Remember when Ben Affleck tried to give us a dark take on the superhero genre with a film called "Daredevil". Sure he wasn't the worst choice that a Marvel movie has made casting the title character in a bad movie about a good comic book.. that title goes to Nicholas Cage as Ghost Rider.. but the film failed at what it was trying so hard to do and as a result I can't think of a single memorable scene that the film featured. After watching all 13 episodes of Marvel Studios attempt to bring the character to the small screen i can say without a doubt that this series is a way better representation of one of Marvel's best superheroes and that we get a hell of a lot of memorable scenes. Giving Daredevil a TV show rather than a movie in order to bring him to the Marvel Cinematic Universe turned out to be a really smart idea and I will explain why.

The plot follows Matt Murdock a lawyer who is blinded as a child at 9 years old after saving a man's life. Instead of letting this weaken him Matt used it to his advantage and with enhanced senses and reflexes he takes to the streets as a vigilante labelled as the "Devil of Hell's Kitchen". He works alongside partners Foggy Nelson and Karen Page to expose the destruction Wilson Fisk is bringing upon the city. What we get is something special. The first of The Defenders series is set off with quite a huge bang from beginning to end Daredevil is pure entertainment. What i like is that the show is an origin story at heart but when we first encounter Matt Murdock he is already taking matters into his own hands and we completely get why. Telling the story through a series works so well for the character that i am surprised Marvel haven't done this with their characters before. As much as i love the MCU movies, Daredevil brings us to a whole other level of storytelling.

I expected the show to be good, i can't deny that, but it surprised me hugely. The show is incredibly dark and gritty to an almost extreme level at points but it never feels out of place. Charlie Cox gives us his best performance to date and we feel for him as well as root for him which is what we want from a brilliant performance, Deborah Ann Wholl is also perfect as Karen Page and brings everything she has to the table, but the show is without a doubt completely stolen by Vincent D'onofrio as Wilson Fisk. From his first appearance to his very last he brings an auror of menace that is always chilling but also completely shows us that dark and violence in fact can work in the same universe as Thor: The Dark World. A scene featuring him as early as episode 4 in fact is a prime example and is not only the most shocking moment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date but is an amazing piece of character development on his part. A perfect villain, the best since Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot in Gotham in fact. It was very hard to keep remembering that characters such as the Guardians of the Galaxy exist in the same universe as the goings on here, but we are reminded a few times with some hilarious Avengers references which always brought a smile to my face.

Sometimes to me the story seemed a little cliché in terms of crime show because yes this is a superhero show, but at heart it knows it is a crime show. I also wish we had gotten to see more of the trademark red suit we know Daredevil for. What we got was a short time to get to see it because throughout the series Murdock fights in the black suit we see in trailers. But the very last shot of the red Daredevil suit gave me goosebumps and the final showdown with Fisk and this suit was absolutely the best and most badass scene in the series and I absolutely love it for that. I sincerely hope Daredevil gets renewed for a second series because it was left open for one and i'm very excited to see how things move forward for Murdock, his partners Karen and Foggy and of course Fisk and i would like to see Bullseye and Elektra brought to the show. A perfect way to introduce Daredevil to the MCU and a good watch before Age of Ultron is released (2 days now!). Highly recommended.

9.5/10