Editor’s Note: In the interest of time and convenience, we’ll be covering Daredevil’s first season three episodes at a time with a separate review of its season finale, discussing each episode in detail without discouraging your interest in marathoning the series as fast as possible. Check back for weekly updates to our four-part review series as we gradually approach the series conclusion.
“Bless me father, for I have sinned,” a shadowy figure asks his priest. “Perhaps this will be easier if you tell me what you’ve done,” the priest replies. “I’m not seeking forgiveness for what I’ve done, Father,” the man confesses. “I’m asking forgiveness for what I’m about to do.” That’s simply how it works for Matt Murdock. But for Daredevil, forgiveness isn’t so easily given to those who ask in advance.
When we first meet Marvel’s Man Without Fear, he can’t help but seem like just a man for all intents and purposes. A lawyer by day and a crime-fighter by night, it’s hard for his public guise as Matt Murdock to spur images of a spandex-clad ninja scaling the rooftops of New York City, scrapping with the worst Hell’s Kitchen has to offer. He also happens to be blind. It’s to the character’s strength that he bear such an unassuming face as Charlie Cox’s, his endearing shyness betraying something deeper behind his knowing smile. Cox slides on the role like he does his mask with a thoughtfulness you’d expect of an actor twice his senior despite having to sell his charm without his eyes.
Daredevil is nothing if not superb in its choice of an ensemble cast. His rapport with Elden Henson’s affable Foggy Nelson – Matt Murdock’s law partner – is a plus and he does well playing up his romantic tensions with Matt’s client-turned-secretary, Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Paige, whose introduction’s nothing short of good timing being framed for murder. That she should be represented by two rookie ambulance chasers nine hours into their partnership (seven if you count when they got their desks) and her lighthearted, odd-couple dynamic with Foggy’s sweet. The three are something of a family in the most relatable sense short of a family dog, but only if Matt has anything to say about the latter.
Of all the superheroes the show calls to mind, Batman’s arguably the gritty core of its inspiration, especially Christopher Nolan’s heavy-handed take on the character. Matt Murdock’s a man on a mission as unsure of himself as the cage he’s rattled. His initial costume, primitive black leotards and boxing hand wraps, echoes a kind of amateurish sensibility to his vigilantism early into the series premiere complete with a dock scene reminiscent of Batman Begins. It’s only fair that Into the Ring gives him nothing short of the punishment implied.
It’s the traumatized boy underneath the mask that the series wants to explore, at least in theory. Though it makes for unintended comedy that his father, Jack Murdock, resemble Ben Affleck to a certain degree, it’s disappointing that the Murdocks’ flashbacks are dull, confusing time-filler especially to fans unfamiliar with just what Daredevil’s powers are without a Google search. I can’t believe that Matt’s timid father was ever good enough of a boxer to have to be paid to lose, or that Daredevil’s vigilantism was ever about a sad sack dad.
Daredevil can take a beating and give one at a moment’s notice. True to its TV-MA rating, the fights are fast, furious, and brutal. Bones snap and shoulders pop at alarming speed and while the series has conscience enough to respect Daredevil’s “no killing” rule, it does so barely. Critics of Ben Affleck’s wire-work and CGI cartwheels in 2003’s Daredevil won’t have much to complain about here. That he should tire in a fight’s refreshing for a genre so pent up in super-soldier serums and magic hammers, even human.These are the bare-knuckle brawls you want and that it all include ground-level stuntmen adds a visceral touch to the action in the manner of the Matrix or even Netflix’s own Marco Polo.
At times, the show’s hyper-realism can’t help but stretch itself thin. Its uninspired cinematography doesn’t lend itself well to highlighting the more darkly lit action shots – a problem of Nolan’s – is a frequent frustration, but its striking use of color highlights color palettes like those of David Fincher’s or Daredevil’s graphic novels. At times its ridiculous violence almost makes you wonder just how superhuman Daredevil must be. Gun-running, drug dealing, human trafficking – the bad guys are assuredly bad, but the good guys earning their keep is only fitting for the kinds of merciless world that Cut Man‘s brilliantly choreographed (and almost endless) hallway fight scene.
In a time where fast-paced miniseries are almost too fast, it’s refreshing that Daredevil‘s lore feels rich enough to pace itself. Only a handful of characters debut in the pilot, leaving Rosario Dawson’s headstrong Claire Temple and Vondie Curtis-Hall’s straight-laced Ben Urich for episodes two and three. Dawson’s Temple, a combo of her comic book namesake and Marvel’s Night Nurse, is the colloquial angel on Matt’s shoulder as Florence Nightingale, if not the third-wheel of an predictable love triangle. Fans of House of Cards will find themselves right at home with Urich’s political thriller drama, though I’ve yet to feel like I know him.
The ways in which the show intricately weaves itself into the larger fabric of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should be fascinating for fans willing to put all the pieces together. Daredevil‘s New York is a very different one that we’ve seen thus far. The gritty streets of a more anachronistically violent 70s-looking Hell’s Kitchen are a jarring contrast to the modern Manhattan under the thumb of Union Allied Construction, repairing the city in the wake of some super-powered vandals. Easter eggs from the rest of MCU abound, from the Avengers to Netflix’s upcoming Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. That Tobey Leonard Moore’s beady-eyed Wesley is only a frontman for a bigger conspiracy lends a larger scope to the show’s vision – even he can’t speak the big guy’s name.
It’s all the better that Rabbit in a Snow Storm saves the biggest piece for last. It’s three episodes in that Matt finally beats a name out of the city’s low-lifes and at the cost of spoilers, let’s just say it rhymes with “Bilson Misk.” Yes, New York’s Kingpin of Crime is present and accounted for and his subtle introduction should be something of a treat to fans caught off-guard.
Marvel’s gritty take on its Man Without Fear is hardly the spandex-wearing Daredevil you know, but the one that TV and comic fans alike should love. A beautifully dark, uncompromising reimagining of one of Marvel’s most layered anti-heroes, Daredevil goes to some of the darkest corners the Marvel brand’s ever gone since, but earns a maturity so few series earn thanks in no small part to the of its man of its namesake. While we have so much more to see of our ensemble cast and our lead antagonist, I’m excited to say that Daredevil may have its best days ahead of it.
All thirteen episodes of Daredevil are available for streaming through Netflix on TV, PC, tablet, mobile, and game consoles. Check back next week for our review of episodes 4-6 here at BagoGames.