Dare(to be different) Devil

       The character of Daredevil hasn’t had much love from any medium outside of the comic books. His gritty, esoteric religious tones have kept him out of the Saturday morning cartoons, and let’s just say his original movie outing was nothing short of colossal failure.

       Knowing this it is a heavy burden for anyone to faithfully represent the red avenger with as much sincerity, drama and intrigue that one might expect from a visceral vigilante, beating people within an inch of their life, who just so happens to be blind.

       But if anyone has the resources to pull it off it’s the unrequited geniuses at Netflix, whose devil may care (no pun intended) attitude of allowing show creators loose on a project. The creators in question not only knock it out of the park, they do so while putting the other Marvel television shows to shame.

       The show stars Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, a rising attorney who after an accident when he was young left him blind. Despite this the normally crippling affliction afforded him to utilize his other heightened senses and undisclosed combat skills to fight crime both in court and on the streets.

Set up as an origin story Daredevil follows as closely to the comics as possible and it gets afforded this privilege by connecting it to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The show’s setting being the same New York that was attacked by Loki and his alien army. While subtle hints and nods keep the audience aware of this fact the show doesn’t use the connection as a crutch unlike the other Marvel T.V. offerings.

       This however leads to a sense of shock when brutal R-rated things start happening to certain characters. Broken bones, beheadings, bludgeoning and all manner of bloody beat downs keep this show squarely outside of the kiddy pool. As lighthearted the show can be sometimes it handles more serious situations and character moments with a little less grace.

       Though this is only a minor complaint as Daredevil exists within its own world, a world with its own characters and its own problems that can only be affected by Daredevil himself and the aid of an amazing supporting cast. High praise must go to the main villain of Kingpin, played ruthlessly well by Vincent D’Onofrio who appears as if he’s slipping back into the psychotic skin he developed during the filming of Full Metal Jacket.  

       Daredevil comes in as another feather in the now pluming hat of Netflix’s original library and anyone who wants to have more to indulge from the crimson crime fighter should look no further than here.