Daredevil: Born Again is a continuation of Netflix’s adaptation of Daredevil from 2015. A dark, over-the-top chronicle of Matt Murdock starting not only his own law firm as Hell’s Kitchen’s resident blind lawyer, he also becomes the violent, crime-fighting, justice-despencing vigilante: Daredevil, alongsidenotorious street scum and organized criminals like the infamous Kingpin.
Born Again keeps the dirty tone and gritty atmosphere that the original so beautifully constructed, which complimented the characters, setting and the story so well. Keeping this stylistic choice despite what is now “MCU fatigue” is a breath of fresh air and makes it stand out on its own. I commend that commitment to the previous work instead of starting from scratch to create something more in line with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is usually more tongue-in-cheek in its approach to storytelling, dialogue and tonality.
EPISODE ONE:
Episode 1 begins with standard Daredevil fanfare, with a long action scene in a dimly lit building leading to a dimly lit rooftop, which ends in an unforeseen and unspeakable tragedy. Time skips to a full year later, and the characters try to move on with their lives. Matt Murdock surrenders the devil-horned cowl and sweet red spandex for a normal life as one of New York’s greatest defense attorneys, leaving behind his days in Hell’s Kitchen and making partner at a new firm. On the reverse, Wilson Fisk, A.K.A Kingpin, is running for mayor of New York City, with varying approval from the general public.
Episode 1 despite having some very rough looking CG fighting, everything else was straight solid, the shot composition, the camera work, the colour grading, the lighting, everything works together very nicely to create shots that look almost like they were pulled straight from the Miller and Romita Jr pages of “Daredevil: The Man Without Fear”. I was also just a big fan of the overall premise behind a Matt Murdock who had given up his secret life of vigilantism and a Kingpin who on the surface has cleaned up his act enough to run New York City completely legally wihtout any “Blind Justice” to stop him due to the absence of Daredevil. Overall, it was a great episode.
EPISODE TWO:
Episode 2 is centered around both Fisk learning to keep a positive image to the people of New York who may not be the most convinced of his new “For The People” persona, as well as Matt Murdock takes on a mysterious new client by the name of Hector Ayala who has been smeared as a violent cop
killer after an incident trying to protect someone from two undercover officers without knowing, leading to a horrible accident and the death of one officer. Matt Murdock decides to defend Hector to the best of his abilities free of charge after trusting his instincts and being ready to unravel the whole conspiracy one man at a time.
Episode 2 opens with a special dedication to Kamar de los Reyes, who passed away in 2023. Reyes was known for his portrayal of Menendez in the Call of Duty series, Antonio Vega in One Life To Live, and Jobe in the 2013 FOX aired Sleepy Hollow series, but here he played Hector Ayala and was a
great fit for the MCU’s version of the character. I am not entirely sure where the rest of this series is going to go and knowing one of it’s now most pivotal characters and plot points will not be returning afterward will always ring in the back of my mind. The episode overall is good, with a lot of good foundations set for plotlines that I think will span the rest of the series.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
I do like the choice to bring on Michael Gandolfini, son of the legendary James Gandolfini, to play Wilson Fisk’s yes-man and biggest fan. Even if some of his written dialogue can be hit or miss, his performance remains very believable and still likable with a sense of subtle ulterior motives. I also am a big fan of other performances by the unwaivering, yet at times very emotionally charged Charlie Cox and the stoic, intimidating power behind Vincent D’Onofrio, who are both brilliant in their own rights, especially when on screen together. The two have a seething yet civil dynamic in Born Again that I really enjoy watching. The CGI fight scene in episode one looks very clearly computer-generated, but not to the point where it distracts from the action itself. If you can look past some very minor video-game-looking visuals, it is a fantastic fight sequence.
