Oh my Roa, guys! Elektra and Punisher are coming to Daredevil season 2! I'm so pumped I-what? No, it's not a movie its a Netflix show. What? No, Ben Affleck isn't in it, why would-oh. I see now. Someone start the Rant & Recommend machine, this is gonna hurt.
2003's "Daredevil" film starring Ben Affleck and directed by Mark Steven Johnson was a dumb movie. I can't say anything intelligently clever about this movie other than it just being dumb. This movie doesn't have anything I can compliment it on. The villains are so cartoony, the main characters are one-dimensional and the entire appeal of a downer superhero was so overused by other characters that Daredevil went largely overlooked. Daredevil himself is morally ambiguous, he claims he'd never kill someone and in his first action scene he kills someone, he pretends to be a frail blind man and he fights a woman on a seesaw out of costume, he claims to be dedicated to justice and when he has to decide between banging Elektra or saving someone's life he chooses to bang! There's being conflicted and there's being careless. The movie oozes gothic and depressant themes, it even rips scenes straight out of the comic book. I'd enjoy those moments if the movie wasn't so generic. I haven't even watched the Elektra movie spin-off solely because I have no interest in these movies. Honestly I'm reaching for criticisms because this movie doesn't upset me and it doesn't entertain me, it's just a plain donut lost in a rack of flavorful cinematic desserts. Now I'm hungry.
Now that I've glossed the Daredevil movie and acquired this muffin (said muffin), I think I'll stroke the ego of The Daredevil Netflix series! Marvel Studios recently put out a thirteen episode series that connected to their cinematic universe, this show was focused on a New York small-time lawyer, his coworkers, his enemy crime lords and his career as a costumed vigilante. The shows connectivity isn't all that makes it good, Daredevil is an amazing show because it understands what it needs to be. Because this is a Netflix show, the envelope can be pushed, characters not only die, but some are decapitated and empaled. Subject matter regarding murder, domestic abuse and eviction are used throughout the series and characters are so layered and complex. Your main character Daredevil/Matt Murdock is still getting used to protecting Hell's Kitchen and struggles with the questions of mortality. Kingpin/Wilson Fisk is so damn fascinating, he reflects Murdock's love for his city but goes about helping it in a much different way. Even side characters have their moments, the reporter Ben Urich is an old tabloid writer who used to break rules to get the stories people needed to read, but in his old age he has too much on his shoulders to push him into outing The Kingpin. At the same time, every character in this show has a chemistry that often shines Marvel's comedic attitude. Visually stellar, the show makes interesting ways of showing Daredevil's abilities. Yes Daredevil kicks ass, but he gets tired and he can bleed, his sensory abilities are so expansive too. Flashbacks appear in the show telling how Matt got his powers and how he was raised, these scenes only enforce how appealing Matt Murdock is as a character. The way the show is shot, the acting, the cameos, where the Daredevil film was stale bread with nothing interesting about it, the Daredevil Netflix show has endless likable features and nothing I can criticize.
Maybe Netflix Daredevil has the advantage of being a thirteen hour piece and doesn't have to oblige to censorship, but the timing and placement of Netflix Daredevil helped it's case further. With The Avengers having fun and bright adventures around the world, we get to see the street-level defenders try to help others, it's a glorious contrast. With other Marvel Netflix series on the way, the Daredevil film is being slowly buried into obscurity and while it served no purpose to the comic book genre, it helps the Netflix series stand out as a fresh and loyal piece of media. You know, like the middle school photos that make your current look attractive. Contrary to popular belief, I wasn't always this pretty. Cue devilish grin. Thanks for reading!
*Throws muffin into wall* Go listen to Fate of Heroes on The Nerdstitute Podbean!
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