Daredevil Series Review (Season 1)

Released: April 10th 2015 (All episodes at once)

Created by: Drew Goddard

Number of episodes: 13

Where to watch: Netflix (All regions)

Starring: Charlie Cox, Elden Henson, Deborah Ann Woll, Vincent D'Onofrio, Toby Leonard Moore, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Bob Gunton, Ayelet Zurer and Rosario Dawson 

Marvel’s Daredevil is the opening effort in bringing its superhero flair to the small screen, focusing on one of its more popular characters. Following a mediocre reaction to the character’s film adaptation back in 2003, the blind lawyer has leapt out of the shadows with a superb thirteen episode offering.

Taking place in Hell’s Kitchen (A district in New York City) Daredevil follows the events of 2012’s The Avengers. Matthew Murdock (Charlie Cox) is a blind lawyer who starts up a new attorney business with his best friend Franklin “Foggy” Nelson (Elden Henson) and eventually Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), who ends up wrapped up some nasty business after accidentally uncovering a financial scheme. What Foggy and Karen don’t know is that by night Murdock ventures out to fight crime with little more than his bare-knuckle combat skills, enhanced senses and a black mask to hide his identity. His ultimate goal? Bring down Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), an overlord of crime within the city. Fisk has a web of organised crime at his fingertips alongside payments and bribery to the courts, media and police. Daredevil is a very straightforward affair, with regular action and conversing alongside flashbacks occasionally entering the narrative to shed more light on the characters. Several allies and enemies enter and exit the proceedings as things go on and what makes it all so engaging is the back and forth exploits of the two sides; While Murdock’s small band navigates the precipice of fighting a man at the top, Fisk and his circle of crime organises and collects itself to respond, often with brutal efficiency. It keeps you invested all the way to the end where an explosive series of set pieces rounds it all off with a bang. One deviation from this thread does stick out however, when a particular face from Murdock’s past almost hogs an entire episode; it was the only point for me where the series paused for a moment.

Daredevil’s central characters are very well defined and performed. Charlie Cox sits at the centre, mixing great physicality with emotion. But the best aspect of his performance is a duality which reminded me a lot of Batman. The calm, cool and unassuming position he takes on as Matthew Murdock by day brilliantly contrasts with the gritty persona of Daredevil. The series cleverly presents the area between the two, a person who questions his morals while often underestimating his enemies. Murdock makes mistakes and often pays dearly for them, which adds an element of realism to his character. Over the course of just one season, you’ll feel Murdock and Daredevil are just as developed as the Avengers in Marvel’s big screen ventures and that’s a massive achievement. Wilson Fisk is also very well done, with an obsession for control and a brutish appearance delivered strongly by Vincent D’Onofrio. With perilous situations often at play, there’s a great sense of charisma from Foggy and Karen which works to get the audience rooting for them.

A dark and brooding tone hangs over Daredevil, matched only by the often brutal criminal activity and the religious undertones that creep in the main character’s motivations. But this is only a springboard for the real star of the show; taking some inspiration from The Raid films, Daredevil delivers some ferocious fight sequences that are exceptionally choreographed, fantastically shot and filled with tension. They really are capable of standing up to the likes of Captain America: Civil War, only here the more visceral nature of the storyline and tone allows them to have an even greater impact. Murdock flips, kicks and dodges gunfire but he’s far from invincible and the ways the narrative puts him through some horrible beatings emphasises the fact that he’s just one man desperately trying to rip apart a crime syndicate at its foundations. Even if you’re unable to get into the characters and their plights, the action presented in Daredevil is some of the best ever filmed for a television series.

Daredevil is by far the best series put out by Marvel; the vicious fight scenes, dark atmosphere and multidimensional characters, it all makes for a fantastic thrill ride all around. If you have any sort of interest in action and superheroes, it’s absolutely essential viewing.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars