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 show feels very different to the Netflix original whilst still retaining the core elements that mattered. It remains equally as dark and gritty with the added use of CGI and a more acrobatic Daredevil. People will complain about his new fighting style or the use of CGI but this is an MCU continuation of the Netflix series. This is a good adaptation/continuation of the previous show and shows that Marvel can accommodate darker characters into its universe. The first episode is extremely emotional and characters are given room to breathe and develop, overall it is a very promising start to the series. This is a Daredevil that will be seen in other Marvel projects so the ultra realistic Netflix version would not fit the Marvel Universe, I think they have modified his character well enough to fit into this world whilst still retaining his main qualities.

We are back, a quick trip to Hells Kitchen sees Matts life change after a tragedy befalls him. Daredevil is pushed to his line and he crosses it for the first time. Matt hangs up the horns and 1 year later we have no sight of Daredevil and he is in New York in a new firm. Things get shaken up when Fisk is out and plans on running for Mayor of New York.

The first episode is strong but not where it used to be, sure we have violence but the CGI absolutely takes you out of it and yes that's a valid complaint because it's predecessor had little CGI issues from 2016. The backgrounds feel fake, the some of the fight scenes you can tell it's a CG model and not the actors.

The tone is there and even with the above complaint the fight is a good one. The dialogue especially with Matt and Fisk are really strong.

Overall happy to have Daredevil back but it suffers from Disney CGI and I'll never get why, 8/10.