To mention the series Daredevil, released on Netflix in the summer of 2015, before being repatriated the same season seven years later (2022) on Disney +, is to both stir up good memories and arouse fear. An ironic observation for the second part when we know one of the famous nicknames of the character, the Man without Fear. But without being devoid of truth.
Daredevil in 2015, it is a dark series, a strong series, a violent universe as Marvel has rarely been able to materialize on screen before and as never before - except with the Punisher, the MCU was able to offer it to us after. Writing, atmosphere, ultra-charismatic characters, like the lawyer-vigilante Matt Murdock and his adversary, Wilson Fisk, and actors with remarkable performances – Charlie Cox for Daredevil, Vincent D’Onofrio for the Kingpin: Daredevil had left its mark for three seasons, broadening its scope with threats like The Hand, Bullseye, the integration of a meeting of urban superheroes, The Defenders (Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist) as well as the ever-so-delicate management of the merciless vigilante Frank Castle.
Episodes that hit hard, right from the start
At the time, it was referred to as a “masterclass”. So inevitably, when a new Daredevil series, Daredevil: Born Again is announced in July 2022 at San Diego Comic-Con, fear sets in. Given the overall quality of Marvel series now, fear of a discounted product far from the standards established by the original first series. Fears heightened by the procrastination behind the scenes, the latest strike by writers and actors in Hollywood and the total rewriting of the series halfway through production.
To convince, beyond bringing together the original cast of the last seasons – Foggy, Karen, Matt, Wilson Fisk, his wife Vanessa, Frank Castle – Daredevil: Born Again had to hit hard. Very hard. And that's good, because that's exactly what the series created by Dario Scardapane and directed by the duo formed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead does. The three men are not new to Marvel Studios: the first notably took charge of the two seasons of Punisher while the other two directed the series Moon Knight and a few episodes of season 2 of Loki.
A different and more exposed Fisk
The trio tried to get as close as possible to the original product, so much so that the first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again look more like the introduction of a season 4 than a soft reboot of the character and his universe. Speaking of introductions, this first batch of episodes, available this Wednesday on the Disney + platform, has the merit of reminding us of the essential stakes of the three previous seasons. Obviously, we cannot advise you enough to have done your homework beforehand, homework involving in addition to seasons 1, 2 and 3 of Daredevil, the series Hawkeye and Echo. Because in Born Again, the focus is not only on Matt Murdock – we’ll come back to that – but also on his best enemy, Wilson Fisk.
The latter, at the end of the series Echo, was cured of a large part of his childhood trauma by Maya Lopez. Having recovered from his eye injury – his former protégé literally shot him at the end of Hawkeye – the former bigwig of the New York underworld is preparing to make his return to the Big Apple, with a political ambition: to become mayor. A goal that the man in question will achieve in Born Again, not without consequences, as we can obviously guess. Fisk, who has always acted in the shadows and never wanted to expose himself in public, will have to learn to deal with a new notoriety. All while picking up the thread of a relationship that was put on hold with Vanessa, his wife.
Matt shaken like never before
Let's get back to Matt. The trailer suggested that he had put away his costume and sticks to keep only the lawyer's costume. Yes, but for what reason? Without spoiling it for you, the first two episodes answer the question in a spectacular way and lay the foundations for this new Daredevil, with a duality already well marked in Matt, torn between his past as a vigilante and his desire to do good and improve the system. We can assume that this will last a while and we will have to wait for the discovery of the last seven episodes to find out how Matt will end up turning his back on his new principles and putting the mask back on.
What is certain is that Marvel wanted to make a big splash for the return of Daredevil in style and this is the case, with an event of a significant scale, that perhaps a handful of fans or theorists, between analyses and interpretations of the statements of some and others, had been able to see it coming. This event sets the tone for Born Again, which is intended to be dark, violent, very violent and with a staging that is ultimately very close to the seasons of Daredevil. The source product is respected and we will no longer be afraid to say that blood can flow freely at Disney, with a mixture of the violence of words and the brutality of the blows, received as well as distributed.
The same recipe that evolves, special effects that are (a little) staining
Writing, dialogue, acting: everything is in the continuity of the past, with a cursor placed higher, hoping that it never goes down over the course of the season. Even the credits follow the same train of thought: we find the tone and theme of the one made at the time by John Paesano, with a slower rhythm and another arrangement by the Newton Brothers. Same thing for the artistic direction, which recalls a little differently the themes exposed (the fall of the judicial system, New York) at the time.
The only notable false note in these first two episodes: if the choreographies during the action scenes have been worked on, some special effects are much less convincing in the rendering, especially in the aerial domain, which is a shame for an urban superhero used to swinging from roof to roof with his grappling hook. Let's hope that this improves in the next episodes and the future other acrobatics of Matt Murdock. As early as episode 3?
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