Arriving on Netflix at midnight are all 13 episodes of “Daredevil,” the latest project set in the Marvel screen universe that houses Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Peggy Carter, Peter Quill, Bobbi Morse, Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, Thor and – very soon – Hank Pym and Peter Parker. (A younger version of Absorbing Man Carl “Crusher” Creel, a recurring supervillain on ABC’s “Agents of SHIELD,” can be glimpsed boxing Daredevil’s dad on the Netflix series.)
It stars Charlie Cox (“Boardwalk Empire”) as blind lawyer/superhero Matt Murdock, Vincent D’Onofio (“The Judge”) as crime lord Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk, Eldon Henson (“Mockingjay”) as fellow attorney Foggy Nelson, Rosario Dawson (“Top Five”) as nurse/potential romantic interest Claire Temple, Deborah Ann Woll (“True Blood”) as Murdock secretary Karen Page and Scott Glenn (“The Leftovers”) as Murdock mentor Stick.
“Daredevil” is overseen by Drew Goddard and Steven S. DeKnight, two fellows hired by “Marvel’s The Avengers” writer-director Joss Whedon to help write Whedon’s hilarious, moving and generally wonderful “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” TV series.
... This is easily the best of Marvel's three shows so far, and quickly moves towards the front of the overall superhero TV pack. … The first episode's a bit generic (even with Matt already in action, there's still a lot of exposition to get through), but following that, you get a very claustrophobic story about what happens after Matt has been in a fight where he's gotten punched, kicked and stabbed multiple times; then an episode focusing largely on Matt and Foggy's legal practice (which, as in the comics, provides a secondary story engine so the show doesn't have to always lean on the superheroics); then a Kingpin spotlight; etc.
... I found the show kind of ordinary, while admiring the care and seriousness with which it’s been made. As crime shows go, it’s pretty good. As comic book shows go, it’s a demonstration of how tricky it can be to turn a comic book into a show. …
Dim and steaming with urban grit, personal pathos and intense violence, Marvel's great new "Daredevil" series for Netflix proves, once again, that no one understands the multiple-platforming world better than the comic book company originally, and fittingly, known as Timely Publications. ... Some story lines are weaker than others — a pair of Russian brothers seem needlessly stereotyped as does an Intrepid Reporter — and though the body count is relatively low, certain deaths are unnervingly brutal (heads are literally bashed in). But the cast is universally strong and the writers — Steve DeKnight replaced Drew Goddard as showrunner two episodes in — remain resolute in their convictions. This is not the splendid shiny gizmo-dependent Marvel, this is the comic book hero stripped bare: Blind, without benefit of costume or companion, fighting with his bare fists for truth, justice and the next wave of great television.
... Cox is a fine actor but he’s a hard fit as a rough-and-tumble vigilante; his best assets as an actor — his eyes — are usually obscured, either by Matt’s daytime sunglasses or Daredevil’s mask. Disappointingly, Cox winds up being just another guy in a TV show. … So much about “Marvel’s Daredevil” works exactly the way it’s intended, including the pace of the action and the extent and style of the gore. What still doesn’t work — what almost never works where the name Marvel and live-action film/TV meet — is the hammy dialogue, especially when characters express their feelings to one another. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... the emphasis is as much on character development as it is on derring-do fight scenes, although there are plenty of those, too. … improves markedly on both the previous “Daredevil” movie and the other, current Marvel universe TV series. …
... far from a perfect show. The pacing is dreadfully self-indulgent, with scenes dragging on for no apparent reason beyond the fact that they can (even the opening credits last an ungodly full minute, a strange choice for a show that is meant to be binged in rapid succession). But Daredevil is still leagues above Marvel's other forays into television and bodes well for Marvel's future Netflix projects. …
… slickly produced ... That blindness – the byproduct of an accident that gave the young Matt Murdock (“Boardwalk Empire” alum Charlie Cox) superhuman senses as compensation – actually serves a more practical purpose in TV terms, since the advantage Daredevil gains while battling in darkness also tends to obscure the limits of a made-for-TV budget. …
... finds no irony or credible defense for its most glaring weakness — that Daredevil himself is just a blind man who is really good at close-quarter fighting, but who, realistically, would be shot dead within the first 30 seconds of any encounter he had with real bad guys. … to people who haven't read the comics, he will surely come off as a low-rent Batman without all the cool gadgets and money. … After watching three of these Daredevil episodes it struck me that NBC's Blacklist is more entertaining and that Cinemax's Banshee is a much better investment of time (and a far better show). …
12:01 a.m. Friday. Netflix.
Journey To “The Force Awakens”!! 
Journey To “The Force Awakens”!!
