Ror Reviews: DAREDEVIL Season 1, Episode 1 - "Into The Ring"
All 13 episodes of Marvel's Daredevil series are now available on Netflix to binge on, but I've decided to restrict myself to one a week. Of course I may not stick to that, but for now I'll be giving my thoughts on the first episode only. Click on for my take on "Into The Ring"...
It's quite a brilliant scene, and makes it clear that Daredevil won't settle for the cheesy, ham-fisted attempts at depth we see all too regularly in certain other comic book-based TV shows (sorry CW fans).
From there we introduced to the supporting cast, and the plot begins to take shape. Elden Henson is instantly likeable as Foggy Nelson, and provides some comic relief... but unlike some other Marvel "sidekick" type characters, he's never annoying in the process. Deborah Ann Woll is also solid as Karen Page, though her only real purpose in this first episode is to serve as the victim. Vincent D'Onofrio doesn't actually appear as Wilson Fisk in this instalment, though his presence is most definitely felt and we do meet some of his cronies. These guys really are the worst of the worst (sex traffickers, child kidnappers, stereotypically grumpy scarred Russians), so when Murdock "let's the Devil out" it's understandable that he doesn't hold back.
The high level of production values are on display in pretty much every shot, and the exciting fight scenes are expertly choreographed. We expected this to be darker than anything we've seen from Marvel before but there are still some surprisingly graphic scenes -- a Watchmen style arm snap taking the prize. Even so, it still somehow seems to fit in with the larger Marvel Cinematic -- or in this case TV -- Universe, with a couple of references to the carnage that was inflicted upon New York on the first Avengers movie.
The episode concludes with a montage: the bad guys attacking the innocent while Murdock attacks a punching bag. Then, suited up on a rooftop he hears a child call for help. Mask down, back to work.
All-in-all I really don't have a single negative thing to say about "Into The Ring". Obviously we'll have to see if the quality is maintained as the series progresses, but it's hard to imagine any major missteps derailing this. An intense, powerful and engrossing beginning to the Man Without Fear's small-screen adventures.