Amph Marvel's Luke Cage

Just finished Season One tonight.

Spoiler

When compared to Daredevil and Jessica Jones, the latest offering from the Netflix/Marvel partnership is the weakest of the three shows that have so far launched. But, that is not saying a lot because Luke Cage is still very watchable but it is not quite as dynamic as the aforementioned two shows. Luke Cage is by far the slowest and most nuanced of the Marvel TV shows to date in that it is driven more by drama than it is action or noir. Instead, Luke Cage is a very human superhero show because of the minimal settings and characters as compared to the larger principal and ensemble casts of Daredevil and Jessica Jones. This makes Luke Cage feel more like a Western in the sense that the story revolves around a man brining justice to a community which is fundamentally broken and diseased with corruption. Additionally, Luke Cage happens to be the most stylish of the three shows because of its "urban" feel through its outstanding soundtrack consisting of hip-hop, blues, RnB and soul It is by far the show which has the most "groove".

But, where Luke Cage triumphs in style it lacks a little in substance. For instance, the villain(s) of this series are nowhere near as memorable as those of Daredevil or Jessica Jones because they do not act as a mimetic double for Luke to portray his internal conflict. Instead, they are simply criminal and stock standard in their execution. Performance wise, the show works though some of the acting can be a little flat. Mike Colter, playing the titular character, has a good presence but the writing doesn't do his character justice at times because he lacks the conviction of Matt Murdock or Jessica Jones. By far, the most intriguing character of this series is Misty Knight, a police woman with enhanced senses. Luke Cage feels a tad undercooked in areas and a little prolonged in its running length (two episodes needlessly running over sixty minutes). Essentially, it's an outstanding nine episode season expanded into thirteen episodes.

3.5 out of 5

 

Spoiler

I quite enjoyed the whole season, though killing off Cottonmouth was a huge mistake IMO. Diamondback was a pretty 'meh' villain after all that build-up....and yeah the last few episodes really lost steam. Very good overall, but I'd definitely rank it lower than JJ and Daredevil.

 

Agreed.

Spoiler

I suppose I could consider it a surprise that they did kill Cottonmouth since Ali had apparently left House Of Cards which gave me the impression he would be on the show as a permanent cast member. Of course, that's not to say that he won't feature in future episodes during flashback sequences. But I think there was more room for growth of his character than Diamondback since we had only just gotten to know the character before his untimely death. Personally, I would have liked to have seen him spar more with Mariah Dillard by exploring the more corrupt underbelly of local politics. That all went out the window once Cottonmouth died - no pun.

 

Spoiler

I'm glad Shades is still around at least. Man that guy is slimy.

 

Yes but for all of that character's screen presence...frankly, it ended up being one of the more forgettable characters. Let's hope there's more to that one next season.

I'll sum up my thoughts of this show (so far) by simply saying...Misty Knight - the supporting character who accidentally lead the show brilliantly.

 

I really enjoyed this one. Not at the level of Season 1 of Daredevil, but about on par with Jessica Jones and ahead of Season 2 of Daredevil.

I'm surprised by the general response here to

Spoiler

Cottonmouth's death. I thought the show turned for the better at that point. The personal connection to Diamondback was more inviting to Luke, and the pacing of the show, generally, got better.

I did find the final episode quite lacking.

Spoiler

The final showdown between Luke and Diamondback was incredibly meh and underwhelming. Not just in comparison to the final showdown between Fisk and Daredevil in Season One and between Jessica and Killgrave, but also in comparison to them. Knowing that Marvel/Netflix can pull off a much more satisfying conclusion made the letdown a little worse.

I think what I enjoyed best was the way they were able to slip in political commentary on society without beating you over the head with it. The plight of a black man who is innocent but has no way of trusting the police. The abuse regularly given out to victims of sexual assault, and how damning that can be, and the subtle ways we gloss over it and do casual victim blaming.

Well, that and Luke himself. Wonderful casting. As great as the casting has been on Netflix/Marvel shows thus far (Matt, Jessica, Claire, Killgrave, and Fisk all being spot-on casting choices), I think Luke is the best one yet.

 

Netflix has announced there will be a season 2.

 

This one was actually my favorite of the 4. I freaking loved it!

 

I still need to see Iron Fist. For me, it goes:

1. Daredevil Season 1

2. Jessica Jones Season 1

3. Daredevil Season 2

4. Luke Cage

I'm predicting Iron Fist will either take space 4 or 5 based upon critical reviews and some of the discussions on these forums.

 

Yeah, ranking season 2 of Daredevil is weird because the Punisher arc was my favorite thing the Netflix shows have ever done so far, but the second half has a much different feel with Elektra and the Hand.

1. Daredevil Season 1

2. Jessica Jones

3. Daredevil Season 2

4. Luke Cage

5. Iron Fist

 

Also just finished the show about 13 hours ago, and I will say it damn skippy has the best theme music of all the Netflix series! (and probably some of the best music in general). It also seems to have the most amount of big splatter violence if you take the whole thing as one (or at least tied with Daredevil Season 2). I mean, in episode 2 Cottonmouth tosses that dude off the roof? That was awesome! The action and style really helps this series move along (one of my absoultely favourite shots is Cottonmouth framed by the Biggie Smalls art and says "It's good to be the king". And, nicely, you see this shot paralleled at the end with Black Marriah and the new artwork).

Although, I think it's safe to say out of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, this one seems to have the least amount of the main protagonist in it. Seriously, sometimes it seems Luke is in about maybe 35% of an episode when with DD or Jessica, they're at least over 50%. Kind of wonky. BUT I think this is the best ensemble in the Netflix shows so far. DD barely counts as an ensemble, it's either Matt or Karren/Foggy plots. Jessica Jones I felt had a bit of a weak ensemble, but mostly because Jessica is so awesome I couldn't wait to get back to her. But, as I said, the supporting characters in Cage are some of the best ones so I'm okay with that. Shades for MVP, especially his maneuvers by the end. I thought he would be lame at the start but he turned out to be my favourite baddie in the series.

So I didn't know or foresee Cottonmouth's death by Black Marriah coming which is actually a fantastic twist. Cottonmouth seemed to be becoming unhinged and it pushes Black Marriah into villiany. (and I'm an unabashed Aflie Woodard fan so yay!) Also it keeps Conttonmouth as a memorable baddie for his stint (and Ali is great in his screentime). I don't know if there was some BTS things going on to have his exit that early on but I dug it. As for Dimondback being the 2nd half baddie, I thought he nicely upped the stakes in the ultraviolence unpredictability. You *kinda* knew what would set Cottonmouth off but Dimondback was a nicely nuts X-factor. As for the power suit, I can see people griping that it's tonally out of sorts for Luke Cage's show however, I would counter with it's set in the MCU, where power-suits (and a piece of unstable Hammer-tech at that!) are a legitimate thing so something like that can come out of left field (and Dimondback was just loving it). I will say I think the final episode is the most awkwardly paced of them all. It's the shortest, which I don't mind, but it's basically a 10 minute fight scene and then a lot of hanging out at the police station. But the final few minutes where basically the bad guys win is really cool.

Just got Iron First down and then all caught up! I don't care if everyone says it's awful, I'm doing it!

 

I wonder what the second season will be about, considering Luke's gonna be out of jail (presumably) for Defenders.

 

I have to say I'm a bit worried for season 2. The show became very average as soon as Cottonmouth was gone IMO.

 

It's cool to see that, but it's obvious that it was made on a TV budget.

 

Release date announcement trailer


I like the voice over and the more expressive Luke Cage. For the most part, Cage was soft spoken in Jessica Jones, Season One of Luke Cage and The Defenders, but in the trailer, he's lot more expressive.

And I love how the trailer ends with someone shouting at Cage, "Get paid, Black man! Get paid!" To me, that signals Heroes for Hire.

 

It's June 22 for those who want to be saved a click.

 

Oh, snap! <midway through the trailer>