Other Junk: Daredevil Season 2 Review

After the mediocre performance of the Ben Affleck led Daredevil, Marvel entertainment was looking to find another way to introduce audiences to the character. Once Disney came in and bought up most of the characters, people were unsure if the character would ever get another chance to come to life. But to most people's surprise, Marvel announced that they would be creating 5 new shows for Netflix, 4 based off separate characters and 1 that would bring all these characters together in a group. Those characters ended up being Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. These 4 will eventually team up to be known as "The Defenders" a sort of street version of The Avengers. Daredevil was the first of these series and it made a huge debut on Netflix. People could not stop talking about it and for good reason. It did not have the restrictions the movies and Marvel's only show on TV at the time Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. No, this show felt like something that you would find on HBO or Showtime. It was dark, violent and at times a little heavy. It caught a lot of people off guard and I believe that's what led to its success and the clamoring for a second season. Well only a year later, we got our wish.

Daredevil focuses on Matt Murdock (played by Charlie Cox) who is a blind lawyer who runs a firm Hell's Kitchen, New York with his associates Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. What most people don't know is that during the night Matt takes justice into his own hands as the vigilante known as Daredevil. The first season focused on Matt and his firm trying bringing down the powerful criminal Wilson Fisk a.k.a Kingpin (played by Vincent D'Onfrio). It was a solid first season with great performances and gripping story.

Season 2 sees Matt and his friends dealing with the debut of 2 new characters, both with major significance in the Marvel world. The first of these characters we encounter is Frank Castle, better known as "The Punisher". Castle is an ex-military soldier who comes home from war only to have his wife and kids get murdered by the mafia and is now a ruthless vigilante who hunts down and kills criminals with military precision. He is eventually caught and is put on trial with Murdock's firm being Castle's attorneys and the public split on whether Frank is a hero or a threat. As the show goes on we learn more about Frank and what may have caused his families death. Jon Bernthal does a magnificent job bringing Frank Castle to life. He has the menacing presence of the character and the range to go from compassionate to unhinged in seconds. It's a show stealing performance to say the least.

The next new character is Elektra, Matt's old girlfriend. Her story ark takes up much of the season as Matt is torn between helping her with her quest to find out more about a secret society known as "The Hand" and his firm with the Castle case and for the most part it works fine but it does drag the season down a little. We already have the drama with Castle and now to add Elektra and her drama to the already busy story we have going on with our three main heroes and it reaches a point to where you think stories have been thrown aside. I talked about it a lot in my Batman V. Superman review and while both have that problem, Daredevil pulls it off better. In Batman V. Superman it felt like each scene was that, a scene. We'd see Batman do Batman things and then cut to Superman and his drama. But I've already went into detail about that so why does it work here? Well for one, it's a show, stories can be stretched out farther and secondly the show gives us enough time with each story. It can get overwhelming at times but each story does get its time in the spotlight. I still do not like it when superhero movies have to throw everything at us but the show's pacing gives us the audience enough time to take everything in.

While the show does get bogged down by its many storylines, ultimately Daredevil season 2 builds off of what made its first season great. Hypnotizing action scenes, deep and interesting characters and heavy drama. If your a comic book fan or love the superhero genre, defiantly give this show a watch. And for those who have finished the second season and are looking for other shows to fill the void I recommend Arrow or Jessica Jones. Both carry that same type of tone and feel with Arrow having the more vigilante feel and Jones as a psycho-thriller noir story.

Grade: A

Coming Attractions:The Jungle Book and possibly another think piece. 

Other Junk: Marvel's Jessica Jones Review

Marvel's new Netflix series Marvel's Jessica Jones is a far different species than any of the Marvel films and television shows that I have seen so far. While I would say that this is one Marvel product that families should not watch together, I would sill give this show a glowing recommendation. Jessica Jones shares a similarity to the last Marvel Netflix show Daredevil in that it takes place in the dark corner of the Marvel universe, Hell's Kitchen. But that's the only similarity shared by the shows. Jessica Jones feels like a Marvel show designed for HBO. The story is about a former superhero turned private investigator Jessica Jones who is trying to track down and kill the dangerous and menacing Kilgrave.

David Tennant gives a fantastic performance as the dangerous mind controlling villain. What he does to his victims is truly sick and will definitely leave mental and possible physical scars. Any command given by him must be followed out, whether it's the simple act of not talking to telling someone to cut out there own heart. Kilgrave is not someone you would want to meet in the Marvel universe as he could change your life in the worse way imaginable. For proof, just look at our main character.

Jessica Jones after being in a "relationship" becomes a private investigator so that she can help people in her own way. However, she is still haunted by her experience with Kilgrave and wants nothing more than to see him dead. Jones is a different type of superhero heroin. She is foul mouthed, alcoholic jerk but she can be the only hope for a person in need. Despite her jerky personality, she care about the people in her life, going as far as she needs to in order to protect the ones she loves from Kilgrave's sick and twisted power. Her powers are super strength and super leaping abilities (not so much flying, but more like falling gracefully). Her powers as well as her quick wits and smart thinking make her more than a match for Kilgrave's psycho mind games. Krytsen Ritter brings the character to life with her performance.

What makes this Marvel program different from its others is what it gets away with. As stated before, I would not be surprised if Marvel pitched this to HBO a long time ago. This show probably holds the record for most sex scenes and curse words in a Marvel production. There is also immense amounts of graphic violence in the show which may be a put off for any casual Marvel viewer. But oddly enough these things work in the favor of the show. Jessica Jones and Daredevil take place in a corner of the Marvel universe where the are no alien threats or billionaires in iron suits. Instead the Netflix Marvel series focuses on the more ordinary heroes of the Marvel universe, showing that not every hero needs to be a monster or a god to save the world. It is also a place where villains are more realistic. Wilson Fisk and Kilgrave fit perfectly in the seedy underbelly in New York. They haven't caught the attention of any Avengers member but if it wasn't for our heroes, given time both men could be threats to world, Fisk being more a Lex Luthor threat with Kilgrave being a threat that causes fear in the Avengers.

The series is also a good introduction to Luke Cage, another Marvel character getting his own show in 2016. He has unbreakable skin and is the love interest of our main character. The show does a wonderful job of setting up Cage's character that when his show comes out, the viewer will know why Cage does what he does or if its a prequel story, that Cage will be the man we know from Jessica Jones.

Marvel's Jessica Jones is a great and unique entry into the Marvel universe as well as superhero shows in general. It's staggering amounts of sex, swearing and graphic violence makes it something the family nor anyone under the age of 10 should watch but if you're looking for a different kind of superhero or Marvel show, look no further than Jessica Jones.