve already gotten to know like Thor or Captain America or Iron Man (which in the case of the latter is actually pretty ironic considering that at one point in the comics, Iron Man was a member of the Guardians) but the film in general still very much feels like an MCU film.

Every aspect of this film is well-executed. The action sequences are very well-done, the visual effects are top-notch, and the makeup design (particularly for the two main villains) is also really good. Of course, I can’t forget to mention the excellent soundtrack to this film which is easily one of the best soundtracks that has ever graced a superhero film. I have to say though… two aspects of this movie caught me by surprise. The first is that, despite this being a part of the MCU which is course is currently owned by Disney, this is quite arguably the most violent and adult out of all of the MCU films so far. Now for the record don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that this isn’t suitable for kids or anything because it’s still a generally light-hearted MCU film. It’s just that the action in this is more intense than some of the other MCU films and I’m pretty sure that certain jokes are going to fly over the heads of younger audience members. The other thing that I didn’t expect was the emotional resonance in this film, which I felt was done incredibly well. You do really care about the Guardians by the end of the film; sure they’re not your typical ‘superhero group’ and they are technically criminals, but at the end of the day they’re a bunch of misfits who are all just looking to belong. And I must say that a key scene near the end legitimately moved me to tears. I did not expect that to happen and because it did, I salute this film for making me so emotionally invested in the characters.  

This is also probably one of the best ensemble casts that the MCU films have ever had. The Guardians themselves have excellent camaraderie, the villains are intimidating, and the rest of the supporting cast is very good as well. While I may not have been too familiar with the character of Star-Lord before this movie came out, as soon as I saw the first trailer I could tell that Chris Pratt was perfect for the role. His charm and comedic ability shine here in the role of the Han Solo-like rogue. Zoe Saldana is also great as Gamora; she may not have as many comedic moments as the other Guardians (though I will say that she does have two very funny bits of dialogue which I won’t spoil here) because her character is more serious in nature but I did like her overall arc and how she was trying to redeem herself being that she was a daughter of Thanos. As Drax, Dave Bautista is one of the biggest surprises of the film. Even though Drax is a very serious character seeking vengeance after what Ronan did to his family, he does get some very funny lines as a result of his rather overly serious persona. Of course as expected, easily the biggest standouts of the group are Rocket and Groot. Both Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel really get into their respective roles and there’s some pretty nice contrast going on between Groot’s innocent nature and Rocket’s more ferocious attitude.  

As for the villains, I have heard quite a lot of people say that they’re the weakest leak of the film (which, according to critics, is sort of becoming a common trend in the MCU). However, I found myself really liking both of the main villains. As the main villain Ronan, Lee Pace does a really nice job here. The makeup design for his character is phenomenal (making Pace quite unrecognizable in the role) and I do feel that Pace had a really nice intimidating presence that works really well here. If anything, I think he’s a much better villain than Malekith from ‘Thor: The Dark World’, who I still think is the weakest villain to date in the entire MCU. Equally excellent here is Karen Gillan as Nebula, Ronan’s main ally who, like Gamora, is an adopted daughter of Thanos. I felt that her character was a bit more interesting than Ronan given the whole ‘sister rivalry’ between her and Gamora (given that Thanos preferred Gamora over her) and, like Pace, Gillan also really had a nice menacing presence in the role (for her first major villain role, she handles it really well). However, I do wish that she had more to do in this because for the first half of the film, she’s mostly just stuck on the sidelines. Even with that said, all of her scenes in the second half of the film (along with all that I just said about her character) help make up for that. Her fight scene near the end with Gamora in particular is one of the highlights of the entire film.

Marvel Studios, I salute you, because you now have my complete faith in whatever you do from now on. That’s because you managed to take a relatively obscure group of characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy and use them to make one of the best films in the MCU. It’s certainly one of the funniest MCU films to date but it’s also a superhero film with quite a lot of emotional resonance, which I wasn’t really expecting. In all my years, I’d never thought that I would ever say what I’m about to say right now but it’s true. I became emotionally invested in a film that features a talking raccoon and a tree creature who can only say ‘I am Groot’. That just shows how great of a film this really is With a top-notch cast, phenomenal direction from James Gunn, great action sequences and visual effects, and most importantly a great sense of fun (something that the MCU has very much been known for), ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is easily one of the best MCU films so far. I don’t know if I’d say it’s the absolute best (that and I need to see this film again, which I most certainly will) but it’s certainly near the top of the list.

Rating: 5/5!

(P.S. Make sure to stay through the credits, which of course you should know to do by now given that this is an MCU film. But I say this especially in regards to this one because of what will go down as one of the most random and yet rather awesome cameos ever. I won’t even dare spoil it here.)