It’s been cemented ever since Iron Man that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a money-making juggernaut, yet some of us are still in awe at how Avengers: Age of Ultron can make $191.3 million in a single box office weekend. There’s no slowing this proverbial beast down.
We’ll have to wait and see how Ant-Man fairs, but next year’s Captain America: Civil War is sure to be another hit, especially with Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. returning as Captain America and Iron Man, respectively. And don’t forget, it also helps that Spider-Man is rumored to make his MCU debut in the film. As we get closer, it should be confirmed.
DC Comics has a lot of catching up to do on the film front, although we know its plans now. On TV, however, DC is in control with the likes of Supergirl, The Flash and Arrow. But last month, Marvel landed an insane blind backward flip-kick while its eyes were covered by a mask on DC with its debut TV show on Netflix Daredevil, which has since been renewed for a second season.
We all probably know what binge-watching is at this point. House of Cards arguably did it the best before. Daredevil has taken that mantle. Someplace mentioned it being a 13-hour long film, it essentially is. And it’s a damn good one. The terrible Ben Affleck flick of the same name left a bad taste reaction toward the character. This show pardons him completely.
It needed to take a drastically different tone, not only from that film but also from the MCU as a whole in order to separate itself from the deep-pocketed spectacle that have come to be known of Marvel films. It does that. It’s very, very, very, VERY dark tonally and visually making it an extremely grounded viewing experience. What a lot of people really appreciate most about Daredevil is how each punch he throws takes a lot out of him physically and mentally. Daredevil bleeds and is winded during and after fights. The one scene in the entire first season that captures this perfectly is the much talked about one-shot hallway fight from episode two Cut Man:
If that alone doesn’t make someone want to watch this show. Nothing else can be said to convince.
A ton of credit has to be given to those at the show’s helm: Doug Petrie, Marco Ramirez, Drew Goddard, Jeph Loeb and Steven S. DeKnight. Also to the cast performances of Charlie Cox as Daredevil, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk and Vondie Curtis-Hall were all standouts. Bold-face and italicize D’Onofrio. He put on a hell of show. He’s unrecognizable from any of his other roles he’s played as in his career. Truly jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring.
Daredevil does have its rare moments of filler. But there’s so little that it can be ignored and overlooked. Marvel’s Daredevil is the best comic book show on TV.