Daredevil “Cut Man” Review

How do you up the ante after a stellar first episode?

Simple, you start by tearing the hero down in the very first shot.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t widely known for brutalizing their heroes. Sure, Tony Stark got beaten up pretty badly and had his house was destroyed in “Iron Man 3″. Cap did get his bell rung by the Winter Soldier, but at any point did you find them cut, broken and battered in dumpster? 

Nope. 

Not until Daredevil.

So far one of the most intriguing aspects of Netflix’s Daredevil is the utter grittiness of the series. It is a dank, dirty, cold and completely adult oriented series that is not afraid to show the less glamorous aspects of being a superhero. Matt Murdock is not a man in a can or a suped up super soldier. No, this episode makes it quite clear that he is as human as you and me and I truly dug it.

So the question you are probably asking: how was episode two?.

Like I said before, the episode starts with Murdock being found beaten and bloodied in, of all places, a dumpster. A guardian angel in the form of a down and out nurse by the name of Claire, played by Rosario Dawson, finds him and decides fairly quickly that is someone who needs saving. While I wouldn’t say Ms. Dawson lit up the world with her performance, she did fairly well with the little given, but I expect much more to come from her character in future episodes. 

Regardless, it is through their interactions that we see the real difference between this episode and the first. While the first focused on Matt’s fighting ability, this episode focuses on his real “superpowers” – his heightened senses. Unlike the dismal movie adaptation, Murdock’s abilities don’t give off a radar sense giving him the ability to not really be blind but still act as if he was. Instead, his senses are merely heightened to the extreme. I really enjoyed this aspect of the episode. It was awesome to see Murdock react to the presence of someone in another area of an apartment building and know instantly who they are and know their intentions are bad.

And this is actually only the tip of the iceberg. 

You will see him utilize his abilities often just to give you the sense of how awesome this guy really is. Let’s just say, by the end of the episode I was impressed.

Now don’t get me wrong. While this episode did focus a great deal on showing us his abilities, it did have some intense fight sequences. I will not spoil it for you, but there is a fight  towards the end of the episode that could rival the epic hallway battle in “Old Boy” (YouTube it if you have not seen). It’s an intense scene and one that stands out as being one of the more extensively planned and executed shots out of all the Marvel features. I promise you, you will not be disappointed. 

The episode also has some nice character development with Foggy and Karen, revealing the possibility of a future love interest, which I also enjoyed and also more development between young Matt and his father.

Regardless, this was another fantastic episode and another clear hint that this will be an awesome series.

Stay tuned for Dupe’s review of episode three Rabbit in a Snow Storm.


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