Heaven's Half Hour

First off, the first fight scene was different than any Marvel fight I've seen. The odd perspectives and lighting, the relentless zinging knives, along with DD's lurching, zombie-like pursuit of Bullseye, captured the Frank Miller Daredevil Marvel comic run from the 1980s better than any previous episode. That 1980s run also featured Kingpin's mayoral race. Good stuff. (It would probably cost a CGI fortune but we really do need to see an entire fight from DD's radar sense perspective.)

The music and score enhance the action by skipping overdramatized score crescendos (think Peter Jackson with LOTR). Some hip new pop tunes help too. Great mood and tone from the soundtrack.

I also enjoy how the dialogue and fights are more understated. The opening fight was mostly shot from a distance, which emphasized action over smashed bloody faces. It was less brutal and instead more vicious and clinical than, say, every single Punisher fight scene. The Kingpin - Daredevil coffee shop face-off was similarly understated, with little melodrama in either dialogue or score. And if that scene wasn't an homage to the De Niro-Pacino coffee talk then I'm Michael Mann.

I'm optimistic. Smart, crisp writing and a consistent score/soundtrack (without any of Marvel's self-parody) will keep me tuned in.

The story of the episode was great but the action sequence in the beginning of the episode WAS SOOOO BAD it just ruined my mood for the whole episode. Disney failed to live up to the action sequence quality that Netflix set. Hopefully it will get better as the series continues. I did not like Kingpin on a diet, that is kinda lame. Kingpin is supposed to have a massive presence literally and figuratively. I'm still very excited for this series though and so happy that they brought back Matt Murdock and fit him into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hopefully they can bring back some of the other Defenders.

Daredevil: Born Again wastes no time and pulls no punches as it picks-up so many years after the events of Daredevil Season 3. The series premiere is fantastically written and goes in what feels like a natural progression (well, as natural a progression as you can have when reviving a show six years after it's cancellation). Charlie Cox and Vincent D'onofrio give fantastic performances as Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, who feel exactly like their characters in the original series (despite the change in writers)

There are three main problems that I've had with this episode. First off, the soundtrack is fantastic... But it leans a lot into the main theme from the original show. That gets used a lot, which feels weird since it was only really used during significant moments of the original series. Secondly, the cinematography isn't as nice as in the original (but let's be real here, that's not saying much - since the original was gorgeous). And thirdly is honestly just the action. Don't get me wrong, it had an amazingly choreographed fight scene, that actually had a stunning one-shot sequence... But none of it's nearly as impressive as in the original series when you can clearly see that a lot of CGI was used at points. Throughout the Daredevil scenes in the episode, you can definitely see what was done practically, and what was done digitally, which really brought me out of the immersion of seeing Daredevil again

Overall, though, if you can push those three minor issues to the back of your mind... The series premiere of Daredevil: Born Again is fantastic and is an awesome way to continue the story from the Netflix Defenders Saga. It does justice to the original show and offers a lot by the means of enjoyment.

The first episode feels quite rushed. It starts with a sequence that, personally, I didn't find very pleasant, but I understand the decision to include it. However, if you're going to re-record and allow the Netflix show to be canon, then don't get rid of it in less than 10 minutes. As for the CGI, they should have just left it out-I don't think Daredevil needed it since it's a very underground character. The plot with Fisk is interesting, but it would have been better to save it for this series rather than using him in Hawkeye and Echo, since it's hard to take him seriously after what Maya did.

-MASS.

When the most memorable/interesting scene of the episode is two dudes sitting at a table, you KNOW something isn't quite right. Yikes.

I wasn't impressed at all with the first episode of DD Born Again.

They had a chance to at least do the fight scene right, but nahhh, why do that when you can rely (HEAVILY) on CGI?

The soundtrack is pretty bad too with those very weird and annoying constant thumping tones trying to make you think the episode is "intense" or whatever. Give me a break.

Maybe all this would be acceptable if Born Again wasn't supposed to be a continuation to the great show that was Netflix's Daredevil.

6/10 for episode 1 from me.