The Defenders is easily Netflix’s most ambitious project since it took up producing original content. Four separate shows then coming together for a fifth; has anything like this even been attempted on traditional television? Daredevil is the first leg of this plan, and if it’s to serve as any indication, we’re in for something truly special.
Of course, this isn’t the first time this property has been attempted in the live action form. But if the 2003 film is Batman & Robin, the Daredevil series is The Dark Knight. To put it simply, this is the greatest superhero show ever made and the best offering yet from Marvel Studios.
Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox as an adult, Skylar Gaertner as a child) was blinded at a young age when he saved an elderly man from being hit by a truck delivering chemcicals. Said chemicals are what blinded Matt, but improved his remaining senses to extraordinary levels. This helps a great deal in his nightlife, fighting criminals as a masked vigilante (though he hasn’t yet assumed the Daredevil identity) operating primarily in the New York City neighborhood of Clinton and Midtown West. Or as it’s more commonly known (and thematically fitting), “Hell’s Kitchen.”
By day however, he’s on the other side of things as a defense attorney. He just started a practice with partner Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) specifically to defend the innocent. Their first client is Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), the secretary of a construction company who stumbled upon criminal activity and was framed for murder. They manage to clear her and she goes to work for them, but they land on the radar of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), the crime lord behind it all.
This is not a “villain of the week” type of show, but an ongoing plot much like The Wire. And also like that show, all sides are given nuanced portrayals. From the start we get to see our big bad at his most vulnerable, such as on dates and in quiet moments of reflection. For the hero, there is a primary focus on morality in a way that other superhero tales lack, particularly when it calls into question the proper channel through which to take action (i.e. in the courtroom or on the street). Matt’s religious identity is explored too, with numerous scenes devoted to his conversations with his priest Father Lantom (Peter McRobbie).
The main cast of characters also consists of Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson), a nurse and ally of Matt who patches him up after his battles; Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall), a reporter that helps the firm in uncovering the truth; James Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore), Fisk’s right hand man; Leland Owlsley (Bob Gunton), a white collar criminal in league with Fisk; Vanessa Marianna (Ayelet Zurer), Fisk’s love interest; and Stick (Scott Glenn), Matt’s (also blind) mentor who trained him as a child. Guest stars include reliable New York-based character actors like Peter Gerety, Domenick Lombardozzi, and Phyllis Somerville.
Though given a TV-MA rating and indeed a very mature show, it isn’t gratuitous. The profanities don’t exceed the s-word and nudity is practically non-existent. The violence is brutal and effective, but not overly gory. Still, it’s dark subject matter and treated in kind.
The actors all bring their A-game for this series, which should serve as breakthroughs for Cox and Woll. However, special attention needs to be given to D’Onofrio. It should surprise no one familiar with him that he does excellent work here, but his Fisk (not once called “Kingpin”) is the best live action realization of a comic villain yet. I just hope that award voters will give this show a fair shot and not dismiss it as basic genre fare.
With A.K.A. Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist still to come before The Defenders, Netflix and Marvel have set the bar very high. For themselves and for all live action superhero works hereafter, small screen or big.
