Heaven's Half Hour

As a big fan of the original series who was devastated by its cancellation, I was incredibly hopeful about its continuation in Daredevil: Born Again. One episode in and it is very clear that, while continuing the story of Daredevil, this show is very much its own stylistically. I cannot help but miss the distinct visual aesthetic of the original show, with such gorgeous lighting and cinematography. Born Again is much more along the lines of other Disney+ Marvel shows visually, with some flashes of the original bursting through.

It is truly a delight to have Daredevil and Fisk back, both actors truly bring their all and I am excited to see what this season has in store for them. However, the show makes a big decision in its opening that I found very difficult to stomach. Ultimately, I recognize that my excitement for the series' return clouds me from making an unbiased decision about the execution of this moment, but I had a quite harsh reaction to the show's opening sequence. I don't want to go as far as to say that it is disrespectful to the original show, although I couldn't help but reject it and expect it to be incredibly divisive. I do, however, understand the choice itself and will wait until some time has passed to see how it sits with me.

The original show is long gone, and ultimately this one is a different beast. Daredevil: Born Again takes bold swings that will likely cause some to love it and some to hate it. I'm still giving it its chance and looking forward to the rest of the season, because ultimately there is a lot to appreciate and enjoy inside of this first episode-even if some elements left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.

We all know how intense and gritty the original daredevil show was and this episode puts you right back in that Thrill Ride seat. You usually expect a show to start off slow and slowly build up to a big moment or a major plot twist but this show pretty much doesn't waste any time at all. I also like that there isn't a lot of conversation between characters that doesn't feel necessary the show seems to hit on a very fine pace and doesn't let up. If you are a big fan of the original show then you will be definitely happy to see the show gets right back to where it needed to be and gives you what you needed to see.

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.

I've never left a review before, I probably won't again. The original is my favorite show of all time.

I believe this episode was good, but it is only good in that it is a passable imitation of something great. Like watered-down wine.

The action, one of the aspects which put the original on the map, is better than recent marvel, but not quite good enough. The relatively obvious (in a bad way) CGI did not completely ruin it, but it certainly took a lot away from the obvious effort that went into it.

The writing is alright, and would not be very engaging if not for the only truly exceptional aspect of this show: the actors. I think they are all phenomenal and I feel very bad that I don't really like the product of their work. It is not at all their fault.

The cinematography and colorwork is much more subjective, but for me was absolutely terrible. Not even a speck of effort to retain the original style which matched the show so well. It honestly looks like something rendered in a graphics engine trying to imitate reality's grey-ness in an attempt for grittiness.

There is nothing authentic and there are no risks of any sort, there is nothing special to this. It is all riding off of the success of the original, with its dynamic camerawork, colorwork, often over-the-top serious writing, and breathtaking action. It is simply a dilution and productization of authenticity.

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.