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Daredevil on Netflix - it is awesome!


evil_bryan

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After a couple of late nights, I was able to finish the first series last night.

 

The show is as perfect as it could be. It was well cast, well written and the visual style was gritty and believable.

 

I read a comment by a reviewer that Daredevil was the best super hero show on TV. After finishing the series, I would certainly agree.

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I wouldn't say it's the best.  I find that the writing is OK, the acting is also "OK" and it tries to take itself very seriously.  I will also say that one of the things I do like (mostly because it isn't following DC's lead) is that it seems to be interwoven into the MCU.  

 

However, while I'm only a couple of episodes in, I find it on part with Arrow, and that's a good thing.  But good lord, the stills I've seen of his actual suit... that frightens me.  Because it's awful.

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I wouldn't say it's the best.  I find that the writing is OK, the acting is also "OK" and it tries to take itself very seriously.  I will also say that one of the things I do like (mostly because it isn't following DC's lead) is that it seems to be interwoven into the MCU.  

 

However, while I'm only a couple of episodes in, I find it on part with Arrow, and that's a good thing.  But good lord, the stills I've seen of his actual suit... that frightens me.  Because it's awful.

we can always count on you to give us the straight talk.

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I don't pull punches :)

 

Seriously, for a "superhero" series, it's certainly on par with Arrow (Haven't watched Flash, so I can't comment on that).  I'll be able to render more of a verdict but the outfit?

 

Yikes.  Should stick with the black, it's nice to see super heroes without tailors...

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I'm only 5 episodes in...but if anything, this is far better than Arrow as it does not have near the "annoying" costars...no Thea and no Laurel's in this show, that makes it way better than Arrow :)

 

I keep hoping for Laurel and Thea to get killed so they are no longer on the show :) Bring the mom back, she was way cooler!

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Hah, Daredevil has it's annoying characters, like, the secretary and Foggy is up and down.  I really like Ulrich, and the nurse, but Rosario Dawson is a great actress.  I think Matt was very well cast, but there's so much of what I'd just call TV people.  The writing is OK, and to be honest, I think the Kingpin is very much not entirely like the comic, as he seems almost paralyzed by social situations.  Of course, he's only been in for one episode right now, but he seems not like the Kingpin to me.

 

However, I'm enjoying the show, but I just think that there's too many people who are along the lines of "It's Marvel and therefore it's beyond awesome." which I'd disagree with.

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Hah, Daredevil has it's annoying characters, like, the secretary and Foggy is up and down.  I really like Ulrich, and the nurse, but Rosario Dawson is a great actress.  I think Matt was very well cast, but there's so much of what I'd just call TV people. 

 

I was thinking the same thing.  Karen has her nose in too many places, too.  Places where she would be risking the Law Firm due to her behavior.  Like, when she is in the other Law Firm meeting the other Blonde.

 

 

The writing is OK, and to be honest, I think the Kingpin is very much not entirely like the comic, as he seems almost paralyzed by social situations.  Of course, he's only been in for one episode right now, but he seems not like the Kingpin to me.

 

However, I'm enjoying the show, but I just think that there's too many people who are along the lines of "It's Marvel and therefore it's beyond awesome." which I'd disagree with.

 

I've enjoyed Fisk, having finished the season.  I like the character they built.  There are a few things that they could have toned down a little (a lot?), but it is what it is.  Then there are things like his suit, where you have to consider source material, and make a judgement call.  Would Red Leather have been better?  Based on the stills, what would you have done different?

 

I think, considering that it is Marvel, it is amazing.  It's not amazing because it is Marvel.  They could have really dropped the ball on it and got the adventures of elektra and murdock.  Agents of SHIELD was where I was setting the bar for Marvel TV production.  Not an amazing show, but a decent MCU greenstuff to get me by until the higher quality stuff comes out.  Arrow is where I was setting the bar for Solo Hero defending city vs crime boss.  Slow start with actors struggling to find themselves, but once they do, it goes well.  Neither are Batman The Animated Series or ReBoot, but they aren't Lois & Clark or Alphas.  Or the second pair of Batman flicks.  

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I've been liking daredevil quite a bit.

 

I haven't been annoyed by any characters yet. I thought Foggy was going to annoy me, but I actually like the character. As much as he always has a line, he actually has a backbone unlike most hero counterpoint/best friend characters. The actor doesn't always nail it, but I think that's an issue more of the writing than his delivery.

 

As for Fisk, I really like the character. The comic book Fisk us pretty boring. The length and breadth of his character can be described as "the kingpin." That's it. I enjoy this version. He's ostensibly secretive to keep his name removed from the mud. But really it's crippling social anxiety. I like that it's an over-exposed flaw he turns to his advantage.

 

Otherwise, I've got to commend the show on its stunt choreography. That's an aspect that has by-and-large disappeared in modern action scenes. Replaced by much more economical quick cuts, shaky cams, and zooms, actual fight choreography has become a thing of the past. The more "flippy" daredevil gets, the more they have to stray into that, but the hallway fight in the second episode was by far the best action shot I've seen on TV in probably a decade.

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For the comments on the costume, I'd have kept it what it was.  Cargo pants and under armor shirts with a black mask.  It's simple, elegant, and worthy. His suit that he eventually wears from the stills I've seen looks better when zoomed out, but terrible from certain angles.

 

Also, I'm not a fan of agents of shield.  I lost all interest when they showed that they brought Colston back.  I don't see how 'considering it's Marvel it's amazing'.  That just means people aren't looking for anything other than a gee whiz, they made something else for me to consume excuse for watching.

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For the comments on the costume, I'd have kept it what it was.  Cargo pants and under armor shirts with a black mask.  It's simple, elegant, and worthy. His suit that he eventually wears from the stills I've seen looks better when zoomed out, but terrible from certain angles.

 

Also, I'm not a fan of agents of shield.  I lost all interest when they showed that they brought Colston back.  I don't see how 'considering it's Marvel it's amazing'.  That just means people aren't looking for anything other than a gee whiz, they made something else for me to consume excuse for watching.

Agents of Shield should really have begun after the event of Capt 2, it was a terrible show before that, and it got way better.

 

I'm the biggest Marvel fan there is, but it's not why I like Daredevil.  The writing is very well done.  You can't have an over the top Fisk, you have to humanize him.  the MCU as it is built is more relatable characters, not bigger than life Comic book types.  They have done well and continue to push it.  Even teh Cosmic universe peeps are more relatable.  Daredevil does that on so many levels.  I think a lot of the problems with the show are the same with any netflix show, you can binge watch, and when you do that, you can pick it apart.

 

As far as the costumes, Daredevil's red was always going to be a problem.  It's drawn like a skin tight suit, a solid red. so interpreting that, with the horns, going to be tough.  It's not that bad though, the black costume is fine, but he couldn't have gone on in that costume. 

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I don't want an over the top Fisk at all, but I don't want one that looks like a deer in headlights like over half the time I've seen him.

 

I'm currently through eight episodes, and I'm still liking it.  However, I'm actually laughing because of the simple fact that so many Marvel fans jumped on DC when they said that they want a dark, gritty universe, and that there aren't really jokes.  They kept through that with Arrow for the most part.  Marvel fans leapt in and said "that's silly, that's why you don't make Avengers money" and bashed them for taking that stance.

 

Then Marvel and Netflix release a dark, gritty, not comical hero series and Marvel fans praise it saying it's awesome.  When it's not like the movies at all, it's dark and gritty, and not very humorous.  All those things that they said were bad when DC did them.  In fact, I find a very "Batman begins" feel to it.  Just makes me giggle a bit.

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Man this show is dark. And I don't mean the atmosphere. I mean I have to squint to watch it. Other than that, it's OK. Hasn't made me excited at any point but it watchable. My favorite thing so far is the references to the bigger universe. It's nice to hear people living in a post NY attack universe living with the reality of what happened. 

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Man this show is dark. And I don't mean the atmosphere. I mean I have to squint to watch it. Other than that, it's OK. Hasn't made me excited at any point but it watchable. My favorite thing so far is the references to the bigger universe. It's nice to hear people living in a post NY attack universe living with the reality of what happened. 

Might be your TV, It was fine on mine.

 

The one bit that kills me is that they keep showing all these guns in NY, even though NY removed the right to bear arms post 9/11 (2006-ish). Seems like the line between legit cop and corrupt cop should be even more blurry than daredevil makes it look.

 

I did enjoy it, though I do think it was much too short. 13 episodes an hour each is decent for television, but when the intended platform is netflix where the entire series can be watched in one sitting, I though it should have about twice as many episodes for the season.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I recently plowed through DD myself, and was greatly pleased with the results.

 

To me, it was far and away better than the movie, in almost every aspect. That being said, I did -enjoy- the movie, but the Netflix series, to me, did a much better job of capturing the 'feel' of DD, especially when it came to Matt and Fisk.

 

I think it is the best comic-book show on TV (that I've seen). Better than Arrow (which annoys me more and more, the more I watch it), or Agents of Shield/Agent Carter, and yes, there are some fun Marvel easter eggs in various episodes that make it fun to watch, as well.

 

But having a show on a pay-channel or service like Netflix offers a degree of freedom that would be harder to present to network TV, and that alone affords a bit larger canvas on which to create the show. Sure, you limit your audience more, but you have freedom to explore more aspects of the environment, including the characters themselves. Of course, DD doesn't approach 'Game of Thrones'-like graphic displays of violence, sex, etc, but to me, DD still feels more like 'big boy TV', compared to previous or current offerings like Smallville, Arrow, or Agents of Shield.

 

Anyway, I eagerly await season two. Very, very much so! :)

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I grade Arrow specifically on the fact that they're on Network TV and therefore are a bit more curtailed with what they can do/say, etc.  The thing I like about Arrow has been the fact that they tend to not do the horrible cliched thing, although it has it's down points, I'm not a fan of Speedy or his costume.  Might just be that I don't find the actor compelling.

 

I understand people liked Daredevil better than the movie, and I'd say that the movie, if you were to at least remove key parts of it, would be better (for instance the park fight scene), but it's difficult to say that you're limiting yourself with your audience because it's on Netflix.  Netflix after all, does constitute for 25% of all internet traffic in the US last I heard.  

 

That being said, the costume in the movie was worlds better (the nose is what really kills it for me in the TV show) and I've been critical of Fisk being a baby with temper tantrums.  However, I felt outside of Fisk and the final episode, the writing was pretty good.  I did like how they tried to make you feel a little for Fisk, but it just didn't work for me.  That being said, the single shot fight where he rescued the kid was really fun, and I loved the choreography of the fight scenes.  Stick seemed... oddly placed, but I liked the fact that they at least put him in there.

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My only complaint about Daredevil as a series is something that came up IMMEDIATELY in the absolutely GREAT hallways fight everyone mentions.  That cinematography/choreography was awesome, but...tactically?  Why didn't DD just flip the breaker switch he walked by in the first part of the shot.  I totally thought that's what he was going to do.  You're underground, if the lights are out, they can't see you, and you...don't need to see!  It's like your HUGE advantage in that instance.  There were several times that I thought he should've opened with "cut the power" and then dealt damage to blind people.  

 

Now, that being said, that would make for TERRIBLE television, so I see why they don't do it, but it just bugs me.  

 

We're sitting on the last episode at the moment, keep having life interrupt us finishing it up, but I like the show a lot.  I agree with Dash though that the writing is very...TV.  A lot of the banter is pretty...stilted, especially the Nelson/Murdock/Page stuff.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it feels REALLY shmaltzy.  

 

I also agree that Kingpin is a bit...strange.  I just don't really buy him as a mastermind type, who follows a guy like that?  Just...no charisma.  

 

Anyway, overall, love the show a lot, has a few warts, but most shows do in their first season, so no big deal, I hope it continues to grow.  

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Kingpin is a bit of an oddball throughout this series, but, without giving anything away, I think he becomes what he is meant to be in the season finale. 

 

The entire season seemed like a mix of origin stories for Daredevil and Kingpin, and how they cause each other to evolve into their true characters.

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