lost pages

This is yet to be the second-coming…

Warning: Potential Spoilers so be warned!

It’s hard to talk about things I love. And its even harder to talk about things that put me in a puddle of conflicted emotions, irrespective of the love that has formed.

I am a fan of the show that preceded this (Daredevil | 2015-2018) – being unceremoniously cancelled by the streaming giant Netflix, despite the excellence of its last Season, Season Three way back in 2018.

It was a delight to fans of the show when Disney went ahead and brought back this Series after so long- albeit with a new coat of paint, being aired on its new streaming platform Disney +.

From what I gather, Daredevil Born Again had been mired with a plethora of production issues from re-shoots, original supporting cast not returning to coming back again, writers strike, changing of Showrunner and Executive Producer.

From what we ended up getting, the Man Without Fear becomes a shell of himself and what we have is a series that is an uneven mess, whilst struggling to find a strong foothold to reach the daring heights of the original series, let alone transcend it.

And I think that is where the problem lies: I think Daredevil Born Again is trying desperately to separate itself from the original series. That in itself is not a problem, but the problem arises from the failure to understand the characters at play.

There is a lack of consistent tone, focus and thematic storytelling with Daredevil Born Again, alongside the new supporting cast in Matt Murdok’s life being rather flat and uninteresting. There is no emotional investment that the audience can latch onto with these new supporting cast members being rather surface level.

The action and set pieces that the series was renown for has returned with some middling results. There is some noticeable CG used in the action and though the violence remains, there is a lack of ‘punch’ compared to the original fight scenes with the cinematography at times making it hard to see the intensity of the fight.

The new villain feels like a massive wasted opportunity that feels more like a footnote with no real depth and exploration. I would say more, but to say less is more of a compliment.

Besides any gripes and problems that I have with the new season of Daredevil. In terms of performances, the likes of Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin remain golden. The dynamic between the two on-screen works wonders, despite the dialogue being rather subpar at times.

I really wanted to love the glorious return of the Daredevil. But this time, rather than have a show than can stand on its two feet, which respect and advance the foundations laid from its predecessor.

It limps forward battered and bruised, though with glimmers of hope.

I’ll still be around and watch what comes next because at the end of the day, the love for Daredevil ain’t lost on me yet.