REVIEW: Daredevil Season Two

Though I thoroughly enjoyed Jessica Jones, I must admit that I've been moreso eagerly awaiting the follow-up to the first season of Daredevil for some time now. While I found Marvel's original foray into the world of Netflix programming to be an overall well-crafted, well-executed piece of work, it left me wanting for a more satisfying Daredevil experience. As I mentioned when I reviewed it last year, it felt as though the entire season was one big pilot; a build-up to the ACTUAL adventures of Matt Murdock and company. Lucky for me, Daredevil Season 2 is exactly the payoff I've been waiting oh-so patiently for.

Months have passed since the law offices of Nelson and Murdock helped put Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) behind bars. While Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) continues his crusade against crime as The Man Without Fear and the firm enjoys a new surge of popularity within Hell's Kitchen, a new client appears, the only survivor of one of several violent massacres, all targeting the various gangs that call the Kitchen home. Upon taking the case, the trio find themselves embroiled in the affairs of Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), aka the Punisher, a former Marine who's taken it upon himself to clean up the streets one bullet at a time.

Let me say right off the bat that Bernthal's Punisher is by far the highlight of the entire season. Though I praised Thomas Jane's portrayal of Frank, this is a Punisher who manages to convey every ounce of complexity that the character presents. He's not a hero, nor is he a villain. He's simply a man on a mission; sometimes what he does feels right, other times not so much. He's the perfect foil for Daredevil, a devout Catholic who believes that there is potential for redemption in even the most loathesome criminals New York has to offer. Their interactions, both when debating philosophies and trading punches, ended up being my favorite scenes of the entire season. It's a compelling story that feels right at home in the overall plot of the show. Unfortunately, the other aspects of this season's various arcs seem to pale in comparison.

Joining the Punisher in an MCU debut is Elektra Natchios (once regrettably played by Jennifer Garner, here portrayed by Elodie Yung). A former flame of Matt's from college, Elektra drops back into the lawyer's life seeking his help regarding dealings between her father's corporation and the Yakuza. Truthfully, I could have done without this plotline this season; while it helps build the character of Matt Murdock to some degree, it's simply not as interesting as watching Foggy and Karen work on the Punisher case. The season opens strong, focusing purely on Daredevil attempting to muzzle Frank Castle; after a few episodes, Elektra is introduced and Matt feels very much separated from the rest of the cast. The Punisher plot line feels like the primary story here, while everything involving Elektra, Stick (Scott Glenn, reprising his role from season 1), and the Hand seems to mostly serve as foreshadowing for The Defenders (where all of these Netflix series converge). This would be all well and good, except that our protagonist spends decidedly more time in the B-story than the A-story. 

While it feels odd, it does provide a unique spin on the classic "superhero's do-gooding interferes with his personal life" trope; normally frustrating (since WE of course know why Peter Parker had to break curfew and disappoint his poor old aunt, but no one else is able to understand), here it is played completely straight. Foggy knows how Matt spends his evenings, and his nightly escapades with Elektra are treated exactly as they deserve to be. Yung gives a fantastically unhinged performance, truly bringing out the devil in Matt Murdock; when he forgoes his responsibilities as a lawyer and a friend in favor of fighting ninjas with his ex, it's clear that he's making the wrong decision for the right reasons. Our hero is consciously disappointing and inconveniencing the normal people in his life, rather than doing it by accident as we've seen a million times before. While I found the story arc to be comparatively boring to the Punisher killing his way through the gangs of New York, I will admit that it provided some excellent action, performances, and conflict.

Daredevil Season 2, while not devoid of issues, improves upon the first season in nearly every way. This time around, everything is already established and no time is wasted getting our hero into action; there's very little fat or filler to be found. Jon Bernthal, Elodie Yung, and Elden Hensen all shine here, giving standout performances that left me begging for more. My only issue is that the show still hasn't found that perfect balance just yet; in season 1, I found myself completely uninterested in the exploits of Karen Page, wishing things would go back to Matt Murdock. This time around, Karen and Foggy are involved in things profoundly more interesting than what Daredevil himself gets up to, extraordinary fight scenes aside. Regardless, I've only just finished watching and I'm already pumped and ready for season 3 and a standalone Punisher series alongside that. It seems I'll have to settle for Luke Cage first, debuting later this year; given Marvel's current batting average with Netflix shows, I'm confident that it should be more than enough to tide me over.

REVIEW: The Punisher

It seems as though April has unintentionally become something of a month of Marvel, but 2004's The Punisher is one I've been meaning to check out for a while. Thomas Jane stars as Frank Castle, an ex-soldier who takes on the mantle of the titular vigilante after his family is murdered by a Tampa crime boss (John Travolta). After cheating death and returning to Florida, Frank modifies a Dodge Charger, amasses an absurd amount of munitions, and begins to hunt down those responsible for his family's death in some of the most entertainingly elaborate ways possible.

To be blunt, I was completely surprised that this was a movie from 2004. The entire thing is written and shot like a Commando-esque action flick from the late 80's or early 90's. It wasn't until I spotted "2003" on a gravestone that it dawned on me that this was a movie made in this century. All that said, an over-the-top action flick is exactly what a film adaptation of The Punisher should be. In the starring role we've got Thomas Jane, who is literally the perfect man to portray Frank on screen; his voice, his appearance, and the way he changes from a happy, contented family man to a dark and vengeful shell of a person are all spot-on. For the most part, the cast of this film is more or less unimpressive, but Jane definitely stands out as the highlight for all the right reasons.

Standing out for all the wrong reasons, we have John Travolta as Howard Saint. He's a Miami crime boss who chews scenery with all the enthusiasm of a spastic beaver. To give you a litmus test of the kind of villain John Travolta plays in this movie, imagine that he's just murdered someone by hurling them off of a bridge onto some train tracks. Soon after, they are killed by the speeding locomotive, only for him to later quip that this person "took the train". Know that this is not a hypothetical scenario; this is an actual scene read by the actual John Tavolta. He's by no means a good villain, but I can't bring myself to say that I didn't enjoy his performance. It's just so hilariously over-the-top that it's impossible not to have fun while he's on screen. When he's in the morgue, identifying his dead son's body, take a shot every time he talks to the corpse, caresses his son's face, or kisses him gently on the forehead. That's honestly the most intriguing thing about this movie; Thomas Jane is so perfect as Frank Castle while the rest of the cast is so ridiculous, it's almost as if a totally serious character wandered onto the set of a spoof.

As I mentioned, the supporting cast is pretty forgettable. There's Frank's neighbors, Joan (a kind waitress played by Rebecca Romijn), Dave (a heavily-pierced geek portrayed by Ben Foster), and Bumpo. Just based on his name, I'd like anyone who isn't familiar with The Punisher comics to identify what Bumpo's singular trait is. If you guessed that he's a big fat guy played by John Pinette who enjoys food, congratulations, you're right. All of these characters appeared in the comics, so kudos to the filmmakers for sticking to the source material, but they don't really add anything to the movie. Dave has a pretty good scene in which he is interrogated by Travolta's lackeys, but that's about it. The only good thing I can say about Bumpo is that he likes to play opera records while cooking. The sound of opera serves as the background music for what I think is one of the best fight scenes I've ever seen in a comic book film.

For anyone who's already familiar with the movie, you of course know I'm referring to the iconic fight scene between Frank Castle and The Russian (played by the incomparable Kevin Nash, of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze fame). It's a classic gag; something wild is happening, but no one notices it because there's loud music playing. Whenever they're about to see it, something happens that just manages to block the action from their view. As old as this cliche is, it's put to spectacular use here; these two huge men just beat the stuffing out of each other to the tune of La Donna È Mobile. The entire sequence is just fantastically shot and goes on for a surprising amount of time; so many superhero fights these days only last a short while, due to the expensive special effects required to bring the action from the page to the screen. In this situation, the only special effects needed involve two big guys, some stunt weapons, and a few breakable walls. Really, all of the action in the film is pretty top-knotch, but the fight with The Russian is easily the highlight. It's one in a long list of "cool Punisher moments" this film has to offer.

As a "film" film, The Punisher is not a great movie. With the exception of Thomas Jane (who, again, gives a spectacular performance), the entire cast is pretty lackluster, the story is basically a bunch of action scenes strung together by an inane master plan, and overall it's just a pretty silly picture. That said, as a fun action flick, The Punisher is a fantastic good time. There weren't many moments during its runtime that I wasn't genuinely enjoying myself and, while it's not a perfect adaptation of the comics, Thomas Jane is the perfect Frank Castle. If you're a fan of The Punisher or cheesy action heroes in general, I highly recommend it. It's the best Punisher film we've got until the inevitable MCU Netflix series, but then even if that turns out to be amazing, it probably won't star Thomas Jane.