Netflix's "Daredevil" a stunt worth getting into
The Marvel machine has turned out another hit with “Daredevil,” the first of the company’s lineup exclusive to Netflix. The show follows Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), lawyer by day and vigilante by night, as he tries to protect his neighborhood (Hell’s Kitchen, apropos of his alter ego) both in the courtroom and on the streets. His superpower: he was blinded as child, leaving his other senses heightened, aided by his martial arts prowess.
In comparison to Marvel’s other television enterprises, “Agents of SHIELD” and “Agent Carter,” “Daredevil” is far darker and more dramatic, opting for the “gritty realism” more closely associated with rival DC Comics’ productions. It still maintains the signatures of a Marvel comic, though: humor, with Murdock’s legal partner Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson); humanity from supporting characters Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), who is Murdock & Nelson’s first client-turned-secretary, and Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson), known as the Night Nurse in the comics, who patches Murdock up when his crime fighting goes awry; and a badass and complex villain in Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), aka the Kingpin. It also subtly references the greater Marvel Universe, including the effect that the battle in The Avengers had on New York City.
Even among the myriad of fighting-based shows on tv nowadays, “Daredevil”’s stunts are a cut above the rest. Murdock’s fighting is a form of mixed martial arts and his super-hearing allows him to dodge and weave against his opponents without ever laying eyes on them. One scene in the second episode expertly showcases both the stunt team and the cinematography, as Murdock fights his way through a crew a baddies in a hallway through a continuous one-take shot. Unlike in most fight scenes, the goons actually get back up after a punch and Matt beats them back down time and time again. The scene is jarring in its style, but it drives home the sheer power of this hero, as well as the fact that he does it all without sight, and sets the tone for the rest of the series.
Like any good Netflix series, “Daredevil” is easily binge-able, with all thirteen episodes released at once. “Daredevil” is unique, though, because it has taken extra steps to expand its viewership and aid those with special needs. Less than a week after the show premiered, Netflix added descriptive audio tracks to every episode so that the visually impaired can enjoy it as well as those with sight. The tracks include narration of action, facial expressions, and scene changes, and will be added to more of Netflix’s titles in the coming weeks. Before the tracks were added, fans had started a petition to do just that, arguing that it was ironic at best and hypocritical at worst for the show to have a blind main character and not provide an option for viewers who are blind or with poor vision.
Marvel has set the bar very high for itself with its recent films and tv shows, and “Daredevil” does not disappoint. Fans of existing shows like “Agents of SHIELD,” “Gotham,” and “Arrow” should be sure to make “Daredevil” the next addition to their queue.
