Filmmaker Kevin Smith once called Daredevil the
"Grateful Dead" of superheroes.
He has a loyal following of fans who will always faithfully read his comics (affectionally called "horn heads") but not enough so that D.D. will ever reach the mainstream comic book audience the same way that Spiderman or Batman is.
And he's right. Daredevil has and never will be read by the majority of the mainstream comic book readers let along those who have a passing interest in comic book heroes be it in the comics, TV or movies.
And I always thought that's a good thing.
Because Daredevil has always been somewhat under the radar (no pun intended...well maybe a little) of comic book fandom, he has been reinvented over and over again and taken through so much twist and turns by some of the most innovated writers in comics that it has produced some of the finest work in comic book medium without the hindrance of perhaps producing a firestorm of backlash and hate mail from the mainstream comic book reader or the public at large.
"The Elektra saga" "Born Again" "Guardian Devil" "Hardcore" and many more classic D.D. stories have been done and it seem that the writers of such classics threw caution to the wind to produce some of the smartest, bloodiest, depressing, gut wrenching , but all so glorious stories of redemption for a comic book character that ever to exist!
And because of Daredevil station as one of the most long standing and enduring comic book characters that beat all the odds to even still be published for over 50 years and have critical acclaim with his history, it would seem only reasonable that translating him from the comic pages to live action media as the natural progression for the characters.
And he has been...for good and bad.
The first live action of Daredevil was done by
Rex Smith on the TV movie "the Trial of the Incredible Hulk" and it was perhaps the less said the better.
Of course we know in 2003, movie star and D.D. fan,
Ben Affleck, starred in the big budget live action motion picture that continues to divide fans and film goers alike till this day.
I personally liked the movie... for the most part. And think the director’s cut is underrated... sans the fight in the park. Ugh.
So now 12 years later after Marvel studios acquired the rights to D.D from FOX and is in full swing with the production of their characters in movies and television, they have team up with Netflix to do a 13 episode take on the "Man Without fear” that could perhaps give him some of the acclaim he has had in his comic books history as well as build him a bigger mainstream fan base.
And I'm happy to say they did just so!
This is the Daredevil that longtime fans and those who only have a passing interest in the character have waited for!
Without a doubt one of the best live action adaptation of a comic book character I have ever seen. And I'm hoping that it's such a success that Marvel will use some of the elements of the show with their upcoming movies especially in the more "adult" direction and less cartoony fight scenes.
When we have another list of "best of.." when it comes to Comic book movie this series need to be added to that list because it
really is a 13 hour comic book movie!!!!
Starting with
Charlie Cox as Daredevil/Matt Murdock we have the definitive version of both Characters come to life. Every Aspect of Daredevil mythos is brought out in the series in such a great performance.
The Son of a Boxer that was never a contender.
The man who has personal conflict in morals.
The women chaser.
The lawyer for the low-down and down trodden.
The Catholic guilt.
It’s all there rolled up in one amazing performance by an actor that I must confess, I really didn't know much about and when he was first cast I thought he looked a little to goofy to be either Matt or Daredevil.
But Charlie Cox is just PERFECT for the role! Be it Matt or as Daredevil he is always convincing in the role.
And the scenes with him and his priest are just exquisite!
Yes, we can add Charlie Cox to the list of one of the best casting for a comic book movie ever!
Also in a bit of perfect casting is
Vincent D'Onofrio as the Kingpin.
His casting was a little more certain that we would have a great performance because he such a well know and acclaim actor form film and television, but to say he was born to play Kingpin is an understatement.
Every movement, every word, every gesture or action he did in this series was the embodiment of Wilson Fisk coming to life from the pages of the comics to live action.
Including the violence that is always associated with the Kingpin world, D' Onoforio does in the best way possible.
Almost too good in one of the most graphically violent death of a Russian mobster using his rear limo door!
But it is his admiration and love for his wife Vanessa (play by Ayelet Zurer ) that really sells him as the Kingpin for me.
We know violence is going to be shown with whoever portrays the Kingpin on screen, but the emotional range that D' Onoforio shows concerning his wife that makes the character more of a real person than some two dimensional cliché' mob boss that we see in movie a thousand times before.
We know the Kingpin is a bad guy, she even knows he a bad guy, but there is a charming sensibility about D 'Onoforio portrayal of him and his love for his soon to be wife that is some of the best chemistry that we know will be a tragic love affair that has ever been shown
!
Same thing can be said for
Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page.
As beautifully tragic of a character that Karen Page has been in the comics, Deborah Ann Woll brings both the beauty and tragedy to life in her portrayal with a bit of being the level head for both Matt and Foggy when they might not be looking at certain situations form the right perspective.
And yet, like the character in the comics, she is a walking contradiction by going against the very rationale that she will expound onto others but not taking the advice herself by selling out her soul in one instance for cash and reacting in the worst way possible like a cornered animal in another albeit what she does is understandable!
If this series goes long enough for a chance of a live action interpretation of the "Born Again" story arc, I will be as giddy as I can be with just the thought of Deborah Ann Woll giving that performance as Karen Page going through the ringer that she did in that story line.
The rest of the cast is a solid throughout.
Elden Henson is a charming Foggy without being overly cartoonish.
Vondie Curtis Hall is extremely convincing as the old newspaper warhorse Ben Urich!
Rosario Dawson is intoxicating as Claire Temple, a reluctant helper in Matt's crusade as well as being his lover.
Scott Glen as "Stick" is just Awesome! Nuff said!
And a special kudo to
Toby Leonard Moore as Wesley. Precise. Cunning. Ruthless but he got the job done and he a very profound respect/friendship for the Kingpin that transcend a boss/employee relationship.
And
Bob Gunton as Leland Owlsley (the Owl) has some of the best one liners in the entire series with a slice of cheese.
In addition to a stellar cast the writing on the show gives the most "adult" take of any live action Marvel studios production to date and I'm not talking about the four and twelve letter words that are throughout the series.
There are real life discussions and situation going on between characters that reflect the world we are living in now (Gentrification) and it's done in a way were that line between fiction and non-fiction met because the impetus for it is incidents that happened in another Marvel movie (The Battle for NY) and the result is something that dignifies the source material and added depth which shows that comic books and comic book related material can be used as a springboard for such discussion.
But the show isn't one big round table of the the McLaughlin group, it is after all a Comic Book Movie and that mean there will be some action, and the action scenes on the show is beyond amazing!
Fast paced! Bloody! Painful! So beautifully done is the fight choreography that you will want to watch some of the scenes over and over again just to make sure you just saw what you did!
And it all comes to a head with Daredevil and Kingpin having a back alley showdown that may be one of the messiest and violent showdowns ever in a live action comic book movie. Just top notch!
However as great as this series is, it not without its faults.
The actor portraying a young Matt Murdock is just not convincing of an actor especially when he's on screen with much better actors most noticeably in the flash backs with Scott Glenn.
Wilson Fisk is never address as the Kingpin?
And as convincing as
Vincent D'Onofrio was as the Kingpin, and he was, they still had him doing the "I was going to make a better city" routine during his final conflict with and D.D although he realized now that he was the "bad guy" only moments earlier using the Biblical parable of the "good Samarian"?
Matt's and Claire relationship is kind of tossed aside and Claire just disappears for a while only to revisit briefly before the end.
The "owl" being older was not a good idea.
Certain deaths of Key characters severely cut out potential plots that could be used in the future and was sort of seen as just for the "shock value" of it.
At times it seems like the Ben Affleck movie using the "I'm not the bad guy" line one time to many.
And the final suit, the "red one" is just not good.
I thought it was "okay" when first shown last week before the showing of the series but it just doesn’t work.
Hopefully it will be upgrade for the next season and is really need the two "DD" on the chest.
But minor problems aside this is an amazing series and a great addition to Daredevil’s legacy! Here's hoping all the elements of this show with be added to the MCU so that they bring such a quality product for a bigger audience to see.
So is Daredevil the best Comic Book TV show ever?
Well, that's debatable...but it sure is a contender.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars!