Finished binge watching Season One of Daredevil and it was pretty good. Maybe not as good as the generous praise that is being heaped on it all over the Internet but very well made, like a long film (which is the Netflix and AMC trademark) rather than an episodic TV show.
What I liked about it
Vincent D’Onofrio’s performance as Wilson Fisk
the Kingpin (although that name is never used) is the best performance I’ve
ever seen by an actor as a comic book villain.
His performance is deep and complicated and full of dimensions. This is a real human being with all the
feelings and foibles and complexities.
The overall look of the show is great – dark,
gritty, full of dirt under the fingernails.
Tthe fight scenes are some of
the best I’ve ever seen in a TV show.
There are so many but I would single out the fight in the hallway in episode
two as particularly amazing.
All of the supporting characters from the
comic book – Foggy Nelson, Karen Page, Ben Urich, Vanessa, Stick - have their
essence captured by good performances, faithful renderings.
What I didn’t like
Like I said D’Onofrio’s performance as Fisk is
excellent but physically his dimensions are bit off. The Kingpin is not just a tall bald guy. He’s a massive giant. D’Onofrio should have added a hundred pounds
or worn a fat suit. The wrestler King
Kong Bundy is how I see the Kingpin.
Daredevils’s power in the show is shown to be enhanced
senses – smell, hearing, touch, taste etc. but he also uses echolocation like a
bat which the show didn’t make clear. In
addition, showing what Daredevil sees as a “world on fire” makes
absolutely no sense. Dardevil’s line of vision looks like this http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/3/36257/2867875-daredevil_022_zone_008.jpg
Other potential super villains such as Leland
Owsley (The Owl) and Melvin Potter (the Gladiator) appear in their human
identity but the Kingpin is the only major villain for the whole season. I think they should have added in one or two
more villains. Hopefully, they will do this in the second season.
I loved the red outfit but it
doesn’t appear until halfway through the last episode. I would have liked to have seen it more.
Overall, some of the episodes
felt a bit padded. Could have done with less
priest conversations (one or two would have been enough) as well as the whiny
what happened to us? dialogue between Matt, Foggy, and Karen in the later episodes.
Not sure what the point is of
this being in the same movie universe as The Avengers. They hardly mentioned other heroes (I counted three mentions) and
when they are it’s in euphemisms like “The
Incident” or as jokes. If there were
superheroes around, you’d think people would talk about them more.
Still, it’s an impressively
put together story. I think The Flash is
a better adaptation (even though it’s not as good as a comic book or character)
because it understands the possibilities of episodic TV and has a multitude of interesting villains
but Daredevil is still worth watching.
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