Marvel's Defenders (Netflix) - The Punisher (Nov 17)Movies

[Infinital-NG]

Seems strange that the 1st season of Defenders will span 48-hours.



With only JJ and LC knowing each other before-hand, seems short to instill trust between the rest.

 

[JKgo]

...It won't matter if the writing can support it. Hell, just take a look at Jack Bauer doing a whole lot of stuff in a season of 24!! It's not impossible to do this. With the exception of Iron Fist, the rest are now better established characters. Daredevil had two seasons to brood over and hone his fighting skills, Luke had one and a half outing to show off his badassery, and Jones had one pretty good series herself as well. Linking them all together shouldn't be too hard as we don't have to spend more time to establish who they are.

I still maintain that casting Finn Jones was a mistake, though. How stubborn can Marvel and Netflix get? They should've found another actor to play Danny Rand. But I guess it's too late now....

 

[TB]

With only JJ and LC knowing each other before-hand, seems short to instill trust between the rest.

The Avengers didn't know each other for years and that worked out alright. It'll likely be a enemy of my enemy is my friend scenario ("You hate The Hand? Me, too! We should be team up!"), at least to start with.

 

[05XR8]

Plus, JJ knowing J-Money, DR shouldn't take long to trust JJ. The main awkwardness, at the start, will be the other three seeing MM his DD suit and they're in jeans & t-shirts.

 

[Sanji Himura]

I still maintain that casting Finn Jones was a mistake, though.

I still feel that Finn Jones can still grow into the role. He was pretty good as Renly, and he had an actual script and story to support him. If something similar can happen with The Defenders, it will prove that the writers don't know their *** from the source material and should be the ones that are canned, not the actor.

 

[JKgo]

I still feel that Finn Jones can still grow into the role. He was pretty good as Renly, and he had an actual script and story to support him. If something similar can happen with The Defenders, it will prove that the writers don't know their *** from the source material and should be the ones that are canned, not the actor.

...I agree with the "writers" part, but there's naught anyone can do when the actor tasked to portray the badass can't pull it off. A capable actor can (sometimes) transcend the lousy material and leave behind a great performance on screen. But a wrong actor can drag the whole thing down even with a great team making it. I direct your attention towards Keanu Reeves' turn in Dracula, for example.

Finn Jones lacks physical prowess and is wholly unconvincing as a martial artist. He lacks that screen-filling presence which is something only a few actors are born with so it can't be helped there. And his acting at times are.... not so memorable.

Growing into a role? Maybe. But will he be allowed to do that? Will Netflix and Marvel grant a second season of Iron Fist after the poor first showing? I'd say..... tough to call.

 

[Sanji Himura]

...I agree with the "writers" part, but there's naught anyone can do when the actor tasked to portray the badass can't pull it off. A capable actor can (sometimes) transcend the lousy material and leave behind a great performance on screen. But a wrong actor can drag the whole thing down even with a great team making it. I direct your attention towards Keanu Reeves' turn in Dracula, for example.

Finn Jones lacks physical prowess and is wholly unconvincing as a martial artist. He lacks that screen-filling presence which is something only a few actors are born with so it can't be helped there. And his acting at times are.... not so memorable.

Growing into a role? Maybe. But will he be allowed to do that? Will Netflix and Marvel grant a second season of Iron Fist after the poor first showing? I'd say..... tough to call.

Had to look it up on Wikipedia, Finn Jones was announced as Danny Rand in February of 2016 and filming commenced two months later. Assuming that training started when he was casted, that isn't enough time to put on lean muscle that a martial artist requires. One needs to look at Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris at their primes for actual shapes.

Then there is the matter of keeping up with the physical regiment after filming. Most actors will not do that. The only exception in recent memory is Hugh Jackman, and he was filmed in multiple X-Men films in nearly 20 years, so that kind of training is required. If Marvel wishes to continue this Netflix universe, make the actors have some form of physical training.

As far as the Second season announcement, it would come at the end of June.

 

[JKgo]

As far as the Second season announcement, it would come at the end of June.

...You sound pretty much convinced about the 2nd season of Iron Fist happening. Well, I guess it'll depend on what the overall reaction to the Defenders is like. But yeah, two months do sound a bit tight. It seems to me Marvel/Netflix was in a rush to get IF made and took some questionable decisions along the way.

 

[Sanji Himura]

...You sound pretty much convinced about the 2nd season of Iron Fist happening. Well, I guess it'll depend on what the overall reaction to the Defenders is like. But yeah, two months do sound a bit tight. It seems to me Marvel/Netflix was in a rush to get IF made and took some questionable decisions along the way.

I am. Netflix doesn't cancel shows unless they air their second season. See Sense8.

 

[JKgo]

...Well, the Iron Fist season 2 is officially happening. And here's the second trailer for the Defenders from Comic Con.



GET HYPED

P.S. I also heard that there might be a post-credit scene a la MCU movies at the end of the 8th and the final episode. I wonder what's that all about.

 

[05XR8]

...Well, the Iron Fist season 2 is officially happening. And here's the second trailer for the Defenders from Comic Con.



GET HYPED

P.S. I also heard that there might be a post-credit scene a la MCU movies at the end of the 8th and the final episode. I wonder what's that all about.

I watched Emergency Awesome on YouTube. He talked about how The Defenders may not be included in Infinity Wars, but there may be reference to it in the Netflix universe. Maybe at ground level battles?

 

[JKgo]

I watched Emergency Awesome on YouTube. He talked about how The Defenders may not be included in Infinity Wars, but there may be reference to it in the Netflix universe. Maybe at ground level battles?

....If true, I wouldn't be surprised at all. Disappointed, maybe, but it's to be expected since the TV side and the movie side have been doing their own things for a while now.

The events of the upcoming Defenders should be far-reaching enough to register as blips on the SHIELD and Avengers' radars but we can all guess, probably correctly, that not one character in MCU will mention it. Hell, I'll be surprised if it gets more than a passing nod from the AoS, even.

And I don't believe the Thanos V Avengers showdown will have much of an impact for the Netflix people at all. Maybe it'd receive the same treatment as the first Avengers movie, probably called "The second incident" or some such.... I could be wrong, but the trajectories the each side are on suggests I should be more or less on the right money here.

 

[JKgo]

....The spoiler-free reviews are trickling in - looks like the embargo has been lifted - and the early word is.... it's surprisingly slow in its build up, apparently. The first 4 episodes were screened for the critics and according to one of the reviews, the group doesn't even come together until the end of the 3rd episode and even then, the chemistry seems to be lacking somewhat.

But overall, the reviews are largely positive, singling out the performances of Sigourney Weaver and Krysten Ritter as "great."

Whatever, I'm still going to binge the living 🤬 out of this. It's only 8 episodes long, anyways.

 

[TB]

I just watched the trailer. Is it wrong that my favorite character is Stick?

 

[05XR8]

Wrong weekend for this to start. v8s are on.

Well, I did start to watch Ep.1. The switching back and forth between characters is fine. Good too see all the characters in one show.

 

[JKgo]

...Damn, I haven't found the time to watch this. Plus, I'm down with a severe case of a scratchy throat and constant, irritating cough. Bah. But soon. Very soon....

 

[UKMikey]

Only the first couple of episodes are slow. I've seen three quarters of the season now and the rest move at a fairly fast pace. Really enjoying this so far apart from Danny's idiocy and I want to savour the series like a fine wine and not rush through. I think Drew Goddard did a good job and that this crossover was worth the wait.

 

[JKgo]

....I just watched the first three episodes, and I actually don't think it's slow at all. I quite liked the overall pacing. Yes, there weren't a lot of action set pieces, but the things moved with enough momentum unlike the first half of the Iron Fist. What annoyed me slightly were the artsy-fartsy camera angles that tried to make the audience feel like we're "witnessing" something that we shouldn't have, and the miscast Finn Jones still looking like a confused brat that he was from his individual show.

But man, that corridor brawl, though. I was geeking out like crazy. Not as brutal and nor as choreographed as that fight from DD season 1, but it was pretty cool nevertheless.

 

[05XR8]

Watched all 8. A few surprises there.

Danny Rand's actor, is just all wrong for the role. Part is the writer's fault(they didn't have to write him as a brat). I know actors have to eat, but they need a recast.

 

[Techy]

Just finished watching it. I'll admit i've only seen Daredevil and not the other series, but i caught on pretty quickly. i especially caught on regarding Iron Fist's character... it's pretty bad. Also, the brawl in Episode 7 left me a little nauseous with the amount of cuts and camera angle changes. i couldn't imagine it could get any worse than this, but it did

 

[Famine]

Danny Rand's actor, is just all wrong for the role. Part is the writer's fault(they didn't have to write him as a brat). I know actors have to eat, but they need a recast.

i especially caught on regarding Iron Fist's character... it's pretty bad.

Danny Rand was a privileged ten year old boy who was abused by his dad's best friend's son, then had his parents killed in front of him and then spent 15 years being ritually abused by monks and brought up with no other purpose than to die fighting the Hand.

Of course he's a brat. He's had zero upbringing from normal people and the only childhood he had was abuse and death. Since then he's only had more abuse and death.

He fell out with the only friend he ever hand - Davos - over the role of Iron Fist. At which point he was trained even further to have no other purpose than to be the weapon with which to fight the Hand. And then in the course of Iron Fist, he discovers the Hand destroyed the place he was supposed to defend while he was off trying to reconnect with the childhood he never had.

It's certainly the weakest character of the four, and the show was the worst (although established the Hand and the life after death thing), but Finn Jones plays the Iron Brat pretty well - as an emotionally stunted brat.

 

[UKMikey]

After expecting the worst in terms of underwhelming endings I was pleasantly surprised by the final scene.

Spoiler

 

[05XR8]

Danny Rand was a privileged ten year old boy who was abused by his dad's best friend's son, then had his parents killed in front of him and then spent 15 years being ritually abused by monks and brought up with no other purpose than to die fighting the Hand.

Of course he's a brat. He's had zero upbringing from normal people and the only childhood he had was abuse and death. Since then he's only had more abuse and death.

He fell out with the only friend he ever hand - Davos - over the role of Iron Fist. At which point he was trained even further to have no other purpose than to be the weapon with which to fight the Hand. And then in the course of Iron Fist, he discovers the Hand destroyed the place he was supposed to defend while he was off trying to reconnect with the childhood he never had.

It's certainly the weakest character of the four, and the show was the worst (although established the Hand and the life after death thing), but Finn Jones plays the Iron Brat pretty well - as an emotionally stunted brat.

Still, through it all, he found love. He wants to play well with others and at least he started using his money. Maybe he should talk to Stark about a robotic arm.

 

[Famine]

Still, through it all, he found love.

Indeed, and I think she's a weaker character and actress than he is.

I think the worst actor of all of them is Elektra - is it Elodie Yung? Her lines (and I mean in Daredevil Season 2 at this point - I'm just off the fourth episode of Defenders and she's not changed in the few lines she's had, but might) come across with all the sincerity of a watercress garden on a facecloth.

 

[JKgo]

...Just saw the fourth and the fifth episodes back to back, and I gotta say, they were weaker compared to the first three. A personal point of view, of course. The fourth one, especially. It felt a bit stagey and... what's the correct word for it... hmm, had all the momentum of a sportscar constantly threatening to hit an interesting speed only to encounter a bump on the road and has to slow down repeatedly. And what was up with...

Spoiler

Cage capturing one of the Hand's big shots off camera?! I honestly thought for a second that was setting up a twist of some kind but nope, no such thing.

 

[05XR8]

@Famine, I agree with your whole post.

...Just saw the fourth and the fifth episodes back to back, and I gotta say, they were weaker compared to the first three. A personal point of view, of course. The fourth one, especially. It felt a bit stagey and... what's the correct word for it... hmm, had all the momentum of a sportscar constantly threatening to hit an interesting speed only to encounter a bump on the road and has to slow down repeatedly. And what was up with...

Spoiler

Cage capturing one of the Hand's big shots off camera?! I honestly thought for a second that was setting up a twist of some kind but nope, no such thing.

Yeah, why couldn't we see how that happened? Must have something to do with only 8 episodes. Plus,

Spoiler

why did Cage have to hook up with the night nurse? LC & JJ are supposed to be a couple( I can't remember how long it took before they got married). Hopefully we get to see that before a failed Power Man & Iron Fist spin-off(trust, I want these series to succeed, but the writers are doing their own thing and I'm not liking that aspect of the shows).

 

[NINE_HUNDRED]

Spoiler

Just finished The Defenders, was ok..

One thing that stood out was Madame Gao's character, she was made out to be very powerful, scary etc. in the previous shows but then in The Defenders she was fairly timid. I feel like Sigourney Weaver's character should have just been Gao.

 

[JKgo]

...I just snuck in the sixth episode just now, and I'm like, what the living daylights bejesus of jumping jacks and all his pony friends, that cliff hanger ending. Didn't see that twist coming. And I specialise in smelling out plot twists. That's my thing. Was my thing, I should say...

 

[UKMikey]

Spoiler

Just finished The Defenders, was ok..

One thing that stood out was Madame Gao's character, she was made out to be very powerful, scary etc. in the previous shows but then in The Defenders she was fairly timid. I feel like Sigourney Weaver's character should have just been Gao.

Spoiler

I liked it because to show the big bad kowtowing to another character indicated how much bigger and badder the newcomer must have been.

 

[JKgo]

...Managed to squeeze in the last two episodes and....

Spoiler: My thoughts

...I'm firmly in the camps of "Meh." The series started off pretty strong, then from fourth episodes onwards, rarely threatened to recover its momentum back. There were some cool moments peppered throughout but the stop-start approach in the last two episodes really ruined the whole experience for me. It was as if they - the makers of the show - didn't have enough material to stretch out for an 8 episode arc so they threw in a few more redundant character expositions for the sake of padding out the running time.

Doubly disappointing, the fight scenes progressively lost all semblance of actual choreographed fluidity and devolved into a messy "I throw a punch, then you throw a punch" type affair. Honestly, with two of the most acrobatic fighters in Marvel universe facing off against an ancient martial arts organization, I expected a lot more, and earlier fight scenes did promise that to a degree.

The final nail in the "Meh" coffin was the apparent lack of budget as evidenced by the.... underwhelming climatic battle. The CGI was.... barely passable, none of the Hand big shots, with the exception of Gao, amounted to much which is surprising seeing that they supposedly have lived for thousands of years, and "heavily-armed" henchmen turning out to fight bare handed with only two of them wielding firearms. I mean, WTF? Is this the DD season 2 rooftop fight all over again?

It's a definite disappointment, personally. Maybe I was expecting a little too much. Should've kept my hopes low after tuning into the mess that was the Iron Fist. Oh well.