The cancellation of Iron Fist and Luke Cage, the most controversial series in the television Marvel Cinematic Universe, does not bode well for the future of the Defenders on Netflix. At this point the chances of the four heroes meeting up again are extremely low and perhaps that's why the third season of Daredevil, published only a few days ago, completely glosses over the links established between the devil of Hell's Kitchen and the other city superheroes who have vanquished the Hand with him. Which is strange, because the disappearance of Matt Murdock had a huge impact on the second season of Iron Fist, and the writers seem to have decided to completely put aside any subplot related to those events. There is no trace of Elektra this year, nor of Madame Gao: instead, we return to fight Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, and a deadly new foe that comic fans know by the codename of Bullseye.
The plot
We had left Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) in dire condition at the end of The Defenders, but this was because we had an advantage as spectators: his companions, on the other hand, had to face his disappearance. Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) didn't give up, while Foggy (Helden Henson) accepted the death of her former best friend and continued on her way. The first installments, in effect, insist on the existential crisis of an invalid and weakened Matt who cannot find his place in a world that could do without Daredevil, until his greatest enemy returns to the scene in the worst possible way. . Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) struck a deal with the FBI and got himself placed under house arrest in the penthouse of a luxury hotel from which he can spread a web of increasingly lethal influence and corruption. His machinations cross the paths of two agents of the Bureau who will end up practically becoming the protagonists of this vintage.
Ray Nadeem (Jay Ali) is a completely new character who has no comic book counterpart and who initially also made us turn up our noses a bit. An honest and professional family man, he finds himself forced to put his values on the line and work indirectly for Fisk together with his colleagues. Despite his uncertain beginnings, and perhaps precisely because he is not inspired by any comic character, Nadeem acquires a considerable thickness that keeps you glued to the chair. The other agent who ends up in Fisk's network is Ben Poindexter (Wilson Bethel), a sniper with a troubled past that many fans know by another name: Ben, in fact, is destined to become Bullseye, one of Daredevil's most iconic opponents. In the TV series the writers delighted in building around him a disturbing and engaging subplot, treading on his psychopathy without disturbing his "powers": here too, as in the comics, Bullseye has an incredible precision that allows him to transform practically any object in a weapon.
Strength points
In this sense, the choice to represent Bullseye's powers without providing precise or realistic explanations is absolutely sensible: on the one hand, it envelops the character in an aura of mystery, but on the other it allows you to play with your imagination in choreographies and spectacular fights freed from the limits of forced realism. One sequence in particular, in the sixth episode, really manages to bring the comic plates to life on the small screen, staging one of the best clashes ever seen in a cinecomic. Daredevil season XNUMX is chock full of action scenes which even manage to overcome the excellent choreography of previous seasons, such as the chase in the fourth episode or the inevitable final battle in the thirteenth. The truth, however, is that the writers managed to find an excellent balance, alternating breathtaking fights with remarkable psychological insights that better define all the characters through conversations, small gestures or tiny details that sneak into the shots.
The theme of this season would seem to be loneliness and the direction constantly contrasts the key figures of the story, creating continuous parallels and contradictions. Needless to say, we loved the interactions between Matt and caustic Sister Maggie (Joanne Whalley) who takes care of him and hides a big secret, but also the interpretation of Vincent D'Onofrio, an extraordinary Kingpin as usual. Let's be clear, the whole cast works hard, starting with Charlie Cox who has now completely fallen into the role of the protagonist, but D'Onofrio continues to place himself a notch above the others, characterizing his Wilson Fisk in an incredibly effective way. Clumsy and animalistic at the same time, Fisk is a multifaceted villain who arouses mixed sensations and definitely represents a figure of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that we wouldn't mind seeing in the cinema, maybe against Spider-Man.
The weak points
The thirteen episodes that make up this third season of Daredevil have thrilled us, but we must admit that the first hours were not very happy: having to establish the new status quo and better describe the conditions of Matt and the other characters, the series initially proceeds slowly. and in certain moments it is boring as well. We keep repeating that thirteen bets are too many - a lesson that Iron Fist learned well, staging a second season consisting of only ten episodes - but this time a somewhat different situation arose and instead of losing bite in the intermediate tranche, the third season of Daredevil begins to get more and more pressing from the turning point that is the fourth episode, holding the viewer in a grip of tension that accompanies him to the end. Unfortunately not all the episodes guarantee an over the top technical level and you can easily notice the different management of the direction: just think of the geniuses flashback which recount Bullseye's childhood and the much more banal episode about Karen's past.
Another element that has hit us negatively this season concerns the sensitivity with which the writers have adapted the comic to television. The story takes its cue in several moments from a cycle of stories written by Frank Miller in the 80s - Rebirth - but it doesn't always do it in the most appropriate way possible. As we said, by choosing not to explain Bullseye's powers in any way, the directors were able to dabble in action scenes without realistic limitations; however, when they plunged headlong into the mythology of Daredevil, they staged less successful, not to say clumsy revelations and filming that skim the field of soap opera and fan service vulgar, as in the case of the very last scene which refers to a potential fourth season and which seems to come out of a completely different series. Minutiae, all in all, distributed in fits and starts on a thirteen-hour loom that fascinates and amuses, perhaps not from the beginning to the end, but in the second half with no ifs and buts.
Comment
Resources4Gaming.com
8.5
Season XNUMX puts the rest of the Defenders completely aside to focus on the subplots set up in the first season and the clash between Daredevil and Kingpin. He does so by throwing new characters into the fray and adopting a crime drama atmosphere that he sticks to the chair after a few episodes: it is a season that meshes slowly, in fact, but which once its cards are uncovered remains at very high levels until the end.
PRO
- The Kingpin of D'Onofrio
- The choreographies
- The first few episodes are boring
- It almost completely ignores the other Defenders
