Competently made, but it gives you nothing interesting to set your teeth in. The storyline has zero complexity, and all of the characters are highly uninteresting, because none of them are properly developed. Cutting to a cute muppet every now and then doesn’t really distract from that. Just do something interesting for the next season, because this isn’t the way.
This show feels very much like an ensemble piece now.
The amount of characters is huge, it’s almost like an HBO flagship (The Wire, Game of Thrones).
As for the quality of the show, it’s still reliably entertaining and very well produced. It’s still shoving its 80s setting in your face at just about every turn, and the music, visuals and tone are all on point. The writing is also still pretty decent; you’re usually pretty engaged and there’s some great dialogue, but at the same time it can get messy, unimaginative and very predictable.
It’s entertaining and the characters are all great, but the show kinda lacks narrative ambition in order to be more than just pulpy fun. Simple stories tend to work for movies, but not as much for the extended format of a tv show. However, when compared to the recent Star Wars and Marvel output on Disney+, it’s kind of a miracle that this show remains as good as it is.
So, is this show still quite overrated? Yes.
But is it probably more fun and better made than most of the big stuff that’s going to come out in cinemas this summer? Also yes.
This is still a very solid show in just about every regard.
I like how this season gave arcs to characters who hadn’t been highlighted before.
In some regards, the characters you expect to be the most important almost take a backseat during this season.
A welcome change, in my opinion.
Also, some of the dialogue in the show is just amazing.
Bauman’s car monologue during the penultimate episode might just be my favourite moment of the whole season.
The biggest problem still remains the show’s unoriginality and predictability.
You’ve seen this type of story a million times before.
But because it’s been a long time since you’ve seen this type of story, and the show very cunningly plays into that with its overuse of nostalgia, the Duffens trick you into thinking that their show is a lot better than it actually is.
Furthermore, this season in particular had a few storylines too many, which made the story lose its focus.
Ultimately, everything converges in the fantastic final episode, but they could’ve excluded the David Harbour/Winona Ryder storyline for the first 7 episodes, and you would only lose some exposition that was already made clear by other storylines.
Still, this show is just too competent and well made in order to dislike it.
Technically, it’s one of the most brilliant shows out there.
Visually stunning, a great score and well paced.
The characters are all still very likable, and the acting is solid (particularly from the younger cast).
Bring on the next season!
7/10
Marginally better than the first season.
The visuals, production values and action sequences are still great.
In addition, the episodes are somewhat connected now, adding up to a bigger picture in the final episodes.
But, the characters are still paper thin, so you’re not really given enough reason to care about anything in this show.
Also, I really didn’t like the ending.
I’m not the kind of person that gets hyped when person or thing A from franchise B shows up.
So besides carrying little meaning for me personally, it felt like a massive deus ex machina moment.
And it feels like Lucasfilm hasn’t learned from their biggest mistake yet.
Just shoot a double from the back, use Mark Hamill’s voice , and cut to one or two close ups for which you use all the available budget.
Or just go the old fashioned way and cast a lookalike, someone like Sebastian Stan .
The way they did it now sort of felt like Lucasfilm going like: look at what we can do!
Well, you failed, just like you did with Tarkin in Rogue One .
5/10
Great, but this Lila character wasn't a good idea, even with her pardoned tits.
More or less the as good as season 2 in terms of quality, but for very different reasons.
First of all, I like what they did with the story and most of the characters this season.
It pulls from things like The Matrix, Terminator and Minority Report in order to create something we haven’t quite seen before.
It’s more streamlined than last season, but it hasn’t been dumbed down in any way, as the show still messes with your mind.
I loved pretty much everything they did with Dolores, Maeve, Hale, Caleb and Serac.
Also, visually and musically, the show’s better than it ever has been before.
On the other hand, they really had no idea what to do with Bernard, Stubbs and William this season, so much so that their scenes got increasingly more dull as the season went on.
The post-credits scene in the final episode pretty much undoes the whole arc of one of these characters.
I also feel like the amount of forced plot mechanics has increased.
There is a lot more plotblocking than what is usually the case in this show, and sometimes characters conveniently show up at locations because the writers want it to happen, not because it would be logical.
Finally, they really have to up their game when it comes to the action scenes.
They used to be quite strong, but the hand to hand combat specifically tends to look like something out of a movie from the ‘70s.
7.5/10
This is where Breaking Bad found its identity.
Massive improvements in terms of cinematography, sound and editing when compared to season one.
The new additions to the cast are all amazing, and I like the arcs of the main characters, the development of Walt and Jesse in particular being very well handled. However, it isn’t exactly the tightest season of this show in terms of storytelling:
Nevertheless, the show is still so good at creating memorable moments and scenes, and the acting is so fantastic, that none of those issues become dealbreakers. The first time I watched this show was about 10 years ago, and there were still so many moments that I recalled on a rewatch because they burned themselves into my memory (ATM machine, kid shooting the dealer, the Heisenberg song, etc.), which to me is always a sign that you’re watching quality television.
7.5/10
A lot more comicbooky than the first season, but it still manages to ground everything in the gritty, brooding tone the show has set for itself.
There are many improvements compared to the first season: the action’s better (and there’s a lot more of it), the production values, directing, music and cinematography are all improved, and the pacing is a lot tighter (thanks to splitting the season into two storylines).
Elodie Yung and Jon Bernthal are two great new characters, and fill in the gasp left by Wilson Fisk quite nicely.
The acting is once again fantastic. There isn’t a single weak link in the show, and everybody can bring it during their emotional scenes.
Its biggest problem is that the writing isn’t as tight and focused as season 1.
The stuff with The Punisher is great, but the storyline with The Hand isn’t nearly as interesting. You never get a good sense of what the deal with this organization is, or why we’re supposed to care about them (an issue they never managed to fix with The Defenders). Still, you’re never bored watching those scenes, because the action is so good, and you’re invested in Matt and Elektra.
Also, it is a little dumber and nonsensical than season 1. For example, Stick is used as a major plot convenience, Matt Murdock takes people out without his costume, Matt and Elektra get away from the baddies by pretending to bang when they’re about to get caught (you can’t be that cliche in a show that’s this self-serious), all of which are small nitpicks by themselves, but a lot of it adds up and it becomes an issue.
I’d say it’s about as good as season 1, they fixed the main issues of that season, but created a few new ones in the process.
8/10
First of all, I want to point out that I think that the Marvel/Netflix have been very inconsistent in terms of quality thus far.
The Daredevil series has been great (although I will admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of season 1), Jessica Jones was quite good, Luke Cage was a mixed bag due to the second story arc, and Iron Fist, well, enough has been said about that show.
I knew beforehand that this series was going to be produced by the guys who did Daredevil season 2 (my favourite season out of all the Marvel/Netflix shows), so naturally, I was quite excited going in.
Unfortunately, I found this show to be a mixed bag.
The team dynamic works quite well, and the dialogue they have (episode 4 shines in this regard) was well handled (Jessica Jones has some wonderful zingers). Krysten Ritter shines again in her role, closely followed by Charlie Cox and Mike Colter. Moreover, it was really fun to see that they also brought most of the supporting cast back, and they found a good way to balance them and the main characters. For instance, Cox has a smaller presence in the first few episodes, but the show makes up for it by giving him a bigger part in the second half of the show. I also liked that the makers didn't take the easy route of Claire calling her superpowered buddies in order to unite the characters, but instead they found another organic way of doing it. The story itself was serviceable, but quite generic when you really start to break it down (Whedon's first Avengers film operates in a similar regard).
During the previous paragraph, you might've noticed that I conveniently left out Finn Jones when I was praising the actors. I've already discussed him at length during my Iron Fist review, and even though I feel like he improved as a character with this show, the actor has little presence on the screen. Surprisingly, another performance that I wasn't a big fan of was that of Sigourney Weaver. I don't quite know if it was her bland character, or Weaver just phoning it in. The former is more likely, as I found that the entire 'Hand' part of the show to be very weak and difficult to care about, as it was so vaguely defined as an organization ('wanting power everywhere' is just not relatable, unless you truly care about the illuminati). The final important character in this show is Elektra. She is a bit of a difficult case. I thought she was very fun during the second season of Daredevil, but here she is kinda turned into a Winter Soldier-esque character that doesn't get much to do besides being an evil henchman most of the time. Elodie Yung still does a very good job as the character nevertheless.
Finally, some of the problems that have plagued all of the shows are also very prominent in this show. The pacing has been improved thanks to the length of the show (it's only 8 episodes), but scenes are still too drawn out and some episodes just feel long. Furthermore, it feels like the stunt team from Iron Fist has been transferred for this show; meaning that occasionally the stunt work is quite good, but most of the time, the makers are trying to mask poor stunt work with quick edits. And oh yeah, some of the CGI in the final episode is laughable (you'll know it when you see it). All of these problems can be fixed, if Marvel/Netflix would just spend more money on these shows, which could also help with upping the production values. That's something Jeff Loeb should be thinking about.
5/10
P.s.: The Punisher show looks great!
This combines the best stuff from the first two seasons.
It has the focused, tight storytelling of season 1, and the well paced action/thrills from season 2.
I absolutely love the storytelling in this season, what they do with Fisk (really fresh and interesting angle for a story), and Matt’s character arc. Karen and Foggy also get a lot more to do, and the new additions are intriguing characters as well. You can really feel that these characters are progressing, they’re not afraid to take risks and change the behaviour of established characters between seasons.
Everything is well thought out, everything has dramatic weight, everything has an (often unpredictable) pay off, it’s phenomenal television.
Once again, I have to reiterate that the acting on this show is stellar, Wilson Bethel and Vincent D’Onofrio are scene stealers this season.
Moreover, the production is top notch, this show always knows how to capture a sense of authenticity and grit that’s lacking in most comic book related stuff. It also includes some of the best action scenes of the entire show, I love how they executed Bullseye’s powers.
It’s a pity that they canceled the series after this. Sure, a revival might be on the way, but I can guarantee that the tone of this show, or even the characters for that matter, won’t be captured in the same way when it’s on Disney+.
9/10
This takes Nolan's Batman style to the next level, I love the cinematography and how they capture the grit of Hell's Kitchen in this show, especially during the scenes that take place at night.
I'm also seeing a lot of influence from Breaking Bad in how they handle Fisk's crime organization.
Whenever there's action on the screen, it's absolutely phenomenal. The choreography and camerawork easily beat every other tv show, and most films as well.
The characters are all very strong and interesting (Foggy was a bit hit and miss for me in the early episodes), and Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio give career best performances.
What D'Onofrio's doing is especially bold: every scene he's in he's about to cross the line of going into campy territory, but he never does, and it's amazing to watch.
The plot is also very strong: you could take the superhero aspect out of this show and you'll still be left with a very decent legal drama. It's constructed in a very smart way: you essentially have the main characters investigating a crime syndicate, and every episode they find a new character that's a little higher up in the organization, until they eventually get to the final boss. It's a great format for serialized storytelling, and we've also seen it work before in the earlier seasons of Arrow.
Judging it as a whole, it does feel a little stretched out though.
It loses a bit of steam and focus in the middle, often going into side stories that aren't all that important for the main plot, or giving the main characters more development.
This would've probably been perfect if it was just 10 episodes, which would've made the pacing a little tighter and given each episode a little more action.
8/10
Make the show a little more streamlined, dial down the pretentiousness (for example, no more shifting aspect ratios), turn up the philosophical complexity (which I felt was completely lacking in this season, except from a few speeches by Anthony Hopkins), and keep the emotional reasonance (Dolores/Bernard, William/daughter and Maeve/daughter relationships), and we might just return to the greatness of the first season.
It’s not like the first season was a masterpiece, but this season showed how generic this show is when you don’t have Gareth Evans around to plus the action scenes. It acts like it’s this grand crime epic, but in reality it’s not even above soap opera twists. It’s well acted, it looks pretty good, but it’s not engaging or interesting in the slightest.
Good, but it makes some obvious mistakes.
I love how bleak it is, this show is very good at getting a visceral reaction out of you. The action sequences are truly spectecular, and it’s filled with intense, grim scenes that carry a clear influence from horror movies. It’s not very realistic, but unlike a lot of entertainment that usually chooses to be lighter and fluffier than reality, this show goes in the opposite direction. Occasionally, they go too far with the tone, and the bleakness starts to feel over the top cartoony ( blowing up your own buildings unannounced, come on now ) or it feels a little try-hard Zack Snyder-y ( putting a dead corpse on a spike works in Westeros, not in modern London ).
The filmmaking in this show is excellent, it perfectly captures the tone the show is going for and looks very cinematic. The acting’s solid across the board (Joe Cole impressing me again, get this man a proper franchise) and the characters are interesting (though I think they could’ve cut a few and streamlined the show). When it comes to the story, I like what they’re doing, but it’s too tropey and lacks the interesting revelations that would make it truly memorable. It’s competent, but I wish it was as innovative with the story as it is with the action. I quite like how they wrap up the season though.
7/10
Add a cool new character from the comics, a phenomenal Aussie actress, and rip off The Matrix, and you end up with ... a fairly decent season of television.
I’m not trying to be an edgy hater but I can’t think of a single type of person my age I’d recommend this to, I don’t think it’s watchable for people under the age of 50. Extremely contrived plotting, bad/annoying characters, some of the most forced acting I’ve seen on tv and the comedy doesn’t land at all. Technically it’s really plain and basic, though the score has a few nice moments here and there. Maybe it hit differently during the pandemic, I don’t get it at all.
2.5/10
Not a perfect season, this has some startup issues. The first couple of episodes are a mess, so much so that the third episode feels like a soft reboot where each episode takes its time to build up the characters instead. Moreover, the first half of the season occasionally struggles to find a cinematic look, some scenes look like your average 90s cable tv show. However, most issues smooth themselves out over the course of the season. Visually the show finds its footing, the acting improves and the storytelling gets a lot stronger. It’s hard not to fall in love with these characters, they’re very well realized and don’t feel like Scorsese archetypes because of the contemporary setting. Gandolfini’s performance is one for the books, he does a great job at humanizing a flawed, modern gangster. The other actors are also very good despite some overacting during the earlier parts of the show (again, it took a little while to break out of the confinements of 90s television). The music is fantastic, very of its time (lots of psychedelic, alternative dance and electronic music) but it’s all stuff that’s aged well. The overarching narrative remains a little in the background during this season, but the overall story they came up with makes a lot of sense for these characters and plants the seeds for upcoming seasons. I quite like the commentary regarding the taboo of mental healthcare that’s woven throughout, can’t wait to see where it goes.
7/10
You really have to stick with it, because most of the weird stuff only starts to make sense in the final few episodes.
I love how this show took its time to fully delve into all the characters in the first half of the season, with some episodes highlighting one or two of the main characters.
The plot is rich and thematically interesting, and asks questions about meaning making and purpose in a world where no one seems to have answers for the things that happen.
Who do we believe? Scientists? Religious figures? Cult leaders?
Most of the characters have interesting arcs, but some of the B-storylines feel haphazard and unnecessary for the main plot (Tom/Wayne/Christine & Dean the dog killer), making the show less focussed than it should be.
Also, for as great as most of the acting is (Justin Theroux & Carrie Coon in particular), some of the younger actors aren’t all that great.
7.5/10
The final few episodes are terrific, but they also show that the writers just didn’t know what to do with Brody’s family after season 1. Morena Baccarin doesn’t get anything to do, there’s no emotional pay off to the storyline with the daughter, it’s just very poorly handled. Also, there’s one nonsensical storyline in the first half of the season (you’ll know it when you’ll see it), and in general, this season is far less focussed than the second season, and particularly the first season. Nevertheless, it still delivers the thrills, and its still well made, so I do recommend it.
