It’s been awhile since I watched anything on TV that made me squee with glee based on sheer visual excitement. The end fight scene in the second episode of Netflix’s Marvel’s (anyone else want to claim some possession?) Daredevil reminded me what a visual joy looks like.
The thing that got me into Pre-Code movies is the deft way they often suggest the scandalous and violent through clever language and shot framing. The period post-passing the code in 1934 went far too tame and the post-post-code era of the late 1960s and beyond got a little carried away with lewdness. I like me a good bunch of TV or film scandal, but only if it’s done in a clever way, and one of the most clever devices is that of suggestion. Give the TV viewer a little credit and the universe of a scene can expand exponentially.
“Cut Man” starts a little slow and the storyline initially feels a bit all over the place. It’s like a baby deer getting ahold of its legs – what, my legs can do this? Wiggle, wiggle, stumble, trot. But once it gets a little gallop going and realizes the elation of movement it downright frolics. Visual joyful frolics. The lighting, the tone, the sound.
In the last scene of the second episode Daredevil goes after the bad guys to rescue a kidnapped little kid. He weaves in and out of a hallway with only little hints at the levels of destruction going on in the rooms beyond the limits of the viewer’s vision. We get some pretty kick-ass action moments in the hallway, but just enough to whet our imaginations. Really beautifully done.
For awhile I was really into Arrow, but I lost track and haven’t picked it back up. (As a side note, out of the CW line up I actually think the 100 is one of their strongest shows, though I also recently lost track of it since the mountain storyline got a little wibbly wobbly and I’ve had to be choosier about what I use my limited TV time on.) Stephen Amell is so pretty to look at, but there’s always something a little too aloof about his take on Arrow. Charlie Cox delivers a perfect balance between good looks, capable action, and emotion.
I decided to dip my toes into the Daredevil universe mainly because I’ve been a Charlie Cox fangirl for awhile (Owen Slater 4eva), but that hallway fight scene 100% sold me on the concept of the show itself. And now it’s terrible that there are hours of Daredevil on Netflix and between grad school and various work commitments I don’t have time to binge watch them all in one breathless gulp. I’m going to have to watch this show almost old-school style, you know, one bit at a time. The horror!
Illuminated Past 