Home > Reviews > Daredevil ( S2 Ep.1) ‘Bang’ reviewed…

Daredevil ( S2 Ep.1) ‘Bang’ reviewed…

Daredevil Season 2 - Bang

Daredevil has taken care of Wilson Fisk, but Hell’s Kitchen may still end up on fire as a new season of the Netflix/Marvel series begins. The blow by blow reviews start here…


It’s another hot night in the belly of Hell’s Kitchen and a group of armed robbers flee the scene of a crime, hoping to out-pace the under-resourced members of the NYPD. Unfortunately for them, the boys in blue have a little extra help (wanted or not) from a man in red. Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) may be a lawyer by day, but even after the fall of Wilson Fisk, the gangland boss known as the Kingpin, he continues to bring his own kind of justice to the night. Wilson Fisk is gone, but the underworld is not cowering in the shadows. With a void at the top, it needs to be filled and many have their eyes on it.

Members of the Irish Mob are gathered for such a discussion. However someone has their eyes on those opportunists, someone other than Matt. Dardevil’s methods may be brutal, but they are not fatal. This new force doesn’t draw that distinction. It aims to kill, to avenge… maybe to punish. But is it one man or a very Handy group? There’s one survivor of the massacre and he comes looking for Nelson and Murdock to help him make a deal for protection from the DA.

Business is doing well for the firm of Nelson & Murdock, though the flow of finance is as bad as ever – the clients are walking through the door but the money is less well paced and it’s in that environment that we pick up our heroes’ story: surviving if not flourishing.

If Season One of Daredevil – the first project to come out of the Netflix/Marvel partnership –  was a critical success, then this second season comes out powering on all cylinders. There’s a recap of Season One events, but it’s not actually needed as long as you know the basics. Once again this is an effective mix of required action and solid character-development that actually makes you want to spend time with them, even when times are tough. This is a show about underdogs that have learned to bite back and amid the inevitable bruises and battles you’re cheering them on regardless. Cox is now more than comfortable in the title role of lawyer and – managing to be charming and ruthless in equal measure. The subtle humor is also still there amid the darkness. It’s Matt that keeps Elder Henson’s Foggy from bumping into people on the sidewalk and, again, it’s Foggy that admits he doesn’t get mind getting paid in bananas and pies. But Henson brings a pathos to the eager Foggy rather than just making him simple light-relief. When the mob meeting is killed by gunfire, a dead body’s smartphone is left ringing with an Irish jog ring-tone – on St Patrick’s day to boot! Even Deborah Anne Woll’s Karen Page’s cover-story for getting the injured mobster some medical assistance raises a smile with its fiery but whiskey-smooth delivery.

There’s only a brief look at Jon Bernthal’s Frank in the opening salvo and so far he’s merely an unnamed, relentless, ruthless ‘Juggernaut’ with an impressive frown and arsenal but little backstory – but he’s ruthless enough to give Daredevil a run for his money on the rooftops and we know from the character’s backstory that there’s more development to come.

Even if it’s more of the same, it’s an impressive return for a confident show that knows the tone is set –  and it’s worth noting the sometimes-overlooked superbly-arranged lighting that help illuminate Hell’s Kitchen – the production giving just a hint of comic-like primary colours amid the shadows and dirt. The shiny Avengers may take care of protecting the day, but Netflix‘s premier action show is taking care of populating the night. They share a universe, but it’s this particular corner that is proving a more nuanced draw ahead of a coming big-screen Civil War. The ‘big guys’ might not have noticed, but there’s already a war going on under their noses and below their shining skyscrapers.

(Yes, the Daredevil costume still irks a little. It was a hard one to get right and though it’s practical – kevlar rather than spandex – it seems like it’s still a work in progress. However it’s a minor quibble when the maelstrom surrounding the character proves more eye-catching…)

8/10

Daredevil Season 2 is currently streaming on .

 

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