Today NetFlix unleashed the first of its Marvel Superhero series: DAREDEVIL. Because of this very cool new series coming out, I will try to convince you to check out this show… sight unseen. Wow. Yeah, I went there. So let’s get to the synopsis you need to know to start really digging in to this (possibly) excellent show. And I will follow up on how you should come to your senses before its too late.
Yep. I like me some puns.
Anyhoo, Daredevil, Matt Murdock, is a street level superhero who lost his eyesight in an accident as a child. That very same accident also augmented his remaining senses to super human levels. Not stopping at merely being a vigilante puching crime right in the face, Murdock went on to become a lawyer with his friend Foggy Nelson. So by day, he’s defending the innocent in a court of law, and then by night he smacks around the wicked. Classic Super Hero.
There you go. That should be enough to get you started on being interested. Now I’m gonna just send you running for your NetFlix account.
SOUND
The word on the street has been more than excellent. The lines of dialogue that have seeped in through trailers and teasers have been pretty good. We’re only the getting the barest of characterizations, but at the very least Matt Murdock sounds like a decent dude trying to do good by his city. And the Kingpin sounds appropriately dangerous and authorative. I’m very curious what the composer, John Paesano, is going to do with the music. The only stuff he’s done is The Maze Runner and Dragons: Riders of Berk. That’s not much to go on, but after listening to The Maze Runner score, I’m very hopeful.
https://youtu.be/djQvjW0lEX8
TOUCH
A lot of people have got their paws all over Daredevil, pushing it in this and that direction. What’s important is that the main hand guiding the ship is one Drew Goddard. He’s the creator and showrunner of Daredevil (no, he didn’t create the character Daredevil, just to be clear) but what’s more important is that he’s one of Joss Whedon’s elite. This dude directed and co-wrote Cabin In The Woods. He’s worked on Alias, Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel. The guy has some real cred, and is dying to show what he can do. Not only this, but one of my personal favorite comic writers, Christos Gage wrote an episode, so needless to say the good points are hitting home for me.
TASTE
Let’s say Daredevil tastes like a delicious, ripe tomato. Rotten Tomatoes has given, as of this article going up, a 95% score to the show. Daredevil has impressed nearly everyone who’s seen it. With its gritty, noir-esque visual design, and action that seems to have just the right kind of flavor of both dynamic and brutal, we might just have the kind of show that would impress anyone from Batman fans to Law & Order fans. With anyone that likes the entire Marvel Cinematic (and Episodic) Universe as much as I do.
SMELL
All the ingredients are coming together to smell great. Yes, I am stretching with this analogy, but just take this journey with me. What smells good are the acting talent. Actors probably have to smell good, right? OF COURSE I’M RIGHT. First and foremost is Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock. I loved this guy in Stardust. The movie was a lot of fun, but Cox was especially charming. I can see him pulling off the action scenes, as well as the scenes where he needs to charm the hell out of a lady. As long as they don’t give the same haircut in Stardust.
Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page. Listen, True Blood went off the rails like halfway through the series, but Woll was one of my favorite parts of the show no matter what madness was happening around her. I also like red heads, but that is neither here nor there. I just hope to almighty Stan Lee that they don’t add all of Frank Miller’s storyline to the show concerning Page.
Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple. ROSARIO. DAWSON. If I need to write more to explain how this is just fantastic news, then you haven’t seen any of Dawson’s work. She is awesome. ‘Nuff Said.
Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin. This dude is a legend. Not only did he get to play Thor,* but he also gets to be a Marvel villain! Got to say, D’Onofrio is kind of ALWAYS intimidating, even when he’s playing the good guy. Now a huge, bald evil dude? I got to see that.
RADAR
If you thought I was reaching with the Smell section, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Now we go to the sense that only Daredevil has… Radar. Its the combination of all four of his remaining senses to give him echo location. This is where it is boys and girls… I just have a good feeling about Daredevil. With all four of the above reasons combined, I see what can potentially be a game changer for super hero stories. Not all heroes have to save the whole world, just their little patch of it. And with all the elements coming together… I can almost SEE how good this show will be.
*In Adventures In Babysitting, a super young D’Onofrio pretty much is Thor. Or at least the only version we’d get that wasn’t playing opposite a green painted Lou Ferrigno.
