As some-one who just got around to finishing this show this afternoon, I thought I'd just jot down my over-all view on it:
PROS:
-I feel the central appeal of this show was always going to be finally getting to see these larger than life characters finally getting the opportunity to interact and bounce off one another, and largely, I felt that was something the show did really well here. For example, as a fan, it was a real thrill to see Jessica's noirish lifestyle colliding with Matt Murdock's more clean-cut approach to things, much as it was to see almost any other character combination come to life within the team. Scenes that showcased Luke and Danny quietly bonding, and Matt and Jessica getting to solve mysteries together were a lot of fun, and I felt they really added a lot of value to the show.
-Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter and Mike Colter all did really good work in this series as their respective characters, with each of them delivering a handful of really stand-out moments. I especially enjoyed Mike Colter's work as Luke Cage in this. He can be a very charismatic performer, and I really like what he continues to do with the character.
-I thought the show really benefited from slimming down from the Netflix standard of 12 episodes to 8. It felt like there was far, far less monotonous padding than there has been in comparison to most of the other Marvel Netflix shows. As a result, this show made for a much breezier viewing experience and was far more streamlined and direct narratively, which I think was a big plus.
-I love the
theme-tune for this show. I think it works really well as The Defenders main theme as a superhero group, whilst at the same time integrating the themes from the main four's respective shows. I'm also a really big fan of the show's rather colourful opening sequence as well.
-As a
Daredevil fan, I liked that this series finally got the opportunity to showcase Matt acting like a competent lawyer for a change. I also really loved the scene with Matt giving a pep-talk to the kid in the wheelchair. That was a lovely character moment.
CONS:
-Sigourney Weaver was utterly, utterly wasted as "Alexandra", a character who basically spends her time standing around in rooms, delivering painfully cliche, expositional dialogue. Upon reading the show's wikipedia page today...
Weaver worked with the writers to avoid a cliche portrayal, specifically "terms like ice queen that are often thrown at women who arent completely sympathetic.
There was nothing either remotely engaging or interesting about her as a character in her own right, nor did she exude any real sense of menace as the show's central villain. Undoubtedly the worst villain these shows have had, especially in comparison to the likes of The Kingpin and Kilgrave, and just a real wasted opportunity all round.
-Once again, as an antagonistic force, The Hand was both extremely underwhelming and utterly bewildering in regards to their tactics and goals. As an organization, their methods and motivations are so frustratingly vague, it's frankly impossible for us to develop any kind of strong instincts about them. I've also long gotten bored of Madame Gao as a character, and felt she had nothing to really offer in her story. Same thing with Bakuto, who much like in Iron Fist, proved to be as shallow a character as he was ultimately aimless. Hopefully however, this show has seen the end of The Hand for good in the Netflix-Verse. At least, I hope so.
-Although I felt his character benefited from being surrounded by characters who were far less willing to put up with his shit, Danny Rand stuff continues to be a character as weakly written as he is frustrating, continuing on
Iron Fist's proven tradition of depicting Rand as a petulant, bewildered child who's gotten in far over his head.
-The final episode came across as very lazy and slap-dash, especially considering half of it revolved around the team standing around the foyer of an empty corporate building. The stuff with the elevator was flat-out bizzare (Luke volunteering Jessica to act as a distraction whilst he and Matt jumped out at The Hand's men) in addition to the prolonged fight-scene that was underscored by an ill-fitting rap song.
NITPICKS:
-Not a fan of the sequence where Matt Murdock basically attempting to strangle a restrained prisoner to death.
-The Hand were making themselves immortal by drinking the bone marrow taken from dragon skeletons? What?
-Claire never once acknowledging Matt until a very brief exchange in the final episode was extremely strange.
-So...Luke and Jessica wer never charged for kidnapping their lawyer after all? Why not?
-There were very few moments where The Defenders actually got to act like a cohesive team in this, instead mostly going off in pairs, before finally reuniting in the last moments of the final episode. I thought that was pretty disappointing.
-Disappointed to observe there were absolutely no wider MCU references in this show. Noted this in the MCU community thread, but it feels like these Netflix shows are becoming more and more isolated from the films.
Overall though, I had a lot of fun with this show and managed to finish it feeling relatively satisfied...although I can certainly recognize its many flaws (especially in regards to that extremely messy finale)
7/10.
even just in costume/cgi.
