Hey folks, Harry here… After watching 2 seasons of DAREDEVIL, a season of JESSICA JONES, a season of LUKE CAGE, a season of IRON FIST and now a way too short season of THE DEFENDERS… I’d like to offer up some constructive criticisms for NETFLIX Marvel…
I applaud the slow and consistent build that the creative teams have brought to the shows. I love the intensity and level of personal humanity they’ve brought to the characters. My fave episode of the current DEFENDERS series is when we bring all the heroes to a Chinese Restaurant to hide out and get to know one another. For me, that was pure bliss – and didn’t need action to move forward or to distract. This is because over the 5 seasons of Marvel that brought us to DEFENDERS, the teams have built characters that hold our attention as human beings, first and foremost. Well done!
I’ve been pondering since I finished DEFENDERS at 10am Friday morning, what would be better. What is missing. What would put me over the fucking moon for these shows. And I get that the show runners don’t seem to be in a rush, but while the shows have beautiful photography and some neat moments – we’re not in the realm of Holy Shit that was fucking unbelievably awesome.
We’ve been slowly ramping up all these characters, but in “phase two” of the Netflix Initiative – let’s start going where we’ve yet to go with these characters. Let’s start with DAREDEVIL…
DAREDEVIL – I really really really need Daredevil to use his Billy Club to navigate around New York. Every time Matt leaves to go somewhere else in the city. Give us a few shots of him being The Man Without Fear. I don’t need goofy Daredevil vision. I don’t need a CG landscape done in red outlines. But I do need to see him making the concrete and stone canyons of his city as his own. When reading the classic comics – it was Matt’s relationships that formed him – and they’ve done a riveting job with Foggy and Karen, a pretty good job with Elektra. But instead of mopey Matt in his loft, we need to hear him think perched on an edge of a building, leap off, smile as he swings through the streets. Give us his thoughts and thrills. For me – that was always a key to Daredevil being Daredevil. And we need bank shots with the Billy Club into Thug faces knocking teeth out. Also – we need in all these shows – a stand alone episode or two of a non-related threat. Not everything needs to be motivated by a big baddie, it also shows a reason for the heroes to be needed beyond a personal vendetta.
IRON FIST – Thus far – I’ve enjoyed the IRON FIST story arc over his series and THE DEFENDERS. Madame Gao is my favorite character of every character introduced on Netflix Marvel. I also love Jessica Henwick’s Colleen Wing, a whole lot. But… there’s a terrible terrible visual problem in IRON FIST. And that’s the IRON FIST itself. It feels like it is stuck completely in first gear and has never completely learned how to fully ignite the iron fist. Right now, the character is more… Glowy Hand. That Chi needs to envelop the fist, crackle and pop the humidity and air around the fist. When he swings, it should leave energy trails that tracks his hands through martial arts moves. And after Bakuto taught him to constantly feed his Chi, the bullshit of running out of Chi should be fucking over. In that final fight in DEFENDERS – in that dark setting, IRON FIST needed to light shit up, instead – the glowy hand felt… lame. Also, it would be nice to outfit him up with the green and yellow and the mask. If only to give us a break from the Finn Jones squint. And to give y’all more merch to sell.
JESSICA JONES… I’d love for her to develop her flight ability – and for it to give her some bit of joy. I know she has skeletons in her closet, but I’d love to see her fly after a few drinks too many – and while I love Rosario Dawson and Luke Cage, I want Jessica Jones to head in the direction of eventually marrying LUKE CAGE as she’s intended. I see that Doctor Who will be tormenting her in Season 2 of her show, but I hope her ability to resist psychic attacks gets stronger and that Tennant’s Kilgrave is just a part of a larger experience in that season… as… I want Jessica to grow outside of that shadow.
LUKE CAGE – I love him. LOVE. That said, when Luke Cage is punching in anger any bad guys – their bodies need to fly at least 22 inches through concrete from whatever point of the punch is delivered. Watching that fight and seeing Hand henchman shake off Luke Cage punches was so unbelievably lame. Same with Jessica’s punches now that I think about it. When Luke is cleaning up after the "Earthquake" - we see him move a single bit of rubble. Giant styrofoam props that look like massive things that you have him haul around like nothing would go a very long ways! So more exhibition of super strength!
I don’t want a second season of LUKE CAGE or IRON FIST… I need HEROES FOR HIRE. Danny Rand needs the mask so that his corporation doesn’t get sued for his super exploits. If you do a HEROES FOR HIRE series – let it be made up of stand alone cases. Where perhaps a few of the cases relate to the two part end episodes. The day IRON FIST gets his mask will be a fucking day for mass celebration by all of humanity. Not to mention the high collar and the chest exposing plunge.
These are actually – very slight things, but would make great fun for the shows. I’d also love for Stick to complete IRON FIST’s training so he can get past “The Glow” and seem powerful enough to defeat Sho’nuff!
Once again, I want to state how much I love the NETFLIX MARVEL series – this is just the things that would make at least me, a whole lot happier. I’d also love on heavy martial arts episodes – for the shoot time to triple so the battles would be more than a variation upon 3-4 moves.
Now to watch it all again! How would you enhance the Netflix Marvelverse?
Keep it cool,
Harry
