!!!SPOILER FREE!!!
The best thing I saw last week was the Netflix Original Series Daredevil. The Flash is still the funnest comic book TV show on the air right now, but it may no longer be the best. My weekend binge of Daredevil by the ultra talented Drew Goddard, of Buffy and Cabin in the Woods, was time well spent. I took Friday off from work to get a jump on the series and ended up with me watching 5 episodes that day and hanging out with friends that night and trying not to spoil anything for them. Over the course of Saturday and Sunday I easily polished off the rest.
From the beginning I was unsure about the series after being so excited for the Daredevil movie that I found plenty to like about but the general public made a flop, I actually own 2 copies, the original in the director’s cut. The director’s cut it is actually a fantastic movie if you got the time. But after seeing Marvel’s last foray with the horned avenger I was a little bit worried with what Netflix would do with the character. Fantastic shows like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards did go a long way to calm my fears. All those worries were shockingly set aside for me during the first 3 minute sequence as Charlie Cox portrays one Matt Murdock sitting in a confessional talking to a priest. In that scene I knew Marvel had nailed another fantastic casting choice.
The show is heavily influenced by Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil The Man Without Fear, and some of the shots in the show are direct pulls from John Romita Jrs panels. And unlike the Trial of The Incredible Hulk the black suited Daredevil in this series is done extremely well, it’s actually some type of Under Armor with red piping, very stylish. More importantly they do the head wrap in a way that comes across as realistic and believable.
And speaking of realistic, the number one best thing about this show – the fighting. The fight choreographer for this show should be handed an Emmy right now. It is so good it’s hard to even explain until you see it. Our hero goes through rooms filled with bad guys in well thought out sequences filled with great camera shots and never once that I can remember does he lay some guy out with one super powered punch. This Daredevil is human, and he fights humans, and the guys he’s beating on get up after he knocks them down. Sometimes multiple times, and they keep fighting. It’s incredibly well done. It’s worth month of Netflix just to watch one specific long drawn out camera shot fight scene, you’ll know it when you see it.
Overall it feels like a well written TV drama and not a superhero show, which is where I think they got it right. Instead of bringing the Daredevil comic to life they brought a story to life that takes place in Daredevils world. So fantastic acting form a killer cast, I mean really look at that IMDB page, it’s ridiculous. Great sets, impressive wardrobe, well timed stories, and the best fighting out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. And yes that includes Captain America Winter Soldier. Go, binge, you deserve it. You can thank me later.
