Daredevil: Burning Binges

Although he has definitely redefined himself over the last 5 years, I think we can all agree that we just want to forget those early Ben Affleck films, including but not limited to Paycheck, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and Daredevil. Now, here was an opportunity for Marvel to present one of its darker heroes in a more realistic setting, which would have actually beaten Christopher Nolan's comic film renaissance to the punch (Batman Begins came out in 2005, two years after Daredevil). With a superhero defined by his handicap, blindness, Daredevil was an extremely interesting character who saw the world only through enhanced hearing, smell, and touch (due to radioactive waste being what had blinded him). Alas, it was not meant to be, drowning in mediocre acting from Affleck, Jennifer Garner and Michael Clarke Duncan (I personally think Colin Farrell did well as Bullseye). After an even worse spinoff sequel with Garner's Elektra, the franchise was mercifully put down and left to sit.

Fast forward nine years, and the rights for Daredevil, among others, reverted from 20th Century Fox back to Marvel Studios. Then in 2013, it was decided that four different TV shows that were to be connected together and aired on Netflix (as well as being a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe). The first of these shows was released on Netflix earlier in April of 2015, and it's safe to say that I could not get enough of it.

Daredevil (the Netflix series, is it still called a TV show?) is one of the best origin stories in comic film history, and easily the best since Batman Begins. Not only do witness the beginning of Daredevil as a vigilante, but we see Matt Murdock (Daredevil's actual name) and his best friend Foggy Nelson begin their law practice, and Wilson Fisk (a.k.a. Kingpin) as he begins his rise to power in the part of New York City known as Hell's Kitchen. That connection to the MCU is obvious from the beginning, with the city rebuilding after the events of The Avengers, and plenty of greedy, powerful men using this reconstruction as an opportunity to gain wealth and take advantage of the lower class. Donning a black mask with no eyeholes and a black outfit that looks like he ordered it on Amazon, Matt (played perfectly by Charlie Cox) begins a nightly routine of beating up thugs and criminals for information such as where human trafficking is happening, who's running it, and the details of other criminal activities as well. He soon earns the title of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen for his acts, both good and bad. Meanwhile, Fisk is largely hidden but often spoke of during the first few episodes of the show, but once he explodes onto the scene, we quickly learn that both Fisk and Matt have the same vision for Hell's Kitchen: to rebuild it and free it from its dilapidated state, although they have different plans of how that will come to fruition.

But now let me get down to the truly good stuff: what I loved about this show was that it did everything that I wished Marvel had done and more. Every single Marvel movie I have seen leaves me wishing for a better villain, original action (not the same damn thing over and over), and a darker tone with more realism without sacrificing that winning sense of humor. Daredevil gives us those qualities in dramatic fashion.

Fisk is the best, most real villain that I've seen in any MCU title. A running gripe from me has been how silly or comically two-dimensioned the villains in Marvel can be, or how not bad they really are. Loki was little more than a brat throwing a tantrum, Ultron had no motivation to be evil at all, and even Magneto never strikes fear into my heart the way that the Joker, Two-Face, or Ozymandias can. Granted, Thanos looks promising and X-Men: Apocalypse might change my mind, but as of May 2015, Wilson Fisk is the best Marvel villain shown in the MCU. He has a very soft, vulnerable side with an endearing desire to be with Vanessa, an art dealer that he falls in love with. At the same time, he has a violent, raging side that chokes the life out of men and leaves you wincing with every strike he throws. Vincent D'Onofrio (best known as Detective Goren in Law & Order, but he also played suicidal Gomer Pyle in Full Metal Jacket and the bug alien in Men in Black) demonstrates a broad range with soft-spoken conversations and screaming brutality when needed, but we also see that this is a man with a strong motivation to change his city and protect those that he loves.

The action, oh my god, the action is fantastic. I don't know if you've seen The Raid: Redemption or The Raid 2: Berandal (Indonesian action films featuring the Pencack Silat martial arts style of fighting), but those featured the best hand-to-hand fighting since The Matrix, perhaps even surpassing it in originality, brutality and talent. Even DeKnight credits the Raid films with inspiring several action sequences, including an extended shot that wowed me as the best action sequence of the year. The fighting is realistic, it's gritty, it's sometimes brutal, but it's never, ever boring.

Finally, the darker tone does wonders when combined with a neo-noir style of show (I think of Se7en or The Departed when I want to describe its style) and that trademark Marvel humor and flair. This is much more of a crime show with elements of superhero; the middle of the season slows down when both Matt and Karen Page (portrayed powerfully by Deborah Ann Woll from True Blood), a young woman who works as a secretary for Matt and Foggy, are following different trails of evidence to track down and take down Fisk. Karen teams up with veteran reporter Ben Urich (who reminded me tremendously of Morgan Freeman in Se7en and is a big character in Marvel) to do it the old school way through paper and interviews, which bored most reviewers but I personally loved seeing. This is the true way that the little people have to live in the MCU where gods fly among them, leveling cities in their fights against evil. Matt's Catholicism is also featured heavily with his struggle against his crimes but the necessity of them, tearing him apart and showing us the first truly religious protagonist in the MCU (they are all pretty much atheist, besides the obviously-mocked Thor), which also grounds him more in our reality and makes him that much more like a normal person.

Make no mistake: this is not a superhero TV show where wondrous acts are made and ridiculous plots are furthered. This is a series rooted in our reality, filled with interesting characters, small gains and big losses by both the good and bad, and far more gray than in any previous MCU entry. To say that there are deaths that shocked me would not be spoiling too much, but it definitely will affect the MCU moving forwards. I didn't even touch on the wonderful characters of Karen, Urich, Foggy, Stick (a blind mentor to Matt when he was a kid), Claire Temple (love interest for Matt and his nurse), or other key people, but to do so would take many, many more words. Based on the final few episodes of the season, however, I definitely have a feeling that Season 2 will have less realism and more of that grandiose pizazz that we've come to expect from Marvel, but until then, I highly, HIGHLY recommend either watching this on Netflix with your own subscription or with a friend's.



Verdict: Everyone able to handle R-rated violence DEFINITELY SHOULD watch this TV show / Netflix series / MCU entry as soon as possible. Those who are Marvel fans, martial arts action fans, or crime television fans should consider this recommendation twofold.