locker_monster (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
locker_monster) wrote2017-08-20 11:34 am
locker_monster) wrote2017-08-20 11:34 am
"You grab me like that again, I'll punch you so hard you'll see."
<------ Wrong team, I know, but it's the only Marvel icon I have.
Finished watching The Defenders. That's the fastest I've ever watched a Marvel Netflix show. Granted, The Defenders is like 1/3 shorter than a typical Marvel Netflix show so that probably helped. But the show was pretty good and it did compel me to keep watching even though I should have been sleeping or doing other things.
But man, it took until the last five minutes of the third episode for everyone to be on screen together and then it wasn't until the end of episode four when they were all fighting together as a united front. I do realize that they do have the time to go slow, unlike the movies, but still. I came here to see these four characters get together. Get to the good stuff faster! I suppose you do have to get the viewer caught up on what's been going on with the four characters since we last saw them. Some, like Matt and Jessica, we haven't seen in a very long time, so you do need that time to get reacquainted. I wish we had a better sense of how much time had passed since season two of Daredevil and season one of Jessica Jones, though.
That was the only bit of pacing that didn't agree with me. The rest unfolded just fine. The stuff with the Hand was okay, but I've never really enjoyed the ongoing plot with the Hand. Back in season one of Daredevil, when Stick showed up and we heard about a Black Sky for the first time, that was the one episode I disliked the most. I think part of the problem is the Hand is supposed to be this scary group of villains, but I never got a great sense of that or their motivation. When it turned out that all the stuff they were doing was just so they could get the dragon bones under New York City? Um... sure... why not. But the Iron Fist can use his fist to open doors? Seriously? Look, using chi to punch stuff super hard is one thing, but using it to seal and open doors?
That was my other problem. They made Danny a MacGuffin, which in turn made him kind of central to everything. Danny is, by far, the weakest character on the show. While Matt, Jessica, and Luke are all interesting people outside of their superheroics, Danny is just not. So to open the show with him and have him be the key to the whole story was a misstep. On the other hand, you do have to tie up all of these plot threads with the Hand, so I guess there was no way around it.
I never got a good feel for Danny during Iron Fist. Like, he's supposed to be all conflicted and stuff but the execution was so clumsy. I think he was meant to have a temper, which would be at odds with the tranquil centre he needs to have to focus his chi, but most times, it was like he was throwing a tantrum. And how did he become the Iron Fist? I was under the impression that Shao Lao judged whether you were worthy before you punched him in the heart, but maybe there's none of that. Maybe Iron Fists are just clever and they don't have to prove they're good people. When Danny started arguing with everyone in episode six or whatever, it was such a joy when Jessica punched him in the face. It was also a nice relief when Danny was tied up for two episodes. Hopefully he has learned a thing or two from this show and this will transfer over into Iron Fist season two.
Anyway, the things I did like. As soon as the characters start to pair up, man, it was great. Naturally, Danny and Luke run into each other; the two have been best buds in the comics for ages. Danny was slightly more tolerable when he's interacting with Luke. If for some reason future seasons of Luke Cage and Iron Fist don't pan out, Netflix should just mush the two shows together and have Danny and Luke fighting crime together. I was surprised by how well Matt and Jessica worked together. They both come from a place where they want to help people, but obviously, Matt is a better people person than Jessica. :-) And then the four of them together in the Chinese restaurant? Team banter is what I live for in big team-ups. Plus, everyone was kind of ragging on Danny, which is totally what you would do to the kid brother type figure in the group.
It was so great seeing the secondary characters interacting with each other as well. Obviously the characters the fans wanted to see together the most was Colleen and Misty since they're business partners and friends in the comics. You start to see a connection between them, so it's great that Misty is carrying over into season two of Iron Fist. Trish and Karen get a nice moment. I think Foggy and Malcolm could have used a scene together, but there was only so much space in the show.
They also didn't get too crazy with the fight scenes, which I liked, since the temptation is there to do something like the hallway fight from season one of Daredevil. You do get big fight scenes and the one down in the dragon bone cave had some nice tracking shots from each character, but we never got an over complicated brawl. I think it partly stems from the fact that two members of the team are brawlers. Jessica and Luke just throw punches; they don't have any fancy kung fu moves. How do you make punching interesting? The one neat thing they introduced was the giant shockwave that's produced when Danny punched Luke in the chest. It reminded me of the thing they do with Steve's shield and Thor's hammer. Maybe in the next team-up, it's a move they can repeat on purpose to disperse the bad guys.
Random thoughts: It's so weird that Matt is the only one with a suit. I suppose Luke doesn't need one and Jessica would totally be against having one, but it makes him stand out too much. I liked Jessica's diss about the suit: "Nice ears." Matt (slightly miffed): "They're horns." They sliced off Misty's arm. :-P I know she has a bionic arm in the comics, but that shouldn't mean you need to dismember characters so they resemble their comic book counterparts a bit more. Sigourney Weaver's character was kind of interesting. She wasn't this big physical threat, but she was still a huge problem for the gang. It wasn't that surprising that they offed her in episode six. I mean, I didn't see it coming, but they did something similar in season one of Luke Cage so it's not completely left field. A lot of dismembered heads in this show. I guess it's the only surefire way to make sure a member of the Hand is dead. Is it implied that Jessica took flight while Matt was tailing her? Because he loses the sound of her footsteps for a few seconds and she ends up behind him and the only way that makes sense is if Jessica leapt up and over a building. Her power of flight is so fuzzy. Maybe it's more falling with style. I did like that she stopped the elevator from plunging to its doom. She was smart enough to notice the snapped cable and it showed just how strong she really is. Oh, and Jessica, Luke, and Matt riding the subway in the middle of a crisis was so cute. Just Jessica and her boys, off to save the day. :-D
And how is Matt not dead? He had a building collapse on top of him! Was there a magical escape route? Or maybe a magical shield holding the roof up? Whatever they decide on, it's going to be ridiculous. And how did he end up at that church or convent? Apparently Maggie is the name of his mother, so there could be more going on there.
I hope they have another season of The Defenders. What's the point of having all of these shows in the same universe if they can't occasionally cross over? The CW DC shows do it all the time.
The next show up is The Punisher, but I don't know if I want to watch that one. When is the second season of Jessica Jones? Better be next year.
Finished watching The Defenders. That's the fastest I've ever watched a Marvel Netflix show. Granted, The Defenders is like 1/3 shorter than a typical Marvel Netflix show so that probably helped. But the show was pretty good and it did compel me to keep watching even though I should have been sleeping or doing other things.
But man, it took until the last five minutes of the third episode for everyone to be on screen together and then it wasn't until the end of episode four when they were all fighting together as a united front. I do realize that they do have the time to go slow, unlike the movies, but still. I came here to see these four characters get together. Get to the good stuff faster! I suppose you do have to get the viewer caught up on what's been going on with the four characters since we last saw them. Some, like Matt and Jessica, we haven't seen in a very long time, so you do need that time to get reacquainted. I wish we had a better sense of how much time had passed since season two of Daredevil and season one of Jessica Jones, though.
That was the only bit of pacing that didn't agree with me. The rest unfolded just fine. The stuff with the Hand was okay, but I've never really enjoyed the ongoing plot with the Hand. Back in season one of Daredevil, when Stick showed up and we heard about a Black Sky for the first time, that was the one episode I disliked the most. I think part of the problem is the Hand is supposed to be this scary group of villains, but I never got a great sense of that or their motivation. When it turned out that all the stuff they were doing was just so they could get the dragon bones under New York City? Um... sure... why not. But the Iron Fist can use his fist to open doors? Seriously? Look, using chi to punch stuff super hard is one thing, but using it to seal and open doors?
That was my other problem. They made Danny a MacGuffin, which in turn made him kind of central to everything. Danny is, by far, the weakest character on the show. While Matt, Jessica, and Luke are all interesting people outside of their superheroics, Danny is just not. So to open the show with him and have him be the key to the whole story was a misstep. On the other hand, you do have to tie up all of these plot threads with the Hand, so I guess there was no way around it.
I never got a good feel for Danny during Iron Fist. Like, he's supposed to be all conflicted and stuff but the execution was so clumsy. I think he was meant to have a temper, which would be at odds with the tranquil centre he needs to have to focus his chi, but most times, it was like he was throwing a tantrum. And how did he become the Iron Fist? I was under the impression that Shao Lao judged whether you were worthy before you punched him in the heart, but maybe there's none of that. Maybe Iron Fists are just clever and they don't have to prove they're good people. When Danny started arguing with everyone in episode six or whatever, it was such a joy when Jessica punched him in the face. It was also a nice relief when Danny was tied up for two episodes. Hopefully he has learned a thing or two from this show and this will transfer over into Iron Fist season two.
Anyway, the things I did like. As soon as the characters start to pair up, man, it was great. Naturally, Danny and Luke run into each other; the two have been best buds in the comics for ages. Danny was slightly more tolerable when he's interacting with Luke. If for some reason future seasons of Luke Cage and Iron Fist don't pan out, Netflix should just mush the two shows together and have Danny and Luke fighting crime together. I was surprised by how well Matt and Jessica worked together. They both come from a place where they want to help people, but obviously, Matt is a better people person than Jessica. :-) And then the four of them together in the Chinese restaurant? Team banter is what I live for in big team-ups. Plus, everyone was kind of ragging on Danny, which is totally what you would do to the kid brother type figure in the group.
It was so great seeing the secondary characters interacting with each other as well. Obviously the characters the fans wanted to see together the most was Colleen and Misty since they're business partners and friends in the comics. You start to see a connection between them, so it's great that Misty is carrying over into season two of Iron Fist. Trish and Karen get a nice moment. I think Foggy and Malcolm could have used a scene together, but there was only so much space in the show.
They also didn't get too crazy with the fight scenes, which I liked, since the temptation is there to do something like the hallway fight from season one of Daredevil. You do get big fight scenes and the one down in the dragon bone cave had some nice tracking shots from each character, but we never got an over complicated brawl. I think it partly stems from the fact that two members of the team are brawlers. Jessica and Luke just throw punches; they don't have any fancy kung fu moves. How do you make punching interesting? The one neat thing they introduced was the giant shockwave that's produced when Danny punched Luke in the chest. It reminded me of the thing they do with Steve's shield and Thor's hammer. Maybe in the next team-up, it's a move they can repeat on purpose to disperse the bad guys.
Random thoughts: It's so weird that Matt is the only one with a suit. I suppose Luke doesn't need one and Jessica would totally be against having one, but it makes him stand out too much. I liked Jessica's diss about the suit: "Nice ears." Matt (slightly miffed): "They're horns." They sliced off Misty's arm. :-P I know she has a bionic arm in the comics, but that shouldn't mean you need to dismember characters so they resemble their comic book counterparts a bit more. Sigourney Weaver's character was kind of interesting. She wasn't this big physical threat, but she was still a huge problem for the gang. It wasn't that surprising that they offed her in episode six. I mean, I didn't see it coming, but they did something similar in season one of Luke Cage so it's not completely left field. A lot of dismembered heads in this show. I guess it's the only surefire way to make sure a member of the Hand is dead. Is it implied that Jessica took flight while Matt was tailing her? Because he loses the sound of her footsteps for a few seconds and she ends up behind him and the only way that makes sense is if Jessica leapt up and over a building. Her power of flight is so fuzzy. Maybe it's more falling with style. I did like that she stopped the elevator from plunging to its doom. She was smart enough to notice the snapped cable and it showed just how strong she really is. Oh, and Jessica, Luke, and Matt riding the subway in the middle of a crisis was so cute. Just Jessica and her boys, off to save the day. :-D
And how is Matt not dead? He had a building collapse on top of him! Was there a magical escape route? Or maybe a magical shield holding the roof up? Whatever they decide on, it's going to be ridiculous. And how did he end up at that church or convent? Apparently Maggie is the name of his mother, so there could be more going on there.
I hope they have another season of The Defenders. What's the point of having all of these shows in the same universe if they can't occasionally cross over? The CW DC shows do it all the time.
The next show up is The Punisher, but I don't know if I want to watch that one. When is the second season of Jessica Jones? Better be next year.
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