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Reviewed by:
  • Daredevil Seasons 1 & 2. (US 2015–) by Netflix
  • Michael C. Reiff (bio)
Daredevil Seasons 1 & 2. (US 2015–). Netflix 2015–. Distributed by Netflix.

Between hard-boiled bullets and Bushido blades battles Daredevil (Charlie Cox), the blood-red guardian angel of Hell's Kitchen. Marvel and Netflix's first superhero series features a pugilistic avenger, a vigilante who brutalises gangsters, ninjas and anyone else that crosses his seemingly righteous path. Using heightened sense from a childhood accident, as well as Zen-like feats of concentration, the superhero's quest looms over the New York City neighbourhood with violent, and often ethical, consequences. The series focuses on Matt Murdock, by day an altruistic and usually pro-bono lawyer, by night the devil of New York's Hell's Kitchen. The first two seasons chronicle his rise to heroic prominence in the public imagination and nighttime cityscape, first taking down a criminal hegemon in season one, then a gun-wielding vigilante rival – as well as an occult conspiracy of ninjas – in season two.

Many critics have found the recent Warner Brothers film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Snyder US 2016) to be too existentially ponderous in the wrong ways, as well as sporadic in its action and excitement. In contrast, Daredevil largely strikes the proper balance between thoughtful characterisation, finely tuned and often beautifully shot action set pieces, and periodic digressions into the ethics and morality of vigilante justice. If the series has any failings, it is that it does not spend enough time, or risk enough viewer capital, on developing this final category. While Marvel's cinematic characters may dabble in issues of government overreach and the rights and responsibilities of great men, Daredevil seems uniquely situated in the comic's pantheon to tackle the thornier issues superheroes evoke. How can a man be both a lawyer and a vigilante? Is there an ethical argument to taking the law into one's own hands? Is it moral – religiously or otherwise – to kill, even once, even a monster? In wrestling with these questions, the series repeatedly reaches towards philosophical cohesiveness, even greatness. Sadly, the two seasons have also consistently slipped into the mundane aspects of the genre, prioritising plot and action conventionality over thematic consistency or metaphysical daring.

Visually and cinematically, Daredevil is a polished and path-breaking entry for the television corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Both seasons are beautifully shot, capturing the hues, tones and gritty detail of Hell's Kitchen [End Page 423] with consistent clarity and verve. There are some cinematically impressive sequences in both seasons, long tracking shots of fist-pummelling violence in stairways and hideouts. The second season, especially, exhibits a strong compositional eye even within the mundane – courtroom depositions, Indian restaurants and bowling alleys all pop with a distinct gleam. While Daredevil does not exhibit any major formal or aesthetic departures from the Marvel/Disney film palate and style, it does feel more intimate and specific.

The characters are also largely well-conceived, with the writers leveraging the many hours of the two seasons to develop specific narrative arcs for even minor characters. As discussed below, Matt Murdock wrestles throughout the two seasons with the personal, emotional and spiritual cost of his superheroics, a career that alienates him from most of his friends and relations. His work as a lawyer is less well-developed, an odd oversight in a series that wishes to examine the lines between strict legal frameworks and extrajudicial action. The first season largely uses this element of the character to move along the plot, and spur some interesting discussions between Murdock and his relations. The second season does a better job at interweaving this element into the fabric of the narrative. At the outset of the season, Murdock has become an altruistic lawyer of the poor and dispossessed; later he acts as the defence attorney of a murderous vigilante whom Murdock despises personally but still believes deserves due process.

Matt Murdock/Daredevil is also used to explore the minutiae of superheroics and powers. The first season, especially, pays close attention to the workmanlike aspects of superhero living often missed in the faster, more compressed superhero films. Both seasons...

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