Four out of five kernels
TV review
KAYLEE BREWSTER
For Marvel fans anxiously awaiting the arrival of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” have no fear, the man without fear is here to hold you over until May 1.
Marvel has tread into new waters in teaming up with Netflix to create “Daredevil.” It’s not the light, humorous take that you’ll find in other Marvel adaptations such as “Guardians of the Galaxy.” The grim and gritty tones in “Daredevil” are more reminiscent of Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy.
Everything about “Daredevil” is more dangerous and violent than any superhero show I’ve seen so far. The lighting is dark, with shades of red thrown in. The fights are brutal and you can see them taking a physical toll on our hero. It doesn’t shy away from blood, broken bones, smashed skulls and eye-gouging. Because Daredevil isn’t your grandma’s superhero, he fights crime not just because he has to, but because he enjoys it.
Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil (Charlie Cox), is blinded as a child. However, he is blinded by chemicals that enhance his other senses — smell, touch, taste and hearing. So he’s not helpless.
He turns that into wanting to help his city, or at least his part of his city, Hell’s Kitchen, N.Y. (not the Gordon Ramsay show). By day he is a defense attorney, by night he beats up criminals in a mask. The criminals he fights are just as hardened as he is, which makes every episode have high stakes.
“Daredevil” also takes its time to let us get to know the characters and develop their stories. Episodes can run to almost an hour, but with all the tension packed in one episode it feels more like 20 minutes. Thankfully, Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), Matt’s friend and partner, provides some comic relief to lighten the mood. The editing is spectacular, be it splicing up Matt’s practice in the gym, to the bad guys hatching out their plots, to sound editing that lets the audience hear all that Matt hears.
“Daredevil” is a new direction for Marvel, but it proves that it can tell its characters’ stories in any form. Although the whole season is available on Netflix, I recommend showing restraint. Take time to savor this show because “Daredevil” is heavenly perfection.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI2JWIN1zMQ[/embed]
