Daredevil Review

Denisa and I finished the first season of Daredevil the other night. We’d really been enjoying it, but I wanted to wait until I was through with the whole thing before I gave my final verdict, one way or another.

I loved it, over all.

What excites me the most with what Marvel is doing with their television shows is that it has the potential for long running, intersecting stories. A mirror of comic books, but on television. Yes, they’ve done that with film, but I feel like tv series are a better fit for the format. They can develop the characters much more deeply in 13 hours per “book” than 2 hours per “book.” if that makes sense. And if they actually do a good job with it . . .

Exciting times.

What did I like about this series in particular? The story was pretty compact and tight. The characters were well depicted and complex. People don’t do things for random reasons. They don’t always do the predictable thing, either. I love it when a show can surprise me, and Daredevil managed to do that a few times. Another big plus is that consequences matter in the show, and they come quick and often. One of the things that turned me off from Burn Notice was the fact that the show just fell into too much of a routine. Each episode, you’d have the main characters help someone in need, and then get dribbled out a little bit of new information concerning the big plot.

Watch it long enough, and you start to realize the big plot is just one big tease. All questions were answered with more questions, and it took forever to do so.

That’s not the case with Daredevil, and thank goodness.

Now, the series wasn’t perfection. It’s a bloody show, no doubt about it. That might turn some people off. I personally wish they had kept it to a TV-14 rating, instead of TV-MA, but the good news is they didn’t throw in the random sex and other garbage Netflix and HBO have proved fond of in the past. So that’s something.

Ironically, the other thing I had a hard time swallowing was the final reveal of Daredevil’s outfit. (I don’t think I’m spoiling anything here, since it’s all over the Netflix promos for the show.) So much of the series takes place in gritty reality that when Matt Murdock finally puts on the costume, he seems almost comical. It was a bit too over the top, and it felt out of place in the show. Strange, I know. But there it is.

Still, the show’s proven itself capable of handling the material well, and I imagine this is something I’ll get over with more seasons and more familiarity with the character.

Really, if you’re looking for a great way to spend 13 hours of your life, this is a good show to check out. A bit more mature than what I’d show my kids, but right in line with other Marvel movies. In other words, don’t let the TV-MA rating turn you off this one. If you enjoyed The Avengers, you’ll enjoy this. It’s darker, grittier, and there’s a bit more of the red stuff, but it’s a solid first foray into Netflix series for Marvel.