Marvel's The Defenders Netflix Review - 5 Positives and 5 Negatives!

                                         
                                      (This review contains spoilers for The Defenders)

On August 18th, the new Netflix Marvel series premiered: The Defenders. This show features four characters, previously used in the Netflix Marvel universe, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. I'm sure most of you have watched these series' as they are extremely popular and brilliant shows! But is The Defenders- where these four characters are forced into a team together- worth watching? Well, it has had some mixed reviews but I personally loved The Defenders and would definitely recommend it, even if you haven't watched the previous Marvel shows on Netflix and aren't the biggest fan of superheroes. However, like every piece of fiction, it wasn't all perfect. So here are five positives and five negatives about Marvel's The Defenders...

Negatives

5. No Proper Villain

What made previous Marvel shows on Netflix so gripping is their fascinating antagonists that you loved to hate. Kilgrave (The Purple Man), who is undoubtedly one of the creepiest Marvel villains, from Jessica Jones is a good example. Each comic-book- or, in this case, comic-book adaptation- deserves a hateful yet intriguing villain... I felt that The Defenders lacked this. Alexandra, played by Sigourney Weaver, was supposedly the main antagonist, acting as the leader of The Hand, but in my opinion she was very boring and two-dimensional. She didn't even make it to the end of the series, being pointlessly killed off in episode 6. I would have much preferred the show if they had a truly interesting villain who you actually enjoyed watching, not Alexandra who died after hardly any screen time.


4. The Hand

As soon as I heard that The Hand were going to be the main focus of The Defenders, I just thought meh. They were boring in Daredevil season 2; they were boring in Iron Fist and, well, they were boring in The Defenders too. The Hand are a crime organisation consisting of many, many, many ninjas without a true purpose other than to kill. Theoretically, The Hand could be quite interesting with a lot of mystical skills that could be visually unique, but I found every scene involving The Hand to be rather dull and failed to captivate me. The main problem with The Hand is that they are not sympathetic at all... You feel nothing for them and they're kind of just an irritant. Hopefully in wave 2 of the Marvel Netflix universe, The Hand will be long gone to make way for much cooler antagonists.

3. Iron Fist the Weakling

Honestly, I feel guilty putting Iron Fist on this list (like I'm betraying him or something) because I actually am a fan of the character and really like Finn Jones' portrayal of the character. Unfortunately I do have to agree with the many people who say online that Iron Fist came across as "weak" and kind of wussy... Iron Fist is a very tough character- in fact probably one of the strongest Marvel Comics characters- but in this version, he just doesn't suffice. Some how he manages to get himself kidnapped by the very irritating Hand (who want him as he is the only one who can unlock their path back to K'un L'un), in every fight it seems that someone else always has to help him out, and when he uses his Chi which he's supposedly expertly trained in he blackens out... Not to mention he threw a massive tantrum when the others told him it was probably safer if he doesn't continue fighting. Other than this, I do really like the character- he's sweet yet vulnerable, has a good relationship with Colleen, and has lots of depth- however I hope he matures by Iron Fist series 2. If you've only watched the show, I strongly recommend reading a few comics with him in. I promise he is not as whiny!

(Also, can they just put him in his costume now? That'd be great, thanks...)

2. Elektra

I really enjoyed Elodie Yung's portrayal of Elektra in Daredevil series 2 and, although I sort of guessed it was going to happen (seeing as, in the comics, Elektra's death is quite iconic), was very upset by her death in the finale. So, when I found out she was going to be revived in The Defenders, I was glad. Sadly, I found Elektra to be completely unlikable and irredeemable. The scene where she went to Matt's apartment and gradually remembered her past, lying on his bed and reminiscing, was perfect. I really thought that she might betray The Hand, join The Defenders to help defeat them and live happily ever after with Matt. But that, of course, did not happen... Elektra did remember who she used to be but, for some insane reason, believed The Hand when they convinced her that it is Matt's fault for "letting her die". So, although she doesn't kill him, she blames Matt and they get into the most unnecessary fight at the end which was completely useless and ridiculous where she blurts out a bunch of nonsense about how she enjoys killing and that's how she always will be. Then she suddenly stops fighting, apologises to Matt and they kiss even though if they had kissed and made up about five minutes ago, they both could've made it out the building alive. Also, after killing Alexandra (it isn't even explained why she decided that was a good idea), she weirdly wants to keep control of The Hand despite not really having a clue what to with it. As a villain, Elektra was not good and it was never explained why she wanted to be the leader of a group which had practically tortured her. Overall Elektra was just irritating and what she did half the time didn't really make sense... And, after murdering so many people including her previous mentor Stick, I have no idea how she'll be redeemed if she's ever used in the Netflix universe again and how Matt can ever be in love with her again. At least she's more interesting than the extremely whiny and annoying Karen Page.

1. Pointless Death...

A lot of the deaths in this show were basically completely pointless... Elektra didn't actually need to kill Stick (but in a way it's good that she did because otherwise Iron Fist would be dead- not that he was very helpful in contributing to any of the fighting though...), or Alexandra. Nobody seemed to mention their murders afterwards and it seemed that we had somewhat invested in characters that were uselessly killed off. Also, the "death" of Matt- and probably Elektra but it was never confirmed- was pointless. Matt and Elektra had a long fight scene which had no purpose seeing as Elektra had absolutely no reason to be angry at him, only to kiss as the building collapsed around them. If Elektra was determined to die with the building anyway, Matt shouldn't have stayed with her. However it was very quickly revealed that Matt didn't actually die (so I hope no viewers got too upset), and was taken in by nuns, including his mother, Sister Maggie. This ties into Daredevil series 3 which will be inspired by the comics Born Again written by Frank Miller. Should be good!

So, that's all for my negatives... Other than them, there really weren't many reasons to not like this show! Let's not end on a negative note- here are my favourite parts of the show:


Positives:

5. Variety

One of the things I love most about this team is the variety of characters... They're all so wonderfully different and blend seamlessly together. You have the fiercely ruthless Jessica Jones, the kind but tough Luke Cage, the intelligent and strategic Matt Murdock and naive yet determined Danny Rand. But it's not just their personalities that are so different, it's also their fighting skills. The variety of action works so well on-screen! Iron Fist mainly focuses on kung-fu style fighting, Daredevil kicks and throws the occasional punch, Luke punches and shoves, and, my personal favourite style of combat, Jessica simply chucks people across the room. It's excellent to see them all fight on-screen together, each in their individual ways!

4. Cast

Although I've seen a lot of people question whether Finn Jones was suitable for the character of Iron Fist, I personally think the casting for the main four was practically perfect. I love watching the cast on panels and in interviews and how well they all get on. It just makes a show that little bit better if you like the actors who bring your favourite characters to life!

3. Comic References & Easter Eggs

Because I'm a massive geek, little comic-book references make me very happy! Whenever I watch Marvel or DC movies/television shows, I always keep my eye out for any form of comic-book reference. A few I noticed in The Defenders included: Stan Lee, creator of iconic Marvel characters such as Spider-Man, being depicted on posters in the streets of New York City, Trish Walker (inspired by the character Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat) wearing the colours of Hellcat's costume- yellow and blue- in the first couple of episodes, and Misty Knight losing her arm in the last episode which, if you're familiar with Misty in the comics, links to her having a bionic arm depicted above. Also, I really appreciated the scenes where Misty and Colleen were together as they have always been best friends in the comics. I hope they continue this friendship and, who knows, maybe one day they'll do a "Daughters of the Dragon" Netflix series!

2. Jessica Jones

Although I loved most characters from The Defenders- the main four and secondary characters such as Colleen and Misty- Jessica Jones was definitely my favourite! Since her debut TV show, she's become one of my favourite Marvel characters and The Defenders did her justice. She cut to the chase, persevered no matter the setbacks, and didn't put up with any nonsense. Also she had some great one-liners without ever being reduced to comic relief. Overall I love her character and really liked how she interacted with everyone- including her friendship with Daredevil and romance with Luke which I sincerely hope they develop because I love the pair together!

1. Relationships

My favourite thing about this show was how the characters interacted... I love the scenes featuring Iron Fist and Luke together- seeing as in the comics "Power-Man and Iron Fist" are a pretty iconic friendship- I thought Jessica and Matt were brilliant together and so wished their friendship had more screen-time and I thought they all worked well as a team. The only relationship I don't think has potential is Claire and Luke... Because, let's be honest, we all know Jessica and Luke will eventually end up together (they were literally married in the comics), so I'm just waiting for those two to split... Otherwise I love pretty much all the relationships in this show!

Thanks so much for checking out my first blog post; I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know what you think about The Defenders and what your favourite Marvel Netflix show is so far... Bye! <3