The Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph led Cloak & Dagger TV adaptation received a huge showing of support from Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, who stated, "I wanted to see this superhero duo five years ago. Both of you brought your personality to the role. That's the key thing, just as long as it's breathing. our characters are dealing with real issues that young people and teenagers are dealing with, that's what's cool about Cloak & Dagger."
That's certainly a ringing endorsement from the Infinity War star but what of critics who don't receive obscenely gross paychecks from Marvel. From The Hollywood Reporter to Forbes, here's what critics thought of the Joe Pokaski (Heroes) produced show's pilot or first four episodes.
If you're intrigued by what the reviewers are stating and the footage revealed thus far, Cloak & Dagger will premiere June 07 at 8PM on Freeform (formerly known as ABC Family).
MILD SPOILERS follow.
"A hallmark of Marvel's push into television has been shows with no particular rush to get viewers to the superhero heart of the narrative...Naysayers might call it glacial storytelling, but fans appreciate Marvel TV's commitment to developing characters and location, even at the expense of plot. offer that by way of warning that I've seen the first four episodes of Freeform's Cloak & Dagger, and some really obvious things are still missing — in particular, characters who call themselves "Cloak" or "Dagger." This means that through 40 percent of the first Cloak & Dagger season, a show about superheroes still boasts no superheroes, no mission and no clear bad guy. "
---The Hollywood Reporter
"The show will not be everyone’s cup of tea. It exists somewhere between the light-hearted, broad stroke nature of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and very mature dramatic overtones of any of the Netflix series like Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.
Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger is the right kind of show for what Freeform is trying to do. It’s going to age up the network while also giving fans of moody YA something to sink their teeth into over the summer."
---Forbes
"First Light' does a great job of introducing these characters with room to improve. Tandy and Tyrone make an unlikely connection due to fate."
---Comicverse
"While Cloak and Dagger hits on some tough issues, it doesn’t take away from the joy of the show. You are guaranteed to feel a full range of emotions, and it’s all for the best."
---Black Girl Nerds
"Joseph and Holt have tremendous chemistry onscreen. The first hour of what will be a two-hour pilot brings them together very sparingly, but the moments they share onscreen are electric. In an intriguing departure from the comic, here Tandy’s the street kid while Ty’s living at home with his wealthy and (at least so far) seemingly attentive parents. But they have a shared tragedy in their past, an offshore rig explosion that robbed each of them of someone they love and first brought them together when they were just kids."
---Slash/Film
"The two young leads are immensely good. They’ll be the reason the watch."
---The AV Club
"In the comics, Cloak and Dagger mostly focused on the drug trade rather than fighting supervillains, and while drugs definitely play a role in the pilot, there are also plenty of other plot threads that have been laid out for our heroes to explore in the first season. This helps keep the pilot grounded with real-world stakes in a similar way to Marvel and Netflix's street-level heroes, and it's clear the show isn't going to shy away from challenging topics that will resonate with Freeform's young adult audience. There's no clear, overarching villain, at least in the pilot, but you also don't miss one, since the lead characters and their issues are engaging enough to carry the episode."
---IGN
"The performances of the young actors is the true strength of the series. They are some of the best I have seen in all of Marvel Television and Freeform. Despite the black-and-white nature of their powers, this is not a series that deals with black-and-white issues. The nuanced performances allow the characters to convey that complexity without having to say a word. Make no mistake, Holt and Joseph are phenomenal."
---LaughingPlace.com