Daredevil/Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) in Marvel Television’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Giovanni Rufino. © 2024 Marvel.
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ receives 7.5 out of 10 stars.
Landing on Disney+ on March 4th with the first two episodes (before going weekly), ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ finds Disney and Marvel seeking to segue Charlie Cox’s titular vigilante from his slightly cheerier Marvel Cinematic Universe entrance to the darker tones of his days on Netflix.
The big questions the show needs to answer are, can that style of show truly still co-exist within the MCU without sticking out like a sore thumb and what impact did the behind-the-scenes creative overhaul have on the new series?
Related Article: Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio Talk Disney+’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’
Does ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ do the character justice?
Daredevil/Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) in Marvel Television’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Giovanni Rufino. © 2024 Marvel.
If the new show was looking to emulate the style, feel and success of at least the first season of the Marvel/Netflix ‘Daredevil’ (which you can find on Disney+ these days), then the answer to all three parts is, “mostly.”
With Marvel at least having established the likes of ‘Echo’ as being able to co-exist with other characters while maintaining a much darker feel, there is precedent for ‘Born Again’ to unleash itself. This is no pat, Disney-fied take on Daredevil (a couple of younger characters aside, who in some ways feel forced upon the creative team to up the youth appeal), but instead a show that wears its heart on its sleeve and isn’t afraid to keep the body count high.
Yet if the appearance of Elden Henson’s Foggy Nelson and Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page had you thinking this will directly replicate the original series, be warned: that’s not the case. And if you’ve been itching to see Cox truly back in the suit and the level of fight scenes that the Netflix show established, that’s also something you may have to be patient about. Don’t get us wrong; there is some intense action to be found in the episodes. They’re just primarily, because of the direction the story takes, focused on Matt Murdock rather than his costumed alter ego.
Script and Direction
(L to R) Daredevil/Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), and Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) in Marvel Television’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Giovanni Rufino. © 2024 Marvel.
Dario Scardapane, who has experience running Netflix’s ‘The Punisher’ series which spun off Jon Bernthal’s tough-nut character was brought in to take over the show after executives got a look during the production shutdown for the actors’ strike at what had been written and shot by original showrunners Matt Corman and Chris Ord, and decided that it wasn’t working. Scardapane’s version, which retains some legal elements of the series but adds in more of a serialized feel certainly has value and weight, chronicling Matt Murdock’s decision to essentially hang up his horns following a tragedy.
While the new show does follow Murdock the lawyer more than his heroic side, there is plenty of action and drama to be found within, and a fair sprinkling of other Marvel comics characters (including a nod to other MCU shows that are fun easter eggs rather than requiring any homework to make the story work).
A scene early on between Cox’s Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk recalls the diner conversation from ‘Heat’ and there is much mileage to be gotten out of Fisk’s running to be mayor of New York, with plenty of Trumpian parallels.
Kingpin/Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) in Marvel Television’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Giovanni Rufino. © 2024 Marvel.
It doesn’t all completely work –– a lot of Season One here ends up feeling like setup for Season Two, and there are passages that feel less essential than others. But it’s definitely good to have Daredevil back on our screens.
One of the smartest moves for the new show was hiring directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead to take over the visual look during the overhaul. While they may be better known for their weird indie movies and the stylish quirk they brought to MCU Disney+ entries ‘Moon Knight’ and ‘Loki’s second season, here they are operating more in a street-crime mode, yet with a stylish flair that sometimes brings to mind Christopher Nolan’s work on the Batman movies.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Daredevil/Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Kingpin/Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) in Marvel Television’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Giovanni Rufino. © 2024 Marvel.
Charlie Cox knows how to play Matt Murdock/Daredevil by this point, and the script certainly gives him enough to chew on –– there are several callbacks to the character’s faith and the struggles with it, and a solid arc for him to play.
Yet D’Onofrio might have come off even better; Fisk was always one of the most compelling elements of the original series (and missed in subsequent seasons), and here he’s back to being presented as a more human threat, albeit still a morality-free monster when called upon. The actor’s exchanges with Fisk’s great love, his wife Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer, similarly returning from the Netflix era), now estranged, are great.
Likewise, both are surrounded by solid supporting casts –– Cox has the likes of Margarita Levieva as therapist Heather Glenn, with whom he strikes up a relationship that gives him extra layers, while Nikki M. James makes an impact as fellow legal eagle Kirsten McDuffie.
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher.’ Photo: Netflix.
Jon Bernthal is also back, and while Frank Castle only gets a couple of scenes (so far; expect more from him next year), the performer is typically great, Kudos also to Michael Gandolfini, who registers well as Daniel Blade an ambitious young man who joins Kingpin’s staff.
If there’s someone who gets shortchanged, it’s Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, who rarely gets to do much as Karen besides worry about Matt. Still, all signs point to more from her also next season.
Final Thoughts
Daredevil/Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) in Marvel Television’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Television. © 2024 Marvel.
This is a confident, often impressive return for a character, and certainly hews closer to his Netflix days than even the version we’ve seen in the likes of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’
Still, there are some signs that the need to overhaul the show has left some scars behind, and hopefully those will be more healed by the in-the-works season two.
“The devil’s work is never done.”
Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer with heightened abilities, is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Wilson Fisk pursues his own… Read the Plot
What is the plot of ‘Daredevil: Born Again’?
Blind lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) fights for justice while former crime boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) pursues his campaign as the mayor of New York City, causing their past identities to collide.
Who is in the cast of Daredevil: Born Again’?
Marvel Studios’ ‘Daredevil: Born Again.’
Movies and TV Shows Featuring Characters in ‘Daredevil: Born Again:’
Buy Charlie Cox Movies On Amazon
Buy Vincent D’Onofrio Movies On Amazon
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