REVIEW #426 Daredevil Born Again (Season 1)

Daredevil Born Again

Synopsis

As they both attempt to move on from their past lives, Matt Murdock soon finds himself heading on another collision course with Wilson Fisk in the fight for New York.

My Review

Daredevil Born again is by far the boldest and most impressive Disney+ show yet, never shying away from the brutality and the darkness that the original Netflix show was known for. In fact, some of the scenes in Born Again season 1 were far more brutal and gruesome than what come before. They certainly left their own stamp on the character, illustrating new ways to portray Matt’s powers and new storylines that upped the stakes to new heights. Unfortunately there were signs of a chopped up story, parts of the old script that, in all fairness to them, they did their best to cover up and improve. For the most part it worked too, they done the best job they could whilst having to work with old material and it fills me with excitement for season 2 when they have one, clear direction to head in. My only other criticism sits with the CGI, almost every time green screen was used. Fortunately it wasn’t too frequently but when they did utilise it, the poor quality was glaringly obvious and it pulls you out of the wonderful realism that the show exudes. On the other hand, the quality of the cinematography was really impressive, I loved the colour palettes that regularly reflected the mood and tones of the scenes, whilst they were also super innovative with the types of shots they used too. Meanwhile, I appreciated the fact we had two primary antagonists, with Muse acting as the cool side villain whilst Kingpin rose to mighty villainy behind the scenes. That parallel between Matt and Fisk slowing descending into their old selves, worked incredibly well and the musical score assisted brilliantly in building up such strong tension for the show.

The next part contains spoilers!!

I thought the ending sets up one of the most interesting stories in the MCU post endgame. A New York controlled by Kingpin and his rogue cops, pushing a war with vigilantes! It’s simple but with the characters at marvels disposal, it’s incredibly exciting. I will say I expected more from the “We need an army” follow up scene, a room filled with irrelevant cops was really anticlimactic and whilst the legal rights to Spider-Man meant he was off limits, The Defenders were right there, Hawkeye, Kate Bishop, Moon Knight and the list goes on! One scene could have meant that season 2 would have hit Jackpot viewership but it instead had me feeling quite deflated. That being said, we do have a Punisher special feature coming and with the end credits teasing his escape, I can only imagine just how much of a treat we are in for with that. Finally, I don’t actually mind the fact they killed off foggy, I think I would have preferred Karen take the hit but from a story perspective, I get it. That being said, I can’t help but think, knowing Marvel, there will be some way they spin it for his return. Not that I want that, let a death be meaningful for once!

My Rating: 8.3 out of 10

Thanks for reading.

Film Review Club