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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2016 10:15:36 GMT -5
I'm 3 episodes in, and I must admit, it's not really grabbing me like Daredevil or JJ did
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2016 15:52:13 GMT -5
4 down - liked the little homage to the 70s Luke Cage outfit.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2016 16:26:22 GMT -5
5 eps in, and it's really not holding my interest very well at all. In the 2x DD series and JJ, by this point in the series, I was gagging to get to the next episode, but with Cage, it's more like "I've got x episodes left to get through, better watch another one".
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Post by Ozymandias on Nov 22, 2016 9:24:12 GMT -5
The numerous easter eggs are also a brilliant way to tell the long-time readers "see, we haven't forgotten about you even when we change stuff to better suit a TV audience". My favourite was the one about Mysty's arm. 5 eps in, and it's really not holding my interest very well at all. In the 2x DD series and JJ, by this point in the series, I was gagging to get to the next episode, but with Cage, it's more like "I've got x episodes left to get through, better watch another one". I wasn't exactly gagging to get to DD's next episode, but I agree in general. JJ is the one I'm really waiting for, and not just because I've been aching for more Krysten Ritter, ever since she left BB. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2016 14:16:30 GMT -5
This is a slow burner for me. I'm not sure if I will make it to the end, it just doesn't seem to have the chemistry of the Daredevil or Jessica Jones shows. Yes, it is Luke Cage, but it's also dull.
Will watch episode five later on this evening and see how it goes...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2016 12:48:21 GMT -5
I finally watched the first episode yesterday.....kind of boring. I like Luke Cage but the story doesn't grab me. I may watch this when there is nothing else on, but this one is not I can see myself watching 3 or 4 episodes in a row.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 30, 2016 12:48:32 GMT -5
Finish watching last night, (last 3 episodes).. definitely better than Daredevil, IMO. Cage was a much easier character to root for, the bad guys where actually bad, and the supporting characters were still great.
Probably going to watch something non-superhero-y next before a go for Jessica Jones.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2016 5:33:55 GMT -5
I think the big problem with the Cage series is that, like the 70s "invulnerable" Superman, there's no real sense of danger to the character. That picks up to some extent later in the series (I've just watched ep 7), but I think it's been a real drag on the series so far
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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 5, 2016 13:21:30 GMT -5
I think the big problem with the Cage series is that, like the 70s "invulnerable" Superman, there's no real sense of danger to the character. That picks up to some extent later in the series (I've just watched ep 7), but I think it's been a real drag on the series so far That gets totally fixed in the 2nd half of the series (which you perhaps have found out.. not sure which ep is which). |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2016 8:31:20 GMT -5
Picked up a lot on the 2nd half of the series, but it still didn't reach any of the heights of the other 3 Netflx series
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Post by Mormel on Dec 6, 2016 13:41:56 GMT -5
For me, the invulnerability of Cage was balanced out by the factor of having to protect friends and civilians who were not invulnerable. I had more of a problem with Captain America's durability in 'Winter Soldier' taking away the suspense and sense of urgency, because for the most part he was the main target of the baddies in that movie and his durability is jacked up considerably in comparison to the comics.
Whilst Luke Cage, prior to episode 8 or so, often finds himself in situations where he has to shield innocents from bulletfire or collapsing structures, with varying results. At some points, friends of his are targeted by the villains while they are outside of Luke's reach, emphasizing that for all his strength and invulnerability, he is sometimes helpless to do anything.
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Post by rom on Jan 13, 2017 19:43:35 GMT -5
Recently finished Netflix's Luke Cage. Superb series! I was a big fan of DD S1-2 & Jessica Jones, but LC had a completely different feel. I liked the urban tone/vibe to this series, as well as the jazz music/soundtrack.
It definitely had elements of the '70's Shaft & Foxy Brown films (and other movies like them), but much more polished - with an obvious 21st century super-hero element.
Liked the comic references re: LC saying "Sweet Christmas", and seeing him in his original comic outfit (kind of) in the flashback after he escaped from Seagate Prison.
Like the Jessica Jones series, I had very little familiarity with the LC comic character (other than reading some Power Man & Iron Fist issues back in the day), but that didn't affect my enjoyment of the series - I still really liked the story, characters, etc.
I thought Cottonmouth & Diamondback were excellent, three-dimensional characters; the fact that both had tragic childhoods made you feel sorry for them, despite their evil deeds. I found this made them a lot more interesting than a lot of the typical cookie-cutter villains you see in comic book movies.
Harlem may as well have been another character in this LC series. I have only visited Harlem once recently (and very briefly), as a tourist last summer. However, my short visit did make me appreciate the city all the more - since there is definitely an almost electric "vibe" to that area that I've never felt anywhere else.
The final scenes were great, all over the great tune "100 days, 100 nights" by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings; I had never heard the tune before, but apparently it's from 2006 - it definitely has an old-skool jazz/rhythm & blues sound:
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Feb 15, 2018 11:48:06 GMT -5
So, finally saw the Punisher series, and I can now weigh on the Marvel Netflix universe
I use the Luke Cage thread since it's better to focus on the love than on the hate.
Admitedly, LC was a slow burner, but it had great rewards.
The nods to the comic and its history were really smart and well adapted to this TV format. I also enjoyed very much the way the music took stage in it, almost like a reveresed Twin Peaks 2017. The fact that we got several vilains with different agendas instead of one main villain fet truer to comics as well. The fact that the characters had real relationships and sex was also a pleasant surprise. Sure, the ending wasn't an epic bang, but none of these shows feature one. Also, it was the only series of the bunch that felt like it was adequately budgeted.
So I rate the series like this (Iron fist excluded : I didn't watch it since I'm no complete masochist) :
1/ Luke Cage
2/ JJ
3/ DD1
4/ DD2
5/ Punisher
6/ Defenders
JJ was alright, but a tad too long, too emo, and the villain wasn't strong enough to sustain the whole season. I would have liked more of hte comedic parts, though, to balance it out.
DD's first season was alright, but again it took way too long to tell way too little. Some of it felt quite cheap as well. And the actress who plays Karen Page is the most emo I've ever seen : it feels like she's constantly sobbing while talking, insufferable!
DD 2 suffered from a cheap Electra, cheaper ninjas and their abstract stupid plan, and more of Karen Page's irritating actng.
Punisher was IMHO atrocious : At some point he's Steve McQueen (done cheaply), at some point he's in a cheap as hell FPS so badly filmed by a drone that they aknowledges it in the story so that it becomes a directing trick. Karen Page is still horrible, but to add prejudice to injury, she has a disgusting dialogue about weapons and 2nd amendment with a progresisve politician who is portrayed as a hypocrite and coward. Micro was alright, even if he had little to do with his comic incarnation(s), till he became an emo caricature as well. The villain was laughable, Jigsaw was alright till he was revealed to be the other villain 100% in such a hamfisted way, and Frank Castle... Oh my... Where to begin? The actor did everything he could through acting to feel bigger than he actually is, but what a casting fail... At least Thomas Jane had some kind of matching stoïcity, even Ray Stevenson. But Bernthal, he just feels like an angry lost puppy, stuborn and stupid (well, most of his adversaries were stupid and stuborn as well, so that challenge wasn't the most difficult to overcome). The way he cut deals with the authorities was also a big LOL moment, I must say. I could go on, but I feel that my final verdict is that a punisher movie or series shouldn't feature the Punisher as the lead. That's why it could have worked better within DD. I guess that the trailer being so missleading about the tone didn't really help either, but what was I expecting? Ennis's third volume of the series remains one of the highlights of the mainstream 00's, the main reason why the character was back in fashion again (with the first volume, admitedly), this was IMHO not even worthy the Chuck Dixon stories of the 80ies.
Defenders was such an empty vessel that I'm att odds remembering anything specific about it appart from how vain it was.
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Roquefort Raider
CCF Mod Squad
Modus omnibus in rebus
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Feb 15, 2018 12:00:59 GMT -5
So, finally saw the Punisher series, and I can now weigh on the Marvel Netflix universe I use the Luke Cage thread since it's better to focus on the love than on the hate. Admitedly, LC was a slow burner, but it had great rewards. The nods to the comic and its history were really smart and well adapted to this TV format. I also enjoyed very much the way the music took stage in it, almost like a reveresed Twin Peaks 2017. The fact that we got several vilains with different agendas instead of one main villain fet truer to comics as well. The fact that the characters had real relationships and sex was also a pleasant surprise. Sure, the ending wasn't an epic bang, but none of these shows feature one. Also, it was the only series of the bunch that felt like it was adequately budgeted. So I rate the series like this (Iron fist excluded : I didn't watch it since I'm no complete masochist) : 1/ Luke Cage 2/ JJ 3/ DD1 4/ DD2 5/ Punisher 6/ Defenders JJ was alright, but a tad too long, too emo, and the villain wasn't strong enough to sustain the whole season. I would have liked more of hte comedic parts, though, to balance it out. DD's first season was alright, but again it took way too long to tell way too little. Some of it felt quite cheap as well. And the actress who plays Karen Page is the most emo I've ever seen : it feels like she's constantly sobbing while talking, insufferable! DD 2 suffered from a cheap Electra, cheaper ninjas and their abstract stupid plan, and more of Karen Page's irritating actng. Punisher was IMHO atrocious : At some point he's Steve McQueen (done cheaply), at some point he's in a cheap as hell FPS so badly filmed by a drone that they aknowledges it in the story so that it becomes a directing trick. Karen Page is still horrible, but to add prejudice to injury, she has a disgusting dialogue about weapons and 2nd amendment with a progresisve politician who is portrayed as a hypocrite and coward. Micro was alright, even if he had little to do with his comic incarnation(s), till he became an emo caricature as well. The villain was laughable, Jigsaw was alright till he was revealed to be the other villain 100% in such a hamfisted way, and Frank Castle... Oh my... Where to begin? The actor did everything he could through acting to feel bigger than he actually is, but what a casting fail... At least Thomas Jane had some kind of matching stoïcity, even Ray Stevenson. But Bernthal, he just feels like an angry lost puppy, stuborn and stupid (well, most of his adversaries were stupid and stuborn as well, so that challenge wasn't the most difficult to overcome). The way he cut deals with the authorities was also a big LOL moment, I must say. I could go on, but I feel that my final verdict is that a punisher movie or series shouldn't feature the Punisher as the lead. That's why it could have worked better within DD. I guess that the trailer being so missleading about the tone didn't really help either, but what was I expecting? Ennis's third volume of the series remains one of the highlights of the mainstream 00's, the main reason why the character was back in fashion again (with the first volume, admitedly), this was IMHO not even worthy the Chuck Dixon stories of the 80ies. Defenders was such an empty vessel that I'm att odds remembering anything specific about it appart from how vain it was. I agree with you on Cage and Jessica Jones, but I personally thought Bernthal did an outsanding job as the Punisher. The angry lost puppy, stubborn and stupid angle was the saving grace to me; I would find it very difficult to relate in any way to a guy who murders criminals just because they're criminals and who's basically fine with it. This Frank Castle is a very primal creature, and he reacts to the world in a very primal way, never forgetting however that he is a man and not an animal. His inner decency and (yes) emotional fragility makes him a believable character in an unbelievable scenario. Thomas Jane did good with the plot he was working with, but he was scripted as a cardboard "vengeance is mine" type of character. (Ooops... not vengeance, but "punishment"). There was little time for him to demonstrate any kind of subtlety. I would have agreed that the Punisher is far better suited as a supporting character than as a lead, but Bernthal changed my mind on that. |
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Feb 15, 2018 12:16:36 GMT -5
But would you agree that he (Bernthal) mostly negates everyting that made Ennis' Punisher great (Ennis probably almost being the only thing that made Punisher great for most of us)? I mean, If it's going to be the actual punisher, it's probably not gonna work great on TV or movies, especially in the longer format of a series, unless it's a different character, which is the route they took. So appart from all the many other issues with how cheap the series felt, I was let down in my expectations, ones that came directly from the comic book.
I obviously watched tis solely because it was called the punisher, and I still hope to one day be surprised by the filmed take one creator migt find, this wasn't it. But I'm good, since I got John Cage, a clever adaptation with what I forgot to mention : a great actor in the lead role.
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