Daredevil

Starring: Charlie Cox (39 episodes), Deborah Ann Woll (39 episodes), Elden Henson (38 episodes), Vincent D'Onofrio (27 episodes), Royce Johnson (18 episodes), Geoffrey Cantor (16 episodes), Jay Ali (13 episodes), Jon Bernthal (12 episodes), Stephen Rider (12 episodes), Wilson Bethel (11 episodes), Ayelet Zurer (11 episodes), Peter McRobbie (11 episodes), Amy Rutberg (11 episodes), Elodie Yung (11 episodes), Toby Leonard Moore (10 episodes), Joanne Whalley (9 episodes), Vondie Curtis-Hall (9 episodes), Bob Gunton (9 episodes), Kate Udall (9 episodes), Susan Varon (9 episodes), Peter Shinkoda (9 episodes), Rosario Dawson (8 episodes), Sunita Deshpande (8 episodes), David Anthony Buglione (8 episodes), Rob Morgan (7 episodes), Matt Gerald (7 episodes), Joe Jones (7 episodes), Michelle Hurd (6 episodes), Danny Johnson (6 episodes), Wai Ching Ho (6 episodes), Stephen Rowe (6 episodes), Matthew McCurdy (6 episodes), Don Castro (6 episodes), Scott Glenn (5 episodes), Ron Nakahara (5 episodes), Daryl Edwards (5 episodes), John Pirkis (5 episodes), Peter Halpin (5 episodes), Kelly McAndrew (5 episodes), Richard Prioleau (5 episodes), Holly Cinnamon (5 episodes), Skylar Gaertner (4 episodes), Nikolai Nikolaeff (4 episodes), John Patrick Hayden (3 episodes), Clancy Brown (2 episodes), Kevin Nagle (2 episodes), Annabella Sciorra (2 episodes), William Forsythe (1 episode), Carrie-Anne Moss (1 episode), Jack DiFalco (1 episode),
Directed by: Phil Abraham (5 episodes), Stephen Surjik (4 episodes), Peter Hoar (2 episodes), Farren Blackburn (2 episodes), Ken Girotti (2 episodes), Euros Lyn (2 episodes), Marc Jobst (2 episodes), Alex Garcia Lopez (2 episodes), Steven S. DeKnight (1 episode), Andy Goddard (1 episode)
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Action, Drama
2015-2018

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1 - 2 - 3

Summary: Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) is a blind lawyer who fights for justice in Hell's Kitchen. By night, he's the costumed hero, Daredevil.

Review:
Tim: "Daredevil" was the first Marvel Netflix series and it always remained the best one. This series erases any memory of the lackluster Ben Affleck movie- this is the kind of Daredevil adventure we always deserved. While the series does occasionally suffer from some unnecessary slowness, it never felt as brutal as it did in some of the other series. The episodes here mostly move and are entertaining. This series introduced us to so many memorable characters. As a whole, I was a huge fan of this show.

I like how each season felt self-contained as well as part of the larger story. In the first season, we get introduced to The Kingpin. In season two, it's all about Elektra and The Punisher. In season three, the Kingpin returns and we're introduced to Bullseye. Centering each season around these characters gave the series a sense of momentum and introduced a nice level of differentiation to each season. Obviously, the story of Matt, Foggy, and Karen continues through each. All in all, it was an effective way to structure the series and we got some truly great characters out of it.

I have to give the cast loads of credit. It was also the best of all the Netflix series. Charlie Cox is incredible as Matt Murdock. I was impressed with his physicality, but it was his ability to connect with the audience that really set him apart. We grow to love Matt- that emotional connection to the main character is critical. Cox did a terrific job portraying a blind man as well. Cox will always be in my good graces for his tremendous performance here. Elden Henson deserves great credit, too. He elevates Foggy beyond just a sidekick or humorous character. In many ways, he's the moral center of the story. He's a good man and portrays this believably (which is pretty challenging to do). Henson was always good, any time he was on screen, the series got better. It's a little harder for me to pin down Deborah Ann Woll. Full disclosure, I never actually liked her as Karen Page. This is somewhat troubling, because she gives a genuinely strong performance throughout the series. You can tell she put a lot into the role. Maybe it was the odd pauses or the occasionally stilted movements, but there was something that always kept her at a distance with me. She's fine, but I can't claim to be a big fan of her work here.

You have to sing Vincent D'Onofrio's praises so highly for his work as Wilson Fisk. The Kingpin could have been a cartoon villain, but he brings so much complexity and humanity to the role. He did fantastic work, making us understand and even care about Fisk, even after we see his full brutality and evilness on display. D'Onofrio could be the highlight of the entire series- he steals all his scenes and emerges as one of the most memorable and formidable villains in this or any series. I can't stress how incredible he was in this. Elodie Yung was fine as Elektra. I didn't have big issues with her performance, but she wasn't the most charismatic or the most effective. Jon Bernthal on the other hand, was fantastic as The Punisher. I always enjoyed the Thomas Jane version (while strongly disliking the Ray Stevenson version). Bernthal puts them both to shame. His Frank Castle is exactly what the character demanded- someone you care about deeply but who's obviously flawed and capable of unrelenting violence. Jane never embraced the darker side of Frank, Stevenson never mastered the softer side. Bernthal nails both. I love that he got his own series that spun out of this one. Wilson Bethel made a surprisingly ineffective Bullseye. He had a few good moments here and there, but as a whole, he was perhaps the worst foil for Daredevil. That was a big letdown in season three.

Ayelet Zurer did some excellent, chilling work in the series. Geoffrey Cantor was always good when he showed up. Peter McRobbie made a difference and truly added to the show. Joanne Whalley was a great addition to the third season and a highlight of the final season. Vondie Curtis-Hall was a standout in the first season. Rosario Dawson was really good here, as she was in all the Netflix series. I wish we saw her more. It was also wonderful to get Scott Glenn here, as he makes everything he's in better. As a whole, the cast of "Daredevil" was incredible.

I have to applaud the fight choreography for this series. "Daredevil" boasts some of the coolest, most insane fight sequences I've seen. The lack of great fight sequences is one of the many reasons "Iron Fist" crashed and burned, but it was the exact opposite here. For any "Daredevil" fan, you just have to say "The Hallway Scene" to immediately bring to mind one of the finest fight sequences I've ever seen on television. Same thing goes for "The Stairway Scene" in season two and "The Prison Scene" in season three. While the staircase one is still probably my favorite, those are all pivotal, incredibly cool scenes. The long, unbroken takes, the brutal reality of the fights. Those are one of the reasons why "Daredevil" was so incredible as a series. I absolutely loved these remarkably crafted scenes.

Now, this series did suffer from occasionally being too slow and drawing things out way too long. I'm not suggesting every scene needed to be full of action- the character development scenes were some of the best of the entire series. However, there wasn't much of a sense of urgency. It was like most seasons were spent stretching out the story to last 13 episodes. That did make for some boring scenes, although it always recovered.

I was a big fan of Netflix's Marvel series, but none of them could ever top "Daredevil". This was an incredible series and the one I was most sad to see ended. Still, I feel lucky to have gotten Charlie Cox as Daredevil in this effective look at one of the best Marvel characters.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher, The Defenders