For fans of the Marvel Universe, the summer of 2017 is a special time. Why? One word: "Defenders." And yes, all the jokes about the associations with the Russian superhero cinema will leave those whose IQ does not exceed thirty points, because “Defenders” from Marvel is not perfect, but in its own charming comic book, skillfully collected beloved (and not so) screen avengers from the street.
The composition of the serial "Defenders", unlike the comic team, is significantly reduced. The team included only those heroes who managed to get solo projects in two years. It is for this reason that in “Defenders” we will not see the Punisher, who visited the second season of “Daredevil” and disappeared without a trace during the filming of the solo, which will premiere in winter. But I don't think it gets in the way... On the contrary, even despite the fact that all in the four “have” their series, the balance of time in “Defenders” is uneven.
It’s easy to give an example, out of eight episodes in a season, only four and a half are dedicated to overall teamwork. Then we will show a series about Luke Cage, dullly loitering around Harlem, then tell about the problems of Jessica Jones, as if for the first season of the series about her it was not clear that she is an alcoholic detective. This is perhaps the main disadvantage of the series. Otherwise, the Defenders did not fail, once again proving that Netflix knows its business. He knows well.
The villain in the “Defenders” was the long-suffering clan “Hand”, with which the entire second season of “Daredevil” fought Matt Murdoch, and after him Danny Rand, defender of Kun-Lun. The role of the monumental head of the clan was performed by Sigourney Weaver, and her assistants were old acquaintances of Matt and Danny, Madame Gao and coach Bakuto. The Klan plans to destroy New York for the sake of mining a valuable fossil, which the four Defenders, gathered under the wing of Daredevil's mentor, Stick, cannot allow.
In addition to the main plot, the creators worked out the love line between Daredevil and Black Sky, resurrected by Electra Nachios. After the second season, where the line Matt-Electra broke into tears, like — a winning move. Loving opposites, painfully clashing again and again. We look forward to further development of the relationship between the characters in the third season of Murdoch’s adventures.
Over. "Defenders" is a great example of how to shoot superhero series. Yes, there are silly moments here, and sometimes there are questions that you will never know the answer to. But damn it, you got Daredevil and Iron Fist standing back to back, scattering assholes! Here you have Stick waving a katana like in the good old Highlander, and Jessica and Luke remember the erotic moments between them, lying on the floor under a hail of bullets! What else do you want from a good comic book?
The story of the “unhappiness team,” where everyone ignored team play their entire lives, is like them, Netflix’s Defenders. And which of the characters to love, the personal choice of each viewer. Someone likes a depressed blind lawyer, someone is a fan of a stern woman detective, and someone is fond of a bulletproof mountain of muscles or a boy from a lost monastery. It does not matter who or what to choose. It is important that they are together.
The union of Marvel serial heroes took place. Nice and intriguing. When Fury put together the Avengers in 2012, it was pretty damn cool. But the charm of full-length heroes is designed for a children's audience, rather than series. More mysticism and more detailed plot.
The events of the crossover united all the storylines of solo projects. The first series also collects pieces of heroes from each project: the court, which shone Murdoch; clients who came to Detective Jessica. Cage, who was released from prison, and Rand, who is the bridge that brought the Defenders together. I confess, putting as the main antagonist Sigourney Weaver, the series showed a high bar. Where else can you watch a blind ninja, a bulletproof strongman, an alcoholic detective and the fastest hand in Hell’s Kitchen fight Ripley. But what is the main villain, what are secondary, that small biscuits - not so cause interest and excitement as the relationship of the guardians of order.
This chemistry of characters looks brilliant. Thanks to solo projects, the viewer is already familiar with the characters of the guys, and teamwork requires some concessions. Iron Fist and Luke Cage were the first couple to be rich in both humor and discovery. Yeah, with the power of his fist, Danny can easily rattle Cage. Further, fate acquaints Jessica, who guessed under arrest, with a sensible lawyer. That’s an interesting duo, too, but it needs time to reveal, as Daredevil went underground in the finale of the second season.
Again the hand, again the mystical resurrection of the dead and the magic of the temple. Losing the realism that was in the first season of “Daredevil”, but without it. Electra becomes a pawn (and this is not a spoiler), but the motives for the destruction of New York, for the purpose of the ancient ninja clan, are a little disappointing. If the debuts of “Jessica Jones” and “Luke Cage” were not about a secret organization, then “Daredevil” and “Iron Fist” already prepared viewers for something more.
Everyone has their own interests in the common cause, their own values and principles. The mystery of the personality of Daredevil is the first point in the joint plan. The battle for team leadership between Iron Fist and Daredevil looked impressive. Luke Cage only wants to help people, does not want to involve the police and quietly behaves. Jessica Jones, whose head is chubby, tries to get to the next bottle faster. In general, the girl in the team is an interesting character, completely her abilities were not opened in the cinema, immediately setting limits, but her behavior and attitude to what is happening she caused delight.
Each episode is filled with fights and character theories. There are Easter eggs of the movie universe, but they do not shoot to hook fans. Because the level isn't right. Although in the scene, when the four heroes gathered for the first time, it begs to mention the Avengers.
The series was not about a bunch of guys in tights beating bad guys, but about working in a team. It is striking how the characters change, how the “selfish” fades into the background, how the inner “I” is replaced by “we”. In the middle of the season, the motives of the enemies are revealed, which gives an answer to the question of why the Iron Fist solo was the last. Intrigues from the plan of villains do not experience, but attract joint scenes of secondary characters solo projects. They're all in the same city, just different neighborhoods. When death threatens everything, we must act.
Daredevil is no coincidence that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen acts as the main character. After all, the defenders fight against Electra, and therefore there is a reason to show the struggle of love and justice. Making the right choice: heart prompting and brain logic.
A dynamic series, each series of which is filled with drive, there are no sags. Even if there is a long dialogue, or the scene is one throughout the series, then you should expect an action. The finale unleashed a clot of drama, but that's exactly what it needed. 8 episodes fly by unnoticed, like one full-length film. The drawbacks of the picture are visible, but you discount them when another joke from Jessica or Luke’s banter shoots.
It was pretty cool. But do not sit down for a viewing without familiarizing yourself with solo projects.
That's it! Marvel's serial universe has finally teamed up its heroes for a final battle with the forces of the Hand and pulled all of the main, extremely colorful characters to create the street equivalent of the Avengers. The Uber Squad consists of billionaire Danny Rand (Iron Fist), Harlem intercessor Luke Cage, the devil of hell cuisine (Matthew Murdoch), and Detective Jessica Jones (you already know this), who, by the way, before meeting with the defenders, did not even suspect the existence of the Hand. To put it mildly, the detective she is so, and to bring something significant to the team of almost invulnerable heroes is extremely difficult.
The series begins its narrative exactly where the solo books of each of the protagonists ended. Each of the characters investigates his lead in the story and after uncomplicated thinking decides to take action and, due to some factors, stumbles upon other heroes. After the classic ' I don't know you, we won't work together' and light skirmishes in the form of small fights, the heroes still decide to join forces in order to overthrow Sigourney Weaver and her entire organization straight to hell, without killing a single opponent. This rally, by luck, takes place in a Chinese restaurant for a light meal, which subtly hints at a reference to the Avengers. By the way, Weaver herself plays just amazingly. Having first appeared in this universe, her acting skills make you believe that the villain has been an integral part of this story all this time. In the hands of a criminal or even sectarian organization finally appears the most perfect weapon in their entire existence, namely the Black Sky. The sky itself is a girl (I won’t spoil which one) with exceptional combat skills, but in my opinion, more radical measures could be taken to destroy New York.
Before you start watching, you know who, how and with whom will fight, how it will end, but still, watching the process is extremely pleasant and exciting. The combat system since the time of the solo Iron Fist has been perfectly redesigned, all the blows seem extremely heavy and believable, the characters with whom you have known for almost 3 years are again with you on the screen, and their combination delivers some inexplicable childhood joy and smile on the face. And the arrival of Sigourney Weaver in the series is a great icing on the cake.
Most of all, it was too painful for me to watch some solo films due to the presence of secondary storylines with secondary characters and their relationships, which in the future, did not particularly affect the main thread of the plot. In the defenders, everything, absolutely ALL attention is paid only to the main protagonists, which made the viewing even more interesting. Each of the characters has only one close sidekick.
Overall, the series was great and interesting. All the shortcomings of the past have been reworked and eliminated. If this is all one Marvel universe, what would happen if, as Robert Downey Jr. said in an interview, the Iron Man flew in and broke his entire arm in isolation, or where the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization disappeared, because it is simply impossible not to notice the red devil jumping on rooftops in the heart of New York. And of course, personally, I am completely lacking in this detachment of the Punisher, who does not bother about the definitions of good and evil. He has only us and them, which means a lot of blood and no regrets and self-flagellation.
8 out of 10
“The devil of Hell’s Kitchen, a very clever detective, a righteous ex-con and a boy with a glowing fist.”
All 8 episodes are viewed in volley.
I have been waiting for this project since its announcement. It unites the heroes on which Netflix has already released solo series - Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist.
The heroes slowly and reluctantly, like the Avengers, try to interact and trust each other when a common threat hanging over New York brings their solo storylines together.
“Defenders” came out with a beautiful conclusion to the story with the explanation and disclosure of all the secrets and omissions that were indicated by each of the characters.
First of all, I want to praise the team of people who were responsible for the technical side of the issue - directors, screenwriters, operators. They worked hard. I especially liked the fact that until the heroes met, each scene of the hero was individually decorated in his color scheme: Daredevil - burgundy-scarlet, Jessica Jones - blue-purple, Luke Cage - yellow-orange, Iron Fist - green-gray. In short, the atmosphere was preserved. And also held a healthy promotion with trailers, videos, photos, fittings and even 3D posters.
The plot in the script is dynamic, fast-paced and intriguing. Of course, there are long scenes and long boring dialogues, but this in no way spoils the overall impression. And there were a few plot twists that I didn't expect at all. Interesting built communication characters, especially wanted to note the connection between Luke Cage and the Iron Fist, which is certainly a nod to the canons of the comic, where they spent a lot of time as “Heroes for hire”.
Acting is on top. In addition to the main characters, I really liked how Sigourney Weaver and Scott Glenn performed their roles.
I upset the post-credits scene. Honestly, I expected more.
The creators in the interview did not promise sequels, but I really hope for another crossover, the good news is that all solo series have been extended further and other projects in the serial universe are coming. And I believe that these characters deserve their integration into the cinematic universe, especially since Feige himself mentioned the intersection of characters from TV shows and movies. Just do it. We'll wait. As long as it takes.
A lawyer, a private detective, a businessman and a mercenary... they all live in New York City, have superpowers, and each of them has a series that you can not break away from! That’s why the idea of uniting these heroes into one team was doomed to success!
The story is exciting from the first minute! At the beginning of the series, it is well shown how the lives of the main characters are built after their solo careers, the creators smoothly lead us to their meeting, so it is appropriate, not stretched. Difficult relationships develop between the main characters, but despite disagreements, they are ready to stand up for each other. The central character, to my surprise, is the Iron Fist. Secondary characters from previous series have been shuffled, so Foggy works with Hogarth, Misty collaborates with Colleen, and Trish with Paige. There are other examples of this kind of collaboration, so it’s best to watch Defenders after watching Marvel’s previous creations, or you might get confused.
Sigourney Weaver's appearance as Alexandra came as an unexpected surprise. I liked her the most: a “century-old” woman who uses an army of money for her ambitious goals. But neither wealth nor power can save her from the approaching death, so she will have to lead her own team, whose members, unlike the Defenders, cannot tolerate each other!
9 out of 10