Some people think so. (This TVWriter™ minion admits to being one of them.) Mostly we keep our traps shut to avoid conflict. Forbes’ Benjamin Moore, OTH, has no trouble saying what he thinks:
by Benjamin Moore
Every once in a while, a movie or a TV show will debut to stellar reviews – from critics and the ravenous Internet hive mind – and I’m left feeling like I’m taking crazy pills.
By now, you’ve probably seen the new Daredevil series on Netflix NFLX +1.96%, or at least heard about how amazing it is from your brother-in-law. He loves everything Marvel has ever made, except for Iron Man 3 because how dare that Shane Black fellow make a joke of supervillain/racist caricature The Mandarin. And this new Daredevil series? Well, it’s the best Marvel thing yet, in his opinion – it’s like The Wire of superhero TV shows, only even better than that might imply.
But here’s where the crazy pills come in – Daredevil is, uh, not very good, at least not from my perspective. In fact, it may very well be the most overrated [movie, TV show, whatever] Marvel has ever produced. Which is saying something, because Thor was kind of well-received and also terrible from top-to-bottom.
WHAT I LIKED
First, we should probably delve into the stuff about the show that actually worked for me, because there were, in fact, a number of things I enjoyed. For starters, it all starts out pretty well. There’s an intensity to the beginning that draws you in pretty quickly, buoyed by a minor mystery that seems way more interesting before everything gets revealed. (Spoiler alert – it’s not interesting at all.) Plus, it’s a lot of fun seeing how Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) balances his life pretending to be a regular blind guy with his nighttime pantyhose-wearing activities.
Speaking of Charlie Cox, he’s pretty good! I’ve heard some people say that they prefer his Matt Murdock to his Daredevil, but it’s the other way around for me. That’s mostly because I just can’t fully respect a guy who’s constantly GUFFAWING at Foggy Nelson’s incessant, stupid jokes (more on that stupid guy later). But when he’s not in Foggy’s company – either as Murdock or Daredevil – he’s got a quiet, commanding presence that’s really fascinating. The guy takes charge of almost every scene he’s in, whether he’s parleying with his client, a deadly assassin, or forging a deep emotional connection with Rosario Dawson’s character. He truly exudes fearlessness, which is a good thing for an actor to exude when he’s playing the Man Without Fear.
And this is a small thing, but I actually really liked that Cox wasn’t some crazy musclebound freak like so many other superhero superstars. He’s in great shape, to be sure, but he’s lean, just like a ninja should be.
Read it all at Forbes
