mini review: marvel’s daredevil premieres on netflix today
so how is it?
The last time Marvel attempted an on-screen adaptation of Daredevil, bands Evanescence and Nickelback were relevant enough to make their way onto the soundtrack. Given the poor casting choices (Ben Affleck in an unfortunate red leather get-up), cartoonish CGI, and cringe-worthy music, the 2003 rendition was campy at best. Today, Marvel and Netflix are bringing the masked vigilante back in a full-fledged crime drama.
To refresh your memory, having lost his eyesight in an accident that involves radioactive waste, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) is raised by his boxer father, who gets murdered upon refusing to throw a fight. Murdock grows up to be a lawyer, and battles against injustice as a man of law by day, and the black-clad Daredevil by night. Pleasantly enough, the Drew Goddard-created Netflix version delves deeper into the story, and brings a Nolanesque realism to superhero ass-kicking—a first in the history of Marvel TV shows.
By giving comprehensive screen time to characters like Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio, who doesn't make his first appearance until a few episodes in), the series explores palpable fear, love, and everything in between. Set in a crime-ridden and threatening New York (not unlike DC’s Gotham), Marvel’s Daredevil is a modern-day noir. Rosario Dawson and Deborah Ann Woll give excellent turns as the female leads. Important side note: Hats off to the opening credits that paint NYC landmarks in blood.
