Created by Drew Goddard.
Starring : Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Vondie Curtis Hall, Bob Gunton, Ayelet Zurer, Rosario Dawson, Toby Leonard Moore & Vincent D’Onofrio.
Music by John Paesano.
Directed by Various.
When we first heard the announcement about Daredevil TV series we weren’t excited at all as we had to bear the movie which came out in 2003 starring Ben Affleck. However as it was a Netflix series, we had slight hope of it being average and gave it a try. To our surprise, it turned out to be not only the best comicbook TV series of all time but one of the top 10 series of all time as well.
Daredevil is an American web TV series created for Netflix by Drew Goddard based on the comics of the same name. It is also inspired by Frank Miller’s Graphic Novel of the same name. It is connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is first of the many shows which will lead up to the Defenders Mini Series. The connection to the MCU makes it all the more important to be watched by every Marvel fan.
In the premier episode we see a very young Matt Murdoch (Charlie Cox) who saves an old man’s life by pushing him away from the road but the price of saving the old man’s life is very high as in the process some chemical enters Matt’s eyes and he loses his eye sight. His dad rushes towards the scene and is worried about him just like any parent would be. However, there is no cure and Matt has to live like that for the rest of his life.
It was a flashback scene as we now see Matt sitting in the confession are of a church talking to a priest (Peter McRobbie) telling him about his father. Following it, Matt says, “I’ve been preoccupied as of late with questions of morality, of right and wrong, good and evil. I’m not seeking penance for what I’ve done. Father, I’m asking forgiveness for what I’m about to do.” The priest asks him about what he’s going to do?
Following that just a split second later we now see a group criminals kidnapping the girls and putting them into a shipment carriage box in order to sell them. From the top of a carriage Matt now in his Daredevil costume is monitoring the scene. He then charges into the criminals and knocks them out and further allowing the kidnapped victims to escape. We then see the show intro with impressive animation and a much impressive theme music.
We then see Matt’s best friend Foggy (Elden Henson) calling him about work. Following it comes a scene where Foggy is talking to Officer Mahoney (Royce Johnson) about giving him a heads up on the case he’s in on also offering Mahoney cigars for his mom. Then Matt and Foggy together are in an empty house which they need to establish their office in. We then see Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) in a house with a dead body covered in pool of blood which she is suspected of murder and is taken under police custody.
She is now in an interrogation room where we see Matt and Foggy entering seconds later. She denies committing the murder but nobody believes her besides Matt who further decides to take up her case. She explains the whole scenario to Matt and Foggy which Foggy is perplexed about but Matt buys it. She tells them she doesn’t have the resources to hire them but still they decide to defend her.
In the following scene we see Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore) going up to a former Hitman and telling him that the money he owes Wesley’s boss can be converted into nil if he makes one hit but the hit man denies and is further blackmailed into doing so as Wesley threatens to get his daughter murdered.
Matt and Foggy convince the Detectives to release Karen with the use of some leverage. Matt and foggy further ask Karen questions in their office where while answering them Karen breaks down. It is not safe for her to go anywhere so Matt decides to take her into his house. Later that night she leaves Matt’s house without him noticing and goes to her house to grab something which is very important to her.
We see a meeting of various mafia figures comprising of Leland (Bob Gunton), Wai Ching Ho (Madam Gao), Nobu (Peter Shinkoda), Vladamir and Gideon Ranskahov. They are running the organized crime in Hell’s Kitchen. Wesley shows up instead of his boss who is also a part of their Mafia group.
We later see Karen being released clear of all charges against her and as payback she decides to work for Matt and Foggy. We see more flashbacks of Matt with his father. Matt trains himself in a boxing gym at a time when nobody is present. The premier episode ends with Matt listening to a lot of noises and a boy being kidnapped by the mafia.
In the second episode we see Matt badly injured and his body lying in a dumpster which is found by a boy living near by. The boy calls down Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) who is a nurse and decides to cure Matt’s wounds and on request of Matt she doesn’t call the police. She also sees his face but doesn’t know his true identity and the only thing she knows about him is that he is a masked vigilante.
I would like to specifically mention about the ending of this episode where the fight scene was a single shot which lasted 2+ minutes long and it certainly is a thing to consider how dedicated Charlie Cox was playing his character.
In the following episode we see the first appearance of journalist Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall) who is struggling between his work and wife’s sickness. His orthodox ways of writing news articles is making his job even tougher for him as his boss wants the new ways to be adapted. However Ben manages to maintain his composure and keep doing what he does. He later on suspects about the ways things are going around in the city and starts to gather leads to show the real face of the mafia to the entire world.
We also see the first appearance of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) as well as Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer). We see Wilson staring at a white painting in an art hall where he and Vanessa first interact and she explains him about the painting and asks how does it make him feel where Wilson replies, “It makes me feel alone.” wilson fisk is the main antagonist of this series.
I will not be telling you about this any further as I want to keep it spoiler-free and even with minor spoiler I have kept all the questions unanswered.
To sum it all up, this show is simply great. The cast was not only brilliant but the best thing about this show. We not only see Daredevil’s but also Kingpin’s origin story which makes Wilson Fisk all the more the most interesting character on this show. Charlie Cox has set the bar with his character portrayal for not only the small screen superheroes but also the silver screen ones. Vincent D’Onofrio just looked like he was born for the role of Kingpin, he has been the best of the best performers on this show. Vincent himself has raised the bar for villain portrayal in any comic adaptation media. Elden, Vondie & Toby also deserve a standing ovation for their performances. The action is also one of the best things about this show, it just doesn’t feel like if it’s a TV show and feels more like a movie-type production. The direction despite various directors didn’t seem any different. The music was quite suiting as well. This is simply the best series of the year.
Cinematic Idealist’s Ratings:
Direction : 10/10
Screenplay : 10/10
Cast : 10/10
Music : 10/10
Overall Rating : 10/10
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