This was the first of 6 Netflix Marvel shows, one of the two that ran the longest(the other being Jessica Jones), and among the most successful. They share continuity, and all of them both build to, and later reflect on, The Defenders. All of them are about gritty street level heroes in different parts of New York, dealing with the aftermath of The Avengers. For some reason that I've yet to uncover, apparently there was a mandate that each of these had to have 13 episodes. Ultimately, there were two seasons that didn't. One had 10 and another was as low as 8. I really wish one of those had been the norm, because both of those are substantially better paced than the rest of these. With that said, this fares the best of the "full" baker's dozen ones. The initial one is focused on the gradual progress made in combating or increasing organized crime, respectively, for the two sides involved. The second has a lot(overall, too much) going on. And the final one dives deep into certain aspects and I respectfully disagree with those who say that some of it is excessive. Editing is impressive, never letting us be confused, despite how complex it gets. On a number of occasions, it is necessary to jump chronologically, especially back to the past, sometimes by decades. And I never felt like they were doing it to avoid delivering on the present-day stuff, or that it was filler, as I did, on both, with Lost.

This has what may well be the very best villain of one of these, in Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin. He has a tragic backstory and he does legitimately believe that he is making Hell's Kitchen better - not worse. His goals are admirable, however, his methods are monstrous. You come to really understand why he does what he does. The immensely talented Vincent D'onofrio plays him as if he is somewhere on the spectrum, which is unexpected, yet a very clever idea. He's damaged, a boy in the body of a man, trying to force a round peg into a square hole, to make things work and make sense. Simultaneously sympathetic and terrifying.

In general the character work is strong. Given the situation of Matt Murdock / Daredevil(Cox, disarmingly charming, flirts with everyone), it is very important what people are close to him, how they affect him, what direction they push or pull him. And in the interest of making this more compelling, some of the people are good for him, and others are bad. His fellow lawyer Foggy(Henson, more than comic relief) shares his faith that the legal system might actually be enough to keep people safe. Keeping their office looking like less of a mess is Karen(Ann Woll, driven). Far from "the girlfriend", damsel in distress that we've grown so tired of in movies that came out before this premiered, no matter how dangerous the situation, she will actually try to maneuver herself out of it rather than just wait and hope. Nurse Claire(Dawson, incredible as always) can provide the perspective of someone working in a hospital seeing people hurt - some by the vigilante, others by people he didn't attack. Is he making a difference?

Catholicism is a major theme here. Exploring questions like "does everyone deserve a second chance". Challenging the moral principle of refusing to kill, since that's a mortal sin. Frank Castle(Bernthal, intense), The Punisher, asks "If you only beat criminals to a pulp, won't they just go back and do something awful when they recover? Wouldn't lethal force solve the problem forever?" Then Elektra(Yung, toying with people) shows up to point out, "honestly, might it be... fun? Isn't that why he indulges in the first place? After all, isn't he only telling himself that he's "doing it for God" to feel better about letting the devil out?" She demonstrates living without boundaries, potentially luring him all the way out there. This doesn't preach to you.

In order to properly explore these notions it is important that we have a visceral reaction, and we do, to all of the bloody, brutal, bone breaking fights. People fight dirty, they get hurt even if they win, and he may be outnumbered. Each year has its own several minutes long take, the fact that it just keeps going really places you right there, in the middle of it. The hero will get increasingly worn down and exhausted, and we worry that he won't be able to come out on top, that he will simply collapse from all the effort. The cinematography will either make it extremely clear and easy to follow, or artistic and memorable looking, with silhouette martial arts, staying on the reaction(or lack thereof) by someone who doesn't become involved, and Brian de Palma style extensive panning.

That segues nicely into the budget. It is easy to see that this did not have as much money behind it as the MCU movies, or even some of the Disney Plus streaming shows that came after this. They did make sure that all they had ended up on the screen. The action here is never as big or frequent as in those. In some ways this more resembles Law & order, CSI, NCIS. With that said, it's always excellent. There is very little CGI and some cost-cutting measures are visible - if someone has to break into a place by smashing a window, maybe we'll just hear the sound, and see the glass already broken. The other effects are very nicely done: squibs and wounds. It was always convincing. I never found myself being pulled out of the fiction, the way that I was at least once on the Blade TV series.

This features moderate to strong language and sexuality, used to display and develop characters and their interpersonal relationships. I recommend this to any fan of comic book adaptations, as it is one of the best by far. 8/10.