Series: Daredevil
Episode: 1, 2 and 3
Air date: April 10th, 2015
Language: English
Creator: Drew Goddard
Based on: The comicbook “Daredevil” by Marvel Comics
Stars: Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson
IMDb rating: 8,8 (Ep. 1); 9,3 (Ep. 2) and 8,8 (Ep. 3).
This series is made exclusively for Netflix and is letting you forget the awful movie Daredevil with Ben Affleck which dates back to 2003. In this review I will talk about the first three episodes of the series, which I have very much enjoyed.
The story begins a bit odd, but slowly you’ll understand how the main character Matthew (Matt) Murdock (played by Charlie Cox) evolved. You’ll probably think this is just another show about a dumb superhero but it is really not, Matt isn’t someone who can fly or someone who’s bitten by a radioactive spider. He was involved in a car accident which caused him to be blind for the rest of his life. So his sight is so minimized he can barely see, but all of his other senses became more enhanced so that he can hear conversations from 5 meters far and smell someone who is walking a floor down. This all helps him to fight crime at night in his neighborhood Hell’s Kitchen in New York, while during the day he is a lawyer with his partner Foggy.
The first three episodes have a couple of focus points. Matt and Foggy are struggling finding clients and starting their business, the major criminals who are starting to cause trouble and the backstory of Matt himself. What I really like about it is that you understand Matt, who is really serious. His partner Foggy is the complete opposite, a bit naive and the one with humour which provides a healthy balance. The villain is not really conventional, because you don’t know his name for a long time and is such a mystery that it slowly drives you mad with curiosity (in a good way!). The relationship with his father is tightly connected with Matt evolving to the man without fear, and really is interesting for finding out about Matt’s past.
The first 2 episodes are meant to really introduce the world of Matt Murdock, it’s really different from anything I’ve seen from Marvel. It does look better than Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. because you can see they have shot often on location and it’s not one of the big network shows with a large cast, meaning they had more money for scriptwriting and the surroundings. Matt fighting crime isn’t that big of a deal in the first episodes, it’s more about Matt and Foggy setting up their business with Karen, their first client who becomes a part of their new lawyers’ office. But Karen has a lot more going on than she says to her partners and that creates a loveable tension. Her problem was caused by a certain gentleman who decides to talk face to face with Matt and Foggy in episode 3 while he offers them a client who is obviously guilty but doesn’t claim to be that. What is so wonderful about being a night time vigilante is that Matt can investigate his daytime cases at night without holding on to the law like a lawyer. In the beginning of episode 2 he is hurt very badly because he ran into a trap and a nurse named Claire (how lucky is he) finds him in a dumpster and makes him question about what is good and bad. In the first episode you just get a introduction of who Matt is and a couple of flashbacks to his childhood which explains the man he is today. He is a bit reckless, but I like that. 😀
I’ve noticed that the series has a very serious and realistic undertone, if you compare it to other superhero shows. That is not necessarily a bad thing. You really feel compassion for Matt but you also get major respect for him when you see him fight. The fact that he is blind makes you feel anxious for him which is always unjustified by him and his great skills.
What could be a downside for you, are the blood and torture parts. For me it is not that disturbing but I see how some people could find the noir/gruesome edge to it not enjoyable. But the choreography of the fight scenes really deserve some attention because they are so well put together, at the end of episode 2 you really get goosebumps of Matt kicking 10 men’s asses in one shot (!!!). So that really makes up the gore parts.
So I really recommend to start watching Daredevil, (not only because he ultimately gets a badass suit) the superhero show which will dominate the others.
This was a bit of an introduction to the series and I really hope you will find these reviews helpful and fun to read!
