While I had only read a select few comics that featured Marvel's Daredevil, I had a general understanding of the character, and the world he lived in. By day, he is Matt Murdock, a respected lawyer, seemingly harmless due to his blindness, but by night he is Daredevil, the Man Without Fear, fighting against the tide of crime that overwhelms New York's Hell's Kitchen. Knowing this going in, I had reasonably high hopes for my first viewing of the Netflix series, and the wider netflix properties as a whole, that I'd been meaning to get to for a long time. Did this series sell me on them?
The series opens with Matthew Murdock fighting organised crime as a masked vigilante, while struggling to integrate his actions with his catholic faith and his career as a lawyer with his partner Foggy Nelson, when a chance encounter with a client sheds light on a dangerous alliance of criminal organisations, headed by a man with unrivalled power, influence and brutality. Tested to the extreme both physically and spiritually, Murdock must rise to protect his city from untold corruption and criminal activity, embracing his identity as the man without fear.
One of the main things that sticks in my mind is the lead, Charlie Cox, who manages to brilliantly give the character of Matthew Murdock his due. Be it the way he can seem very much like two different people, to the way he is uncannily able to have a conversation with another character with his eyes looking straight through them, he feels both raw and genuine, and a character you can really root for. The supporting cast excels as well, somehow being able to be in very dark and serious places in the show while still giving that sense of being comic book characters. Really, I think it pretty revolutionary the way this is done, a blend of perfect acting and cinematography that really sells you on this world of crime, violence and feats of heroism. The only other example I can think that has emulated that feeling so well was the Dark Knight Trilogy, although I have to say this show makes for a much easier watch than that.
The first season of the show is more focused on defining the different characters and factions at play in the show, specifically the character of Murdock, delivering a tight yet deeply satisfying journey for the character to reach his comic book title. The second season, however, takes it to a completely different level, incorporating the wider mythology of the comic book source material in it's signature gritty yet faithful way, and while it has less of a tight structure than the first season, it really hits the mark in the action and drama of each individual character, making it a highlight of modern television for me.
Additionally, shows like this associated with the typically big budget popcorn affairs of the Marvel film franchise provide a welcome change of pace, taking it's time to tell a story that allows itself to be dark, oppressive and gritty instead of the typical routine of CGI slugfests and shallow spectacle the films have fallen into, restoring my faith in what a comic-book property like Daredevil can achieve with the ability to be creatively unique. Instead of these flashy distractions, the show uses stellar cinematography, fight choreography and costumes often designed to be more of a visual nod than a straight up representation of the comics.
Naturally, some comparisons can be made to another comic book vigilante with numerous film adaptations that have delved into dark tones and realism. However, I do believe that there is more than enough to distinguish Daredevil from Batman, and not just superficial details like the costume designs or the differences in powers or martial arts. Matthew Murdock is a man with significantly more limited resources than Bruce Wayne, and whether it is in his personal, professional or vigilante lives, he is barely scraping by. When he gets injured, he can't just shrug it off or have a personal butler patch him up (not trying to throw any shade on Batman here), and it affects him for episodes down the line, making every fight and decision he makes carry a huge weight, making for an incredibly tense and nail-biting viewing experience.
Would I recommend this show to you? Yeah, absolutely. Whether you know the character and comics, or don't. I'm fairly sure you'd be a fan, or at least respect the show and what it does, if you give it a go. Now I am, and it's convinced me to give the other Netflix adaptations a go. This one gets a solid 9 out of 10 for me.
9 out of 10
SPOILER SECTION
Personally, I found the conflict with The Hand a lot less compelling than the ones with Wilson Fisk or The Punisher. I think this is because there was a deep sense of character to them, working with a point and a purpose that you can understand, with clear distinctions between them and the other, secondary villains. They aren't interchangeable. I feel The Hand could be with the way they are used in the story, foreshadowed in the first season with Nobu and Stick, and used as the main antagonists in the second half of the second, and while they are integral villains to the Daredevil mythos, that lack of being able to sympathise or understand them makes them feel shallow, the only things making them stand out are the seemingly mystical nature of them, and the fact that Daredevil cannot hear them as easily, making them a tougher physical enemy than the rest. Entire plotlines that involve them don't seem to be resolved, like the people experimented on, who only seemed to create disturbing implications for the organisation and foreshadow things to come down the line, making it a lot less satisfying than the conclusion to the first series.
However, the physicality of each character was done perfectly - the blunt - fisted heavy punches from Wilson Fisk, the terrifying persistence of Frank Castle in spite of the constant injuries he receives, and the lighter, more nimble methods of Elektra Natchios, all matching their portrayals of the characters uncannily well.
The supporting characters of Foggy Nelson, Karen Page and Ben Urich took me a little while to warm up to, but when I did I found them very gripping, with their relations with Matt Murdock being torn down and built up very dynamically, with Nelson having to save Murdock's life after his fight with Nobu and Fisk, being the one most critical of his vigilante activities and having to keep his secret from Karen. Leading to a less stable relationship with Matt, and a demonstration of what Matt has to sacrifice to live the life that he does.
Finally, the performances of Wilson Fisk and Frank Castle, by Vincent D'Onofrio and Jon Bernthal respectively, were perfect, and now they have played the roles, I can't see anyone else in them. Fisk is well spoken and imposing, but with a constant hint of irritation, and a rage that comes out every so often in his brutal violent outbursts, most notably his decapitation of the Russian mobster who interrupted his date with Vanessa or his killing of Ben Urich, perfectly depicting him as a giant brawler like his comic-book counterpart. Castle, or as he more commonly known, The Punisher, is similarly well done. He is remorseless, single-minded in his task of killing those who he deems deserves it, specifically the parties involved in the shooting that killed his family, and while his motivations are fantastically demonstrated when he talks about his life before, he doesn't back down from anything, like his refusal to go along with his defence during his trial, declaring he is in his right mind and is itching to kill more (although this itself is a play on his part to meet with Fisk in prison). All in all, an effort enough to please anyone from a casual viewer to a hardcore fan.
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