‘Daredevil’ Season 1 Review
From Left To Right: Daredevil’s Black Suit Worn Through The First 12 Episodes And Is His Classic Red Suit First Worn In The Season Finale
After the 2003 movie ‘Daredevil’ starring Ben Affleck in the titular role flopped, wasn’t very good, nor presented a good portrayal of Daredevil, I wasn’t expecting very much from this new series even though I was excited from the looks of the trailer and the fact the DD was finally in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Boy, was I wrong! ‘Daredevil‘ was probably the best TV show I have ever seen and I would go as far to say it was almost, if not, better than ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ and I love that show. The fight scenes were amazing, the characters and character development were great, and the plot was one of the most suspenseful and intriguing that I have seen as well. The show finally got the character of Daredevil perfect as well as his supporting characters and villains who were portrayed magnificently. All these factors combined to make ‘Daredevil’ a top notch show, and a great entry into the MCU, that gave people a lot to love about it and not much to dislike.
Warning: If You Have Not Already Watched Season 1 Nor Know Anything Of The Plot, Do Not Continue Reading! Major Spoilers Ahead!
What I didn’t like about ‘Daredevil’ Season 1:
Ben Urich’s Death
He might not have been as cool as Daredevil, he might not have been as funny as Foggy Nelson, he was just good old Ben Urich and that was good enough. Unlike the movie ‘Daredevil’, this new TV show really portrayed correctly and fleshed out the character of Ben Urich. It came as now surprise as virtually every character introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been adapted magnificently from their respective comic book counter-part. The show established Ben Urich as the established, grounded reporter that was an amazing investigative reporter, but had the judgement to know when or when not to publish a story, and that always worked closely with Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, that he was in the comics. That is why after the show portrayed such a lovable character, it was tough to deal with his shocking death at the hands of Wilson Fisk. Ben Urich added the detective aspect to the show so his demise definitely is a low and sad spot of the season and his absence in season 2 will definitely be noticed and felt.
Over-The-Top Violence
While I loved the fight scenes in this TV show and have them listed below as one of the things I liked about this series, I didn’t like the over-the-top violence that often accompanied these scenes. While excessive violence and gory images didn’t show up too often, only in about three episodes, it was still enough to detract from the episodes these incidents occurred in. It didn’t add anything to the show and if anything made some parts of it much less enjoyable. It has been hinted at that the violence will be toned down for season 2 which is a good thing because this is definitely a major thing on which the show could improve, and it will make the show even more enjoyable with the absence of this aspect if the show.
What I Did Like About ‘Daredevil’ Season 1:
The Fight Scenes
One the highlights of the ‘Daredevil’ series was how good the fight scenes were. Like the fight scene from episode 2 that I posted above, all the fight scenes in the series were grounded, exciting, and fast-paced. The way they filmed each fight scene made them very different and the way Daredevil fought and each if these fights played out made then for the most part very realistic, whereas most fight scenes in movies today tend to be mostly unrealistic. These fight scenes were also different because unlike most superheroes in the MCU, Daredevil doesn’t have super strength. Hence, it was different and fun to watch a superhero like Daredevil have to use real fighting skills in order to take down his foes instead of being able to rely on brute strength like Thor or Spider-Man can. The action sequences in the show ‘Daredevil’ were exciting and intense, realistic and definitely a high spot if season 1.
Charlie Cox As Matt Murdock/Daredevil
To put it simply, Charlie Cox is the definitive Daredevil and a world better in the role than Ben Affleck was. Ben Affleck was perfect in the role as far as looks are concerned, but absolutely failed to captured Daredevil’s personality. Charlie Cox has mirrored Daredevil’s looks and persona from the comics and has expertly brought this character to life. He plays Matt Murdock/Daredevil in his true form: a serious and occasionally dry-humored lawyer by day and a grim but sarcastic vigilante by night. Daredevil is always thought of as really grim and serious all the time so I liked how Charlie Cox showed both sides of the character. Charlie Cox is a great pick for Daredevil, and without such a good pick to play DD, the show would be a lot less cool, if the titular hero wasn’t portrayed as well as he is.
The Supporting Cast
¿El grande avocados? All the supporting characters in ‘Daredevil’ are great, enjoyable, and they don’t get better than Foggy Nelson and is hilarious one-liners, like the one at the start of this paragraph. Each actor played and portrayed their respective characters superbly in comparison with their comic book counter-parts. Elden Henson, while actually not looking quite that much like Foggy Nelson does in the comics as Jon Favreau did in the 2003 ‘Daredevil’ movie, is perfect in the role of Foggy as far as personality is concerned. The show finally gets Foggy Nelson right, with Henson portraying him as a character that is funny and carefree on the outside, but on the inside is somewhat serious and sometimes a worrywart. The rest of the supporting cast, along with Ben Urich whom I spoke about above, was also great, with Deborah Ann Woll and Rosario Dawson also doing well with their respective roles of Karen Page and Claire Temple. Both fit their roles beautifully, both looking the parts, and the show and these actresses getting their respective characters right. The show portrayed Karen Page as Murdock and Nelson’s friend and secretary, but one who always was in the middle of them and Ben Urich’s latest adventures; Claire Temple was shown as a serious yet courageous Night Nurse who frequently is just a phone call away from helping out Hell’s Kitchen’s superheroes. Daredevil has some great supporting characters, so I’m glad all their respective actors and the show itself portrayed them as they are in the comics, because it made the show more enjoyable to have such a cool, likeable supporting cast of characters, and being set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they are going to be around for awhile so I’m glad ‘Daredevil’ got its characters correct.
Vincent D’Onofrio As Wilson Fisk/Kingpin
Vincent D’Onofrio was without a doubt the definitive Wilson Fisk. Sure, Michael Clarke Duncan did a commendable job with the Kingpin in ‘Daredevil’ in 2003, he just didn’t really properly and correctly portray Fisk the way D’Onofrio does in the new Marvel Cinematic Universe television series. While Duncan portrayed Fisk as less threatening, actually a little comical and the movie didn’t get his story right, D’Onofrio portrayed the Kingpin as he really is, no humor, but serious and downright threatening and scary. The show also got his story right of being a businessman that in reality is a big-time crime-lord, who stays more in the shadows as opposed to being very out in the spotlight, but despite being a big-time villain, has a girlfriend, Vanessa, whom he deeply cares for. With the show once again doing a great portrayal of one of its characters and Vincent D’Onofrio being magnificent in his respective role as the Kingpin, through both personality and physical appearance, I was glad the show got the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s portrayal of Wilson Fisk correct.
Other Villains
Besides the main villain the kingpin, ‘daredevil’ season 1 actually contained a wealth of other great villains. James Wesley, Fisk’s right-hand man, was not in the comics but original to the series. He was a unique character to the series, being a ‘high-class’ criminal while the other villains in the show were just your average criminal. He also was an important character because he helped to develop Fisk’s personality and character. Leland owlsey was another great villain. While not only being a good character to introduce to set up a possible owl storyline next season, Leland also was a funny guy. Having a funny character such as him, villain as he might be, lightened the dark tone of the series in some spots. Finally, along with Melvin Potter being a great set up for the Gladiator, the infamous organization the Hand and its leaders Nobu and Madame Gao also served as great villains. The Hand served as a good evil organization for Daredevil combat, being comparable to HYDRA for the size of the threat it posed, and Nobu and Madame Gao served as realistic evil leaders of the organization and Nobu was proven to be an even cooler villain as a good fighter after his awesome fight with Daredevil. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is incredible at portraying superheroes, in general they have failed to get the villains correct, so it was a nice change for ‘Daredevil’ to go a good job with their villains.
Daredevil’s Costumes
Due to the fact that Daredevil has several costumes throughout his career, I thought it was nice the series payed homage to this by changing his costume throughout the series. While I wish they portrayed the yellow original costume, the series did a good job with daredevil’s black costume from Frank Miller’s ‘Man Without Fear’. Although at first look, I was doubtful, as the costume looked silly and not at all like Daredevil, but when I actually saw it on the screen, it actually was quite a great portrayal. But what was even better was when Daredevil transitioned to his classic red suit. The black suit was great but the classic one was needed to truly capture Daredevil. Waiting to unveil the new suit until the season finale was a great choice as we got Matt to fight the kingpin in his first moments with his new suit. With that classic red hue, horns and all, Daredevil’s red costume is portrayed at its cinematic best in the new Marvel Cinematic Universe tv series.
Daredevil Vs. Kingpin
A Daredevil/kingpin showdown was bound to happen and it was phenomenal in the season finale. We saw these two face off briefly in the ninth episode when Wilson Fisk confronted the heavily wounded Daredevil just after he had barely defeated the dangerous Nobu. Fisk went on to mop the floor with Daredevil and pulverized him so bad he left him for dead. After he was patched up by Claire Temple and feeling better, this is when he realized he needed a better costume since his black one offered no protection or padding. He then tracked down Melvin Potter and made him design a suit fir him. Enter one classic red suit and DD was ready to take on the Kingpin who was on the run from the FBI. The ensuing fight had everything: the debut of Horn Head’s famous billy clubs, daredevil beating up Kingpin, Kingpin beating Daredevil, and Daredevil eventually winning. Daredevil’s agility, Kingpin’s ferocity in battle because of his incredible strength (and D’Onofrio’s stunning portrayal of him made him even more terrifying) and this battle being the climax to the season made this battle very memorable.
Honestly, ‘Daredevil’ season 1 was better than anyone could have predicted and of the best modern tv shows. All the actors rocked their respective roles, the show got all its characters right from the aspect of their personality and backstory, the show was fast-paced, intriguing and exciting from the start, the season finale, and all the characters were compelling. Season 2 could prove just as good with the Punisher and Elektra joining the show next year and the Gladiator and Bullseye also being possibles to turn up, and if everything else on the show is kept the same, it has the potential to be even better. Along with the fact that Daredevil is one of my favorite superheroes, the series created a winning formula that I, and most other people, couldn’t help loving.
Movie Clip Spotlight: Man of Steel
The video posted below showcases Superman’s fight with one of Zod’s primary soldiers, Faora, in the the town of Smallville, before the military arrives and joins the fray in an attempt to break it up. While I thought the movie was okay and Henry Cavill was really good as Superman, I didn’t like what they did with Superman in ‘Man of Steel’. I did however like the fight scenes throughout the movie because the special effects used in each action sequence was mind-blowing. Here is, in my opinion, the best fight scene of the movie.
The ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Season 3 Trailer Is Here!
With season 3 of ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ just a mere six days away, I figured it was about time I posted the trailer for the new season. After an exhilarating season 2 continued the show’s momentum from an exciting end to season 1, we can hope season 3 will be just as good if not better. Everything seems to be pointing in the direction of an awesome season with the introduction of the Secret Warriors, more Inhumans like Lash, Lincoln now joining the team, a new government agency formed to deal with the emergence of Inhumans that will come in conflict with Coulson, and the return of H.Y.D.R.A. now led by none other than Grant Ward. Season 3 promises to be action-packed and possibly the best ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season yet, so catch your first glimpse of the action to look forward to in the trailer below!
‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Season 2 Review
After an epic, action-packed, and suspenseful end to it’s first season, ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ really needed to keep up their momentum and have a good, exciting second season from start to finish, and it was well delivered. Whereas its first season’s beginning was very slow and not too exciting, and only did the last several episodes finally really grab the viewer’s attention, the second season started with a bang and ended with a bang. Now, the second season still was a little slow to start off, and the tone of the first half of the season was a little darker and more depressing with S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fall and Fitz’s mental problems, but the show’s winter finale sped the show off into an exciting second half. The season’s second half was exciting and more light heartened, feeling just as good as the first season’s epic second half, with Coulson having to face threats such as H.Y.D.R.A, Real S.H.I.E.L.D., and the rise of the Inhumans. All this and the season’s epic and stunning season finale adds up to a great season 2 that was every bit as good as the first, and that certainly gauged the show’s growth and development.
Warning: If You Have Not Already Watched Season 2 Nor Know Anything Of The Plot, Do Not Continue Reading! Major Spoilers Ahead!
What I didn’t like about ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’ Season 2:
Triplett’s Death
Honestly, I felt the most disappointing thing about season 2 was Agent Antoine Triplett’s death in the season’s tenth episode, “What They Become”. Even though he died heroically, trying to save Skye, by destroying the Obelisk and its terrigen crystals, his death still left a void in the show that not only the characters felt but the audience did as well. B. J. Britt’s character was well-beloved as being a lovable character not only for being a cool, action-ready agent, but also for having a good personality and being quite funny. Also, he was a very wasted character because he went very under-developed during his time on the show, despite being the grandson of one of the Howling Commandos. While he was a main character at the end of season 1, after filling Ward’s position on the team following his betrayal, he wasn’t really that big a part of season 2, other than being just another member of Couslon’s main team. Antoine Triplett was a great character that sadly went under-developed, so it was one of the down-sides of season 2 to see him die.
Coulson’s Loss
Another disappointing part of season 2 was Couslon losing his hand in the season finale when he and Mack and Fitz fought Gordon. After Gordon, was dispatched and dropped the terrigen crystal he was holding, Coulson dove and caught it to stop it from hitting the floor and killing them all. The crystal started to kill him, but Mack stopped it by lopping off the hand Coulson was holding the crystal. I mean, I guess I get the point of “If Coulson didn’t do that they’d all be dead, so losing his hand wasn’t so bad”, and the fact that it would be unrealistic if there were no consequences and everyone escaped unscathed every time but how much can happen to Coulson? How much can he take? He got killed by Loki in ‘The Avengers’, was resurrected but still has backlash from it because of the alien blood he was injected with, went insane because of the carvings that same alien formula caused him to draw, and now he gets his hand cut-off? Coulson is such a great character, the best on the show, and the show should stop messing with him and giving him a new hardship practically every episode.
What I did like about ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’ Season 2:
Director Phil Coulson (of course!)
Coulson’s the best character on the show as it is, but now having him be Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the best thing ever, and he is even cooler! In season 2, Coulson was even more funny, witty, and crafty then before and always can make you crack a smile at least once an episode (like Coulson make jests at Gonzales even after he has been captured and handcuffed). Also, he was much better after the first half because all the hangovers from his death and his eventual resurrection had been resolved and he once more actively went on missions in the field, even fighting the likes of Agent 33 and the super villain Angmar. Seeing him once again actively fighting on field missions and being funnier and less serious and as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., only made the character of Phil Coulson that much more lovable and funny.
Lance Hunter
Lance Hunter is like Phil Coulson 2.0. He is witty, funny, and definitely the best character of the trio of newcomers to Coulson’s team in season 2. Plus, the British (or is it Scottish) agent is a better and tougher agent than meets the eye. So yep, he is just like Phil Coulson and that is probably what makes him so cool and such an enjoyable character. He is a cool character for a couple other reasons besides being just funny. Hunter is the first agent to discover let alone suspect the existence of the “Real” S.H.I.E.L.D. faction, and was Coulson’s right-hand man for the latter part of the season, because after the fall of Coulson’s S.H.I.E.L.D. at the hands of the “Real” S.H.I.E.L.D., he was the only main agent, besides Leo Fitz and Deathlok, to truly stand by Coulson, and was the main man that helped Coulson to take back S.H.I.E.L.D. Especially after a shaky beginning and introduction on the show, being just a reluctant and less important member of Coulson’s team, Lance Hunter has shockingly become one of the show’s coolest and most important characters.
Grant Ward
In season 1, before he turned bad, he was tied with Coulson for being my favorite character on the show. I still had a soft spot for him, so even though during season 2 he walked the line of good and bad, being more of antihero than villain, he was still one of my favorite characters. Until Hunter really became solidified in his position on the team, the show didn’t feel the same without Ward as such a main character on the team. His qualities of being intimidating yet soft and sometimes dryly funny, along with how good of a fighter and agent he is all make him a really cool character that adds a lot to the show and every episode he is in. However he might not be one of my favorite characters by the time season 3 comes around because in the new season he won’t be a good guy or an antihero, but the biggest bad guy of all, the Head Hydra. His shooting, capturing, and torturing Bobbi Morse just solidified his turn to evil in the season finale, but hopefully, he will be as good as a bad guy as he was as a hero or even an antihero, or the show, to me at least, won’t be the same.
Fitz’s Recovery
Next to Coulson, Hunter, and Ward, Leo Fitz is one of my favorite characters on the show. He is a good solid character, and has that geeky funniness to him that makes him, well, funny. While the rest of the team with the exception of Jemma Simmons are all fighters and active in the field, Leo Fitz adds the geeky scientist/mechanic aspect to the show which makes his character unique. So, that’s why it was so depressing to see him in his pitiful state of having trouble with his memory, speaking, and with hand-to-eye coordination, and becoming in the process less involved with the team. That’s why it was so good to see Fitz pretty much back to normal after he had recovered a little after the second half of season 2 rolled around. Having back as an integral part of team again and once more going on team missions as his nervous self made it seem like the good ‘ol times again. He may not be as funny but at least Leo Fitz is back.
‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Crossover
One of the coolest parts of the season was when, in the episode “The Dirty Half Dozen”, ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ tied into ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’. Especially after last year’s major tie-in to ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, that changed the whole structure of the show and the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe as well, the show definitely needed to have a good tie-in to the latest Marvel movie that crossed-over with ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ And it definitely did. The show set-up the events of ‘Age of Ultron’ by Director Coulson infiltrating a H.Y.D.R.A. base to find out the location of Loki’s scepter which was in H.Y.D.R.A.’s possession, and then relaying this info to Maria Hill, and telling her that it is “time to bring in the Avengers”. This sets-up the opening scene of ‘Age of Ultron’ where the Avengers assault Baron Strucker’s base to retrieve Loki’s scepter. Also, to top things off, they introduce Theta Protocol, that oh so mysterious protocol teased throughout the entire season, as the repairing of Helicarrier #64 that S.H.I.E.L.D. saved from H.Y.D.R.A., which is the same Helicarrier that Nick Fury uses in ‘Age of Ultron’ to aid the Avengers in their climatic battle with Ultron. So it might not have been as huge as crossover as with last year’s ‘Winter Soldier’ but all the same it was pretty cool.
Two-Part Season Finale
Well just word sums up this season’s season finale: stunning. So many plot-lines were wrapped up and so many things set up for season 3 and left the audience flabbergasted. The only down-side was Coulson losing his hand but beside that it was awesome. It was totally action-packed; Coulson, Fitz, and Simmons had to fight Mr. Hyde who was loose at S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, the Inhumans waged an all-out war with S.H.I.E.L.D. with an incredible climatic showdown, Coulson, Mack, and Fitz fought Gordon, and Bobbi fought Ward and Agent 33 after having been tortured by them. And it was so cool how it was split into two parts (“SOS Part 1”, “SOS Part 2”), thus being a two-hour long season finale which was just awesome. Plus it set-up for and let loose so many possible plot lines for season 3. What happened to Simmons when she got sucked up by that Kree artifact? Is Ward the new Head H.Y.D.R.A.? Are May and Bobbi going to be leaving eventually? Seriously, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season finale set-up for so much in season 3 and was as action-packed as they come.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Vs. H.Y.D.R.A.
Well, after last year’s fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ and in ‘Captain America: The Winter Solider’, and with H.Y.D.R.A. coming back into the light, the war that was bound to result between the two organizations was something almost everyone wanted to see the continuation to in season 2 and the result was quite satisfactory. The show made the war between S.H.I.E.L.D. and H.Y.D.R.A. exciting and suspenseful, and seeing Director Coulson and other members of his team like Lance Hunter go toe to toe with the Heads of H.Y.D.R.A., like Daniel Whitehall, Sunli Bakshi, and Octavian Bloom, and just ordinary H.Y.D.R.A. agents in general was pretty cool. Plus, it quite pleasing to see Director Coulson actually able to do a pretty substantial job of destroying H.Y.D.R.A. once in for all by destroying several of their main bases, and taking out most of the Head of H.Y.D.R.A.’s such as Sunli Bakshi, Daniel Whitehall, Octavian Bloom, the Baroness, and the Sheik, and helping the Avengers take out the biggest, baddest of those leaders, Dr. List and Baron Strucker. Now, even though Grant Ward has become the new Head of H.Y.D.R.A. in the season finale and is going to try and rebuild the tattered organization in hopes of likewise destroying S.H.I.E.L.D., the organization has been greatly destroyed. Hopefully when Ward’s H.Y.D.R.A. returns this season to return as the antagonist organization, lets hope the show does an equally great job with S.H.I.E.L.D. vs H.Y.D.R.A.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Vs. Inhumans
The main focus of ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 2 was to introduce the Inhumans to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I think the show did a great job with that so important introduction. Although more obscure than other mainstream characters in the Marvel universe, the Inhumans are still a very important part of Marvel as they are important characters to the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and are connected to the Kree. So having them in the MCU was only logical since the MCU is ever expanding with how many characters it has adapted from the comic books to its shared universe on the big screen. So with the Inhumans being really the only major superhero team that hasn’t been showcased in the MCU so far, (alongside the Fantastic Four and X-Men because Marvel doesn’t own the rights to them) it was really only inevitable an Inhumans movie should come, and come it will but not until 2019. Even though that is four long years away it isn’t to early to set-up for their entrance to the MCU, and ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ wasn’t only the perfect tool to use to set-up for them, but they also did it wonderfully. The show did a great job with the Inhumans’ origin, but also introduced a major Inhumans, Quake, who Skye was revealed to be and even introduced a rogue faction of Inhumans and Mr. Hyde. Besides introducing them, we also got to see them fight S.H.I.E.L.D. all-out when they attacked the S.H.I.E.L.D. ship Lliad and Mr. Hyde attacked the S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. Honestly, I have always liked the Inhumans so I’m excited to see them in the MCU and I loved seeing them be introduced on ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ and go toe-to-toe with S.H.I.E.L.D. itself.
“Real” S.H.I.E.L.D.
After last year’s end to season 1 showcased the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the hands H.Y.D.R.A. and the didn’t-see-it coming of many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents showing their true colors including Grant Ward, which was so shocking, that the show kind of needed another “traitor in the house” scenario to achieve that kind of level of excitement from season 1. “Real” S.H.I.E.L.D. did this perfectly, by providing a similar enemy for Coulson and his team. Especially with Bobbi Morse and Mack being revealed to be “Real” S.H.I.E.L.D. spies, season 2 really did a good job duplicating and re-creating season 1’s successful storyline. I also liked “Real” S.H.I.E.L.D. because it solidified the fact that their are still plenty of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents out there that Coulson hasn’t found and brought into his organization yet.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Is Back!
Ever since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and his becoming Director, Coulson has feverishly been trying to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. However, the odds were against him since even though his HQ is a huge S.H.I.E.L.D. base he doesn’t have that many other bases or planes or even agents. So S.H.I.E.L.D. was facing huge obstacles toward rebuilding and truly becoming itself once more. But after initial conflict with “Real” S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson convinced its leaders to merge with “his” S.H.I.E.L.D. So, now combined, they have a lot more resources are almost as formidable even though still not quite as big as before. Now, along with his S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, Coulson has hundreds of quinjets and agents, he now has the huge S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft carrier Lliad, and the Theta Protocol Facility along with the Helicarrier it houses that Coulson repaired. I mean, when Coulson snapped his fingers in the season finale, 20 fully armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would come running! There is nothing wrong with being small but in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s case, bigger is better and I’m glad its back.
After an incredible ending to season 1, ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ needed to have a strong season 2 start to finish to keep up the momentum and it was certainly delivered. New character Lance Hunter was a great addition to the team, Coulson is awesome as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fitz has recovered from his injury, S.H.I.E.L.D. has recovered from its destruction, Coulson effectively dealt H.Y.D.R.A. a huge blow, the Inhumans were introduced and who didn’t love the ‘Age of Ultron’ crossover?!? All in all, season 2 was probably even better than season 1 in all respects, and with Secret Warriors coming to the show in season 3 and more Inhumans and more H.Y.D.R.A. there is even more to look forward to in the future on ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’
11 Reasons Why The DC Cinematic Universe Is Set To Fail
I would like to thank my friend Erik for the stimulating conversation that led me to write this post.
Well, it is finally happening. DC is mimicking Marvel’s Cinematic Universe by creating their own shared universe. This cinematic universe began in 2013 with ‘Man of Steel’, but a movie hasn’t been released for two years until ‘Batman V Superman’ breaks the trend next year and starts a steady flow of movies. Now, while I am more of a Marvel fan than of DC, I still would like to see this franchise succeed. Characters like Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, and Flash are cool and will be even more awesome in a shared universe and every main DC hero hasn’t been adapted to the big screen except for Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern. Plus, the Justice League is coming to the big screen! I loved the Justice League cartoon as a kid so this is really exciting for me. However, unlike Marvel, DC is not set-up for success. Marvel has created a winning formula for their movies while DC never has. In this post, I will list the 11 reasons I have come up with to explain why the DC Cinematic Universe is most likely doomed.
1. ‘Man of Steel’ was no ‘Iron Man’
Unlike ‘Iron Man’, ‘Man of Steel’ was not a solid enough movie to be a good franchise builder. Marvel started off on the right foot with ‘Iron Man’ which got great reviews from critics and viewers alike, whereas ‘Man of Steel’ got mixed reviews, even though ‘Man of Steel’ grossed more than ‘Iron Man’ did ($668 million ‘Man of Steel’, $585.2 million ‘Iron Man’). ‘Iron Man’ also set a good tone for the series and set up for future films. It stuck to Iron Man’s origin story almost perfectly, something comic book movies imperatively need to do to perfectly please fans, and had the right amount of humor so that the movie wasn’t too serious. This formula for success has helped build the MCU and make all the films in it great. ‘Man of Steel’ was way too serious with practically only two “haha” moments that weren’t even really that funny, and tweaked Superman’s personality and origin a little bit and not for the better. Also whereas ‘Iron Man’ set up for future films, by introducing Nick Fury and the ‘Avengers Initiative’, ‘Man of Steel’ made little to no effort to set up for the upcoming movies in the franchise. All these reasons made ‘Man of Steel’ a poor franchise-starter for the upcoming DC Cinematic Universe, by not starting the franchise on the right foot, but instead a shaky one.
2. DC Cinematic Universe Movies Are Going To Be Much Darker Than Movies Set In The Marvel Cinematic Universe
DC, in the comic books and in past movies, have always been darker than Marvel comic books and movies. Where Marvel has had action and comedy, DC has had action and doom and gloom. And, this will continue into the DC Cinematic Universe, just like Marvel’s MO has carried into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That is what might turn people away. A superhero movie being serious is not necessarily a bad thing but DC goes to the point where there are no funny parts and the movies become too dark and brooding. Look at ‘Man of Steel’; hundreds of buildings were destroyed in Metropolis and hundreds of thousands killed. All that and no comic relief! Also, aren’t superheroes supposed to prevent this kind of destruction, and have saving lives as their first priority? In comparison, Marvel, while still having enough great action fights and seriousness, supplies its movies with plenty of funny scenes, to keep the mood lighter. They also portray superheroes correctly. For example, in ‘Avengers’ and ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, the Avengers first priority was evacuating and saving innocent lives. People will be less likely to like the DC Cinematic Universe because they are less enjoyable than MCU films because they are too dark with no comic relief to lighten the mood, and the superheroes in these films are wrongly portrayed because the films try to be too dark, where as MCU films are funnier and lighter in mood, which helps portray the heroes in the films correctly. This is a factor that could turn die-hard fans away.
3. Too Many Superhero Movies
As much as I am a fan of comic books and the movies made of those characters, even I have to admit there are almost too many superhero-genre films being released. Fox is releasing between 7 films from now to 2020, Warner Bros. are releasing 11 films, and Marvel is releasing 11 also. That’s 27 in total and that isn’t counting the two to be released by Sony or the ones we don’t know about yet. Although the amount of superhero movies is at an all-time high and dominating the box office, it is only inevitable that eventually people will get tired of superhero movies, and production of these films will slowly drop. This factor will potentially greatly hurt Warner Bros. aka maker of the DC Cinematic Universe because they are the last ones to the table, with the X-Men franchise 16 years and 7 films in, and the MCU has been running for 7 years and 12 films. In the mean time the DCCU has just squeezed out one movie, ‘Man of Steel’. Also, as people start to lose interest in the superhero genre, they will most likely stop going to see every superhero that comes out and only see the one or two that they really want to see or that look really cool. This is another thing that could really hurt the DC Cinematic Universe because….
4. People Love The Marvel Cinematic Universe!
Casual movie-goers and avid comic book fans alike all love the MCU. They love it because the movies and tv shows set in the MCU have a light mood with usually many funny scenes and lines, do a fantastic job portraying their respective comic book characters, both personality, looks, and origin, and have created a cinematic universe so complex and fun, that it is irresistibly cool! People love the MCU so much and the MCU does such a great job with their shows and movies that even less popular and known characters like Daredevil and Ant-Man have become super popular! Hence, with the MCU being so popular, people usually go and see whatever movie they make because it has the Marvel brand on it. In comparison, with the exception of the ‘Dark Knight Trilogy’, DC has never been able to compete with Marvel on the big screen, and never can make as good a movie as Marvel can Since DC has a rep for a darker tone in movies, and usually messing up and with the characters their movies portray, people are less liable to go see a DC movie than a Marvel movie. So, people being so in love with the Marvel Cinematic Universe could hurt the upcoming DC Cinematic Universe because it will probably be treated by people as inferior to the MCU, and when there is a choice between seeing a Marvel or DC movie in theaters, people will be more inclined most likely to see the latest Marvel movie.
5. The DC Cinematic Universe Is Moving Way Too Quickly (Well Sorta…)
Being ambitious is one thing, being over ambitious is another, and the latter describes the DC Cinematic Universe. There has been a three year gap between the DCCU’s first two movies (‘Man of Steel’ 2013, ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’ 2016), but even despite this slow moving start and despite the fact ‘Man of Steel’ got mixed reviews, the DCCU has now switched from slow to top gear, having announced movies through 2020, with at least two coming out each year till then. Personally, I think moving too quickly could hurt them because they don’t even know how these films and cinematic universe as a whole will do but yet they have announced their next 11 films. Also, unlike Marvel, DC is not taking their time setting up for their cinematic universe. Marvel released solo films for each Avenger and then had them team-up in the epic ‘Avengers’ film. This helped the audience to know the characters decently by the time the ‘Avengers’ rolled around instead of meeting them for the first time in that movie, because this format helped to really develop each character, and helped expand the cinematic universe by being able to introduce several new characters each film. DC, however, is rushing to build their cinematic universe so as to quickly as possible be able to compete with the MCU, and in the movie biz, rushing to make a movie usually decreases the quality of the movie (hence why sequels and reboots are usually not as good as the original). So, this very well could become what happens to the films in the DCCU. Instead of releasing solo films for each character before a team-up movie like Marvel did which worked so well, they are quickly introducing each character and skipping right to the ‘Justice League’ movie. This could be dangerous because instead of the movie-goers already getting to really know and love each character by the time they all team-up on the big screen, they will have to spend half of the ‘Justice League’ movie getting to really know the characters. That is why….
6. Everything Depends On How Good ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’
Face it, a lot of pressure has been put on ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’ to not only do well at the box office and critically, be popular and people to love it, but also just about everything else. It is tasked with doing so many things but number one on its list is to set up and build the DC Cinematic Universe. ‘Man of Steel’ really didn’t do anything to set up for future films or build the upcoming cinematic universe, so its followup has to. ‘Justice League’ comes out the following year so ‘Batman V Superman’ really has to introduce most of the Justice League members and supporting characters/villains. I mean, ‘Batman V Superman’ is introducing Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, Robin (and possibly Nightwing), Lex Luthor, Alfred Pennyworth, Doomsday, and the Joker! And that isn’t counting all the returning characters from ‘Man of Steel’ it has to develop further! That is almost too much for one movie and has a distinct possibility of making it too cluttered. Also, if this movie is disliked, then the audience very likely will view the characters introduced in it negatively if they disliked the movie. Honestly, DC is not smart to put the fate of basically all their characters of the upcoming Cinematic Universe in the hands of one single movie. Its a gamble that could blow up in their face.
‘Batman V Superman’ also has to absolutely be loved by audiences and critics. DC and Warner Bros. has spent since last year hyping this film and if it doesn’t turn out to be good then people will be thoroughly disappointed because a ton of people (myself included) are greatly anticipating this film. If it fails, then people will not only be disappointed, but it will most likely affect the future of the DCCU, because if DC can’t get audiences to love a movie with all DC’s best superheros in it and a movie people are so excited about, then how on earth will they be able to get them to go see or even like one of their future films like ‘Aquaman’ or ‘Cyborg’? Honestly, how popular ‘Batman V Superman’ is, will in theory decide how popular the DCCU will be.
A third thing ‘Batman V Superman’ has to do right is Batman, of course (he is in the title!)! Batman will be an integral part of the DCCU and Batman is probably everyone’s favorite DC superhero. Especially after the well-beloved ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy, that breathed life back into Batman’s popularity on the big screen (which ‘Batman and Robin’ thoroughly extinguished previous to those films), audiences want a good Batman that is at least comparable to Christian Bale’s Batman. His supporting characters, like Alfred Pennyworth and the Joker, also need to be done well so people have a comparable ‘Batman’ franchise to the ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy. Since the DCCU is going to be going for a while, Batman will be around for a long time so it is so important for DC to make a Batman audiences will love. Things already look promising with new images of Batman’s costume and Batmobile and the casting picks for Alfred Pennyworth and the Joker, but if this is all going to work, Ben Affleck has to pull off (somehow) the role of Batman, or the DCCU will be significantly less cool.
7. DC Is Giving Less Popular Characters Their Own Solo Films
With comic book characters, some are good alone while others are good on a team and with other characters but not good on solo adventures. However, DC seems to fail in realizing this for in the upcoming DCCU, all members of the DCCU’s Justice League will get their own solo films. Now, like all comic book teams, some Justice League members are good alone while others are not. That is precisely why Marvel doesn’t give Hawkeye and Black Widow solo films because they are great on a team with other superheroes but wouldn’t be as good by themselves like the Hulk or Thor, for example. For example, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, and Flash all are great alone because they all have huge rogue galleries of villains to choose from for each character and they all have good supporting characters and all this adds up as them being suitable for a stand-alone movie. On the other hand, Justice League-rs like Cyborg, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman are superheroes that are better as team-players instead of loners. They don’t have as big of rogue galleries of cool and dangerous villains like the characters listed above do, nor villains that anybody really knows, or even supporting characters that anybody really knows. While making a movie of these lesser-knowns could be a good way to get people to know them better, it is also another very risky move. Making a movie of a character that is much more obscure and much less cool in the eyes of people along with their villains and supporting characters, in comparison to more signature characters like Batman and the Flash, will decrease the amount of people that will want to go to see it or that do go and see it, along with the amount of people that like it. These type of risky movies could be hurtful to the DCCU for the possibility of a low gross and more negative reviews.
8. A Risky Bunch Of Actors
Face it, about half of the actors cast in the titular roles in the DC Cinematic Universe are not exactly good picks, at least as we stand right now, with out having seen how they are on the big screen. With out a doubt, Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Gal Gabot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, and Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg, are all really good picks for their role, at least as far as appearances since we have only seen Henry Cavill on the big screen in the DCCU thus far. However, the rest are risky with out a doubt. Jason Momoa may be a very good pick for Arthur Curry/Aquaman because it all depends on how you look at the character. He is a good pick if the DCCU is using the modern version of the character but a horrible one if they are portraying the original version. Same thing with Ben Affleck being Bruce Wayne/Batman. Gut feeling says (along with basically everyone else) that he will be a horrible Batman, for he is certainly not Batman material. However, since the DCCU’s Batman is an older, battle-hardened Dark Knight, Ben Affleck might not be bad for the role. Again, we will have to wait and see. But without a doubt, Ezra Miller will be TERRIBLE Flash, for quite a number of reasons. First he has long black hair! All I have to say is, really?! Barry Allen certainly doesn’t have long hair, and certainly not black hair because he has blonde. Secondly, he isn’t that great of an actor with very little experience, having only appeared in a handful of movies that are not now and never were very popular or well-known. Thirdly, he is no Grant Gustin and will never be able to play this titular character to the same capacity. Grant Gustin looks like and acts like Barry Allen and the Flash. Clearly, the DC Cinematic Universe could run into trouble in the actor category, because they have picked some risky actors.
9. The DC TV Shared Universe Will Be Kept Separate From The DC Cinematic Universe
Even though Marvel has done well on the small screen, with ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ becoming popular, and ‘Daredevil’ become insanely popular with critics and viewers alike, DC clearly owns the small screen. Their shared TV universe with ‘Constantine’, ‘Arrow’, and ‘The Flash’ is becoming more and more popular and will soon include ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ and possibly ‘Supergirl’. Plus, there is the Batman prequel ‘Gotham’. So clearly DC has set up a good TV universe. So, what is the DCCU doing to tap into this already well set-up piece of relative prosperity sitting at its fingertips? NOTHING!!!! They have foolishly chosen to keep their movie and tv universes separate. This is even more foolish because for a studio and franchise trying to literally copy Marvel’s cinematic universe design and success, they aren’t making the smart choices Marvel continues to make. Marvel has made the historic move of tying tv shows into movies, as their shows such as ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ constantly tie into current movies and set-up for future ones. This adds so much to watching a tv show, making it a lot more exciting when your favorite show ties in with such a blockbuster like ‘Age of Ultron’ and you hear Director Coulson say “It’s time to call in the Avengers”. It also helps expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe by bringing in less powerful and popular characters by giving them shows instead of movies, case in point being Daredevil. All in all, it is brilliant and so cool to keep tv shows and movies of a franchise all in one shared universe. DC is missing out on all this by keeping their tv universe separate because no matter how good their movies are, the DCCU will never have the same level of complexity, depth, or level of excitement as the MCU does. It limits them to really only being able to introduce more popular and renowned characters into their cinematic universe because they can’t give less popular characters shows to introduce them and they wouldn’t want to give a more obscure character like the Atom his own movie because it most likely wouldn’t do well (and Marvel beat them to it with ‘Ant-Man’). Finally this also makes things confusing because it makes it possible for there to be two versions of a character at once like there will be two versions of the Flash. This also doubles down on the fact (and makes it even more obvious) that….
10. DC’s Characters Have Been Beaten To Death
Face it, DC has beaten its characters to death on so many levels and that has the potential to hurt its upcoming cinematic universe. Batman has been rebooted twice and been portrayed by five different actors, superman had been rebooted twice and played by two different actors, the flash has a tv series and will have a movie set in the DCCU, green lantern is being rebooted after the previous attempt utterly failed; I mean even Wonder Woman had a tv show back in the 70’s and is now getting a movie. Plus, DC has made several tv shows concerning the origins and younger years of several major superheroes. Life lesson: Too many reboots is a bad thing (DC will never understand this (sigh))!!!! This fact could hurt DC because people could become tired of seeing the same character over and over no matter how cool a shared universe containing them all is. This factor of amount of reboots done on a character actually on the other hand actually helped the MCU because with the exception of the hulk (and now spiderman, daredevil, and the punisher) all the characters in the MCU had never been adapted to any live action tv show or film before. Bringing the likes of Iron Man and Thor to the big screen for the first time helped to excite fans for each movie and the MCU as a whole with a sense of newness. While this factor helped the MCU, it has the potential to hurt the DCCU because they are on the other end if the spectrum, having rebooted and used their characters way too much, which may turn some people off because they don’t want to see Batman redone for the umpteenth time.
11. The DC Cinematic Universe’s Formation Was Way Too Vague
Honestly, who even knew the DCCU was even happening originally? When ‘Man of Steel’ came out I don’t think anyone beside maybe a few hardcore fans knew that it was the first installment in the DCCU. People just thought it was a reboot of the original series Superman and the start of a new superman franchise, myself included. On the contrary, when ‘Iron Man’ came out there was no doubt that it was the first film of a shared cinematic universe of Marvel characters because it was announced. It wasn’t announced about the DCCU until much later after ‘Man of Steel’ was released. A second reason many people didn’t know the DCCU was even beginning was because ‘Man of Steel’ did nothing to set up or even hint at a shared universe. It didn’t even really set up for a sequel! However, the MCU’s first film ‘Iron Man’ set up for a shared universe by, as mentioned earlier, introducing Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the “Avengers Initiative”, thereby not only doing a great job setting up for the cinematic universe but solidifying and confirming for people that a shared and cinematic universe was actually happening (If that wasn’t proof enough, Tony Stark cameoed in ‘the Incredible Hulk’, the second MCU movie, that came out just a month later). Lastly, up until recently, even with all the buzz around ‘Batman V Superman’ DC still hadn’t come up with a name for their universe (Marvel dubbed their universe the MCU right away)! They have just recently named it the DC Extended Universe; all that time and they didn’t even come up with a good name (That is why me and most other people are still referring to it as the DCCU because it sounds cooler and more official and no where in the name the DCEU does it suggest it is referring to a movie universe)! Ironically, DC didn’t name it the DCCU so they wouldn’t copy Marvel’s name, the MCU, even though they are copying the MCU in every other way! Honestly, the DCCU’s lack of seeming organization, demonstrated by taking two years just to come up with a name for itself, helps to make it clear it will always be treated as inferior to and less cool and complex as the MCU.
The 11 reasons I listed above are why I believe the DC Cinematic Universe is set up to fail and/or not be as good as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The MCU has literally done a near impossible feat by bringing almost all the Marvel characters, heroes and villains alike, to the big screen and small screen all in one huge shared cinematic universe. They have made the historic move of making tv shows that are set in the same universe and that can cross-over with the movies of the franchise, helping to introduce less known characters by giving them a tv show instead of a movie to see how people like them instead of making a movie of them that could flop. Also, the actors cast in all the titular roles of the franchise fit the looks and persona of their respective characters so well, almost all of them seem like they are drawn out of the comics which really enhances how the audiences love the characters. These reasons and many more are what makes the MCU great. The DCCU has none of these things going for them. They are keeping their tv shared universe separate and their actors in the titular roles, at least half of them, are risky and shaky picks, along with all the other reasons I listed above and more. Honestly, I would love for the DCCU to be great and for people to love it, but with DC’s movie-making track record and with plenty of valid reasons it is safe to that the DC Cinematic Universe is set-up very well not to succeed but to fail.
What do you think?
1. The DCCU is going to fail without a doubt.
2. The DCCU could be good but it definitely won’t be as good as the MCU.
3. The DCCU will be awesome!!!! The MCU won’t even be able to compare!!!
Let me know what you think in the comment section at the top of the page!
Movie Clip Spotlight: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
Here is a clip of the elevator scene from ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ (2014), and it is one of the funniest scenes from this funny but mediocre reboot. As usual, enjoy!
‘Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice’ Preliminary Look
On March 25, 2016, ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice’ will hit theaters and it will be huge. Not only is it a reboot of Batman, an unofficial sequel to Superman, and an introduction to Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Cyborg all in one movie, it is also the second installment of the upcoming DC Cinematic Universe, that will set up for all the upcoming movies in that film series. It will be the first of two DC movies being released next year, the other being ‘Suicide Squad’, which Batman will also appear in. ‘Batman V Superman’ is especially huge because it sets up for not only the upcoming Justice League movie in 2017, but for all future DC movies by introducing main characters such as Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Cyborg (all who will be making their first appearance on the big screen), Lex Luthor, Robin, and Alfred Pennyworth, while also setting up for the Joker. Since this film introduces most of the main characters-to-be of this upcoming franchise, and sets up for most future films, it puts a lot of pressure on this movie to be a good one.
The cool thing about this movie is Batman and Superman will be in the same movie together for the first time in movie history, which is exciting assuming they do it right. To do it right, they have to have a good amount of time with Batman fighting Superman, but they also need to have a solid time-block at the end with Superman and Batman putting aside their differences to fight the enemy and become allies so as to set up for Justice League. Also, since Ben Affleck is Batman, well things could go wrong. If he is good as Batman, somehow, the movie will have the finishing touch it needs to be a great movie. It Warner Bros. gets these three things right, ‘Batman V Superman’ should be great.
The premise of ‘Batman V Superman’ is Gotham City vigilante Batman travels to Metropolis to combat Superman, fearing what would happen if the Man of Steel was kept unchecked while also holding him responsible for the destruction of Metropolis, while a new threat to mankind arises. The film stars Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Gal Gabot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Ray Fisher and Jason Momoa as Victor Stone/Cyborg and Arthur Curry/Aquaman in minor roles.
Meet The New Spider-Man!
Back on June 23, the new Spider-Man actor was, finally, cast, and Tom Holland was the actor cast into the role. The 19-year old British actor will be the third actor to play Spider-Man on the big screen, being proceeded by Tobey Maquire and Andrew Garfield. The movie will be directed by John Watts. I want take this time to apologize to all of my readers for making a false statement about actor Asa Butterfield being picked as the new Spider-Man back in my post Good-Bye Amazing Spider-Man, Hello Spider-Man 3.0. When I wrote the post, it seemed definite Asa Butterfield had “bagged” the role, and it was “unofficially” announced that he was the new Spider-Man.
While it is hard to know if he will be good in the role of Peter Parker, especially since most people think he will be horrible in the role, at any rate he should be an improvement over the last actor to play Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield. While Andrew Garfield did fit the looks of Peter Parker fairly well, he utterly failed as far as his personality was concerned. He portrayed Peter Parker as this punk kid who was kind of nerdy but more of a clumsy oaf and a jerk. That is not Peter Parker. Tobey Maquire however, was incredible at Spider-Man, and Tom Holland, even if he is good as Peter Parker, would have a hard time being better than Tobey Maquire. Tobey Maquire looked like he was drawn out of the comics and he fit Peter Parker’s geeky personality perfectly. While it is tough to say how Tom Holland will do in the role, a look back at past Spider-Man actors can give us a clue that he should be at least pretty good in the role.
Tom Holland absolutely has to be a good Spider-Man and Peter Parker because he will be in the role for a long time, with Spidey now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel has done a great job casting to date so let us hope that Spidey is not their first slip up. Tom Holland will make his debut as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War opening in theaters on May 6, 2016 and his cameo in the film has reportedly already been shot. He will get his first solo film the following year. Hopefully, the Marvel Cinematic Universe iteration of Spidey will be the best so far or at least good and enjoyable, because, excuse the spun, he will be sticking around for a while.
Movie Clip Spotlight: Captain America: The Winter Solider
Here is the clip of the elevator fight scene between Captain America and the forces of HYDRA! One of the best fight scenes I have ever seen, so enjoy!