Review: The Defenders Is A Shaky Conclusion To Netflix's First Phase
- Aug 19, 2017
- 2 min read
Starting back in 2015, Marvel, partnered with the video streaming service of Netflix, released Daredevil, a dirty, gritty nasty and damn good take on the genre. Now, just over two years later, the culmination of four series of TV has arrived.
The Hand, an ancient society determined to live forever and control the world, has slowly been growing their power in New York. After clashing with Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and Iron Fist (Finn Jones) and being discovered by Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) and Luke Cage (Mike Colter), they accelerate their plans. Led by the deceptively frail Alexandra (Sigourney Weaver) and having dozens on troops at their command, there's only one team that can stop them. There's just one problem, The Defenders don't exactly like each other.
The Defenders, like much of Netflix's Marvel shows, isn't what one would call consistent. The first three episodes, while not bad, are pretty dull, episode four is the first one with any real action, five is solid, though very little is accomplished, six is forgettable and the seventh and eighth are excellent. As you might imagine, this makes things difficult, but once it gets going, the viewing gets easier.
The acting is solid across the board, with Cox and Weaver being the standouts. There's some good action as the show moves forward and the way the heroes play off of each other is nice to see. Much like 2012's Avengers, there's not a lot of stakes, due to many of the characters having upcoming series.
The Defenders isn't perfect and, compared to much of Netflix's shows, it's pretty average. It isn't as good as Daredevil or Jessica Jones, nor is it as bad as Iron Fist. If you want to keep up with what's coming up, you'll probably have to watch but don't feel bad if you wait. And remember, there's always a silver lining, one soaked in blood and filled with bullets (The Punisher is on his way)
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