2) Kick Ass, But More Efficiently
The Marvel/Netflix shows may be gritty character studies, but we wouldn’t love them as much without their alleyway (or corridor) brawls. However, it’s been two years since Daredevil and Frank Castle dished out some quite frankly jaw-dropping beatdowns in Daredevil season 2. Aside from several notable moments in The Defenders, there’s been very little in the way of truly electrifying showdowns since. So, why are these kinds of moments becoming scarcer?
We get it: action scenes are expensive and tricky to film. But when Iron Fist – a show about a kung-fu prodigy – features fights that aren’t all that inspiring, you know that something’s amiss. Of course, this was partly due to the show’s tight shooting schedule. The Defenders began production long after, meaning that Finn Jones had very little time to train for his first shot as Danny Rand. Even so, this demonstrates how little consideration has being given to these key scenes over the last few years.
The fact of the matter is that these character’s powers lend so much potential to these stories. From Daredevil’s radar-sense to Jessica Jones’ limited flight, honing on in these iconic abilities in fight scenes could really make the Marvel/Netflix shows stand out. Moreover, given enough resources and planning time, a great choreographer would be able to turn these prerequisite punch-ups into something truly special.
3) Planning Makes Perfect
The fluid inter-connectivity of Marvel’s movies is the hard-earned result of decades’ worth of pre-planning. For all of the small errors here and there, the Marvel Cinematic Universe appears as an efficiently cohesive, detailed world. Characters hop from film to film, and stories evolve organically.
The same cannot always be said for the Netflix heroes. Take the first few episodes of The Defenders for example. An awful lot of time is devoted to picking up where each of the solo shows left off. As great as it to see our favorite vigilantes back in action in their stomping grounds, the writers clearly had to put a lot of work into maneuvering them into suitable positions for the story at hand.
A bit more pre-planning would be hugely beneficial in this regard. Moreover, it would help any inter-show crossovers to feel more natural, such as in the rumored second season of The Defenders. Plus, it will allow for terrific new stories to be told, which change and shape the wider Marvel/Netflix world.
Sure, the shows all feel alike with their similarly grungy Manhattan, but it’s strange how inconsequentially huge events – such as Kingpin’s bombings – are rendered within the context of The Defenders. It’s even stranger when we consider that all of the characters operate only a few blocks away from each other as well.
With the “culmination” of The Defenders now out of the way, there’s a chance that there’ll be a greater amount of synergy between the shows – in front of, and behind, the camera. Indeed, Iron Fist is already set to appear in Luke Cage season 2, which may hint at even more cross-pollination to come in the Marvel/Netflix world.
