The Defenders

The Defenders is a conclusion of sorts to events that began in Daredevil season one, which then spilled over into Iron Fist. It features both of those characters and also includes the return of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Elektra, and I have got to say- it was well worth the wait.

We pick up not long after the conclusion of Iron Fist, with Danny and Colleen scouring the globe for any information on the Hand before returning to New York after their search comes full-circle. Luke completes his sentence at Seagate and not long after rejoining society he's back at it as the hero of Harlem, helping a broken family deal with another loss in their family. Jessica is still a smartass and a drunk, and after she turns down a missing persons case, it quickly ends up becoming her top priority. Matt is struggling with a life removed from the mask and moniker, and it's pretty obvious from the get-go that he's having a rough time with it. It's not long before their paths converge, and things really get going. I had a concern in regards to the pacing when I heard that there were only eight episode, as opposed the standard thirteen the previous series had established. With four main characters and a handful of villains, I hoped the tempo would be brisk and very minimal on any meandering. I was not disappointed; with very few exceptions, every scene furthers the plot as needed, and the pacing is nice and tight. It never feels bogged down by the size of the cast, or convoluted in any sense. There is some really great banter, and humor mined from the titular motley crew, and there were some really great laugh out loud bits. One point I feel that must be clarified, is that if you're an Iron Fist fan like me, you were left with a sense of disappointment, and maybe felt that the character could've been handled differently. Fortunately, I did not find myself feeling the same after finishing the Defenders. Fans of Elektra are also going to be very happy, as her return is quite glorious, and very, very bloody. She's in full-on badass mode, and is always a compelling and entertaining screen presence. Colter's Cage and Ritter's Jones are still as good as ever; her scenes with Matt are very enjoyable, and the Luke Cage/Irong Fist scenes are everything I had hoped they'd be. I could honestly say that about most everything in the Defenders. There were a bunch of great fight scenes peppered throughout, and a hand full of scenes that had me thrusting my fists into the air with a resounding 'YES!'. I would also like to announce that my life-long love for Sigourney Weaver that began with Ghostbusters and Alien was not the least bit tested by her performance of Alexandra, the central antagonist of the plot. Her portrayal is both enigmatic and intimidating, and I loved every second she was on screen. She was the perfect endgame villain, and she didn't need a moniker or powers to be a serious threat.

If you have been following the Marvel stuff on Netflix, then you are going to love the Defenders. I enjoyed the hell out of it, and was extremely satisfied by the end result of the past several years of build up.

#Netflix #Marvel #Defenders #Review