An Origin Story Done Right
One of the greatest strengths of "Daredevil" is that it presents the origin story of Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) in a very effective way. What a super-hero film has to do in an hour (before getting to all the action), this show has over ten hours to accomplish, and it takes advantage of the time it has. The very first scene of the series shows us how Matt became blind as a child, but then it immediately flashes forward to the present day to show his alter-ego, Daredevil, taking down a bunch of bad guys. There is no info given to how he fights so well without being able to see, or why he decided to become a hero, the show just keeps moving without explanation, and that is a GOOD thing! The writers don't just throw the origin story into the first couple episodes so that they can get to the action. Instead, we are slowly learning new things about Matt, his past, and his motivations throughout season one. Even at episode seven there is still (very important) flashbacks showing us how this character his evolved from a frightened boy to a frightening vigilante. Because of this, the show benefits from great character develop all throughout the season so that by the time it is over, I feel like I know Matt Murdock after a week of TV episodes much more than I know Tony Stark after seven years and four (soon to be five) Marvel movies. A common weakness in superhero movies today is that you tend to care way more about the super-hero side of a character and less about their alter-ego. A strength of Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy is that the films are about Peter Parker, not Spider-Man. And the same can be said for "Daredevil." Matt Murdock is a very interesting character. One of his most interesting traits is that he is deeply conflicted about what he is doing. One of the first scenes in episode one shows him at confession, asking forgiveness for what he is about to do. This is a repeating idea throughout the season. His faith makes him call into question whether what he is doing is considered justice or sinful.
Furthermore, I found myself enjoying the scenes of Matt doing his job as a lawyer just as much as I enjoyed some of the action scenes. One of my complaints about season one is that I wish there was more of Matt in the courtroom. His monologue to the jury in episode three is one of the season one's best moments. I'm not just cheering for Daredevil to catch the bad guys, but I'm also cheering for Matt and his partner Foggy (Elden Henson) to be successful at starting their own law firm. And the show doesn't ignore the supporting cast either. Each character has their time(s) to shine and grow throughout the season...which brings me to my next point.
A Villain That Compels You
It has been said that a movie is only as good as its villain. Well if this is true, then Marvel has found a way to be an exception to that rule since none of their film's villains have been particularly great (with, of course, the exception of Tom Hiddleston's Loki). Enter Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin, aka far and away the best Marvel villain we have seen on screen yet. Fisk is a dangerous, scary force to be reckoned with and Vincent D'Onofrio does a remarkable job bringing this character to life. Like our hero, the writers devote a surprising amount of time to the character development of Fisk, even giving us flashbacks to his unpleasant upbringing as a child. Just when I was starting to hate Fisk, something new (and sometimes tragic) about his character was revealed and I found myself feeling sympathetic towards him, and that is the sign of a truly great villain. His motivations are something that we can understand and find some good in, and they are motivations that closely mirror Matt's.A great choice by the makers of the show was to not even show us Fisk until the very end of the third episode. So during the first few hours, his character is just a shadow lurking over the events taking place in Hells Kitchen. We don't see him, and we don't even hear his name, which really helps to build up his threatening persona which is made even stronger by D'Onofrio's acting once he finally appears on screen. He has no super-powers (although he is very strong), yet he feels far more threatening than Loki or Ronan the Accuser (Guardians of the Galaxy) so that when Daredevil and Fisk first meet, we are much more worried for our hero than we would be in most superhero films. The downside to Fisk being such a great villain is that the more minor bad guys throughout the season just can't compare, and are mostly uninteresting. One notable exception is Fisk's right hand man, Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore), who at times can feel just as intimidating as his boss.
A Hero That Bleeds
In addition to this show being much darker than any of Marvel's previous projects, it's also much more brutal. Blood spews out from mouths, bones break out of skin, even a head gets smashed in repeatedly by a car door in one of the most graphic scenes in the show. And this added intensity adds even more to the character of Daredevil. He doesn't have a suit of armor or super soldier serum, he is not an unstoppable force, and we are reminded of that repeatedly. Daredevil gets hit, and he gets hit hard. Perhaps the best action sequence, a hallway brawl in episode two captured in one long take, is also the most grueling to watch. Our hero gets knocked down over and over again, and it was hard to watch him struggle to get back up and throw another punch. Even his "superpowers" are downplayed throughout the series. Yes, he does have heightened senses than allow him to still "see" even though he is blind, but that doesn't make him a powerful super-hero. Not only is he a conflicted character, but he is a very human character, one that is able to relate more easily to the audience than a god of thunder.
A Great Step in a New Direction
"Daredevil" is not without its faults. The show drags in its final third as it slowly builds up to the climactic finale. Several episodes in the back half of the season also struggle with pacing, as the show has to take a pause in the action to give time to the supporting character arcs which is usually not as exciting as whatever Matt is doing that episode. Also, more courtroom scenes next season please. Overall though, this is a great first step for Marvel's new line of shows with Netflix. The lack of content restrictions that comes with airing a show on Netflix has allowed Marvel to create an R-rated series, a rating that is necessary to fully capture the intensity and grim tone of the character of Daredevil. The story is moving, the characters are compelling, and the action is exciting. If you don't have plans this weekend, then you should definitely consider binge-watching this new superhero drama.
