Review: Marvel’s THE DEFENDERS (2017)

Since 2015, Marvel Television has been expanding the grittier street level corner of the MCU with several original shows on Netflix. The slate began with Daredevil, followed by a second season and shows starring Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. Unlike past MCU entries, these shows have fully embrace more adult-oriented aspects of these characters, such as graphic violence, sex, and other mature subjects. These shows have all been building up to The Defenders, an eight-episode miniseries uniting the four heroes against The Hand. Now that the series is here, was the hype justified?

The first couple episodes of The Defenders take their time setting up the story, primarily focused on catching up with each character’s story. Matt Murdock is trying to retire from the Daredevil persona and focus on leading an ordinary life as a lawyer. Jessica Jones resumes her business at Alias Investigations and tackles a new case. Luke Cage has been freed from prison, and he returns to life in Harlem. Danny Rand is continuing his war against The Hand, alongside Colleen Wing. 

While the pacing is occasionally slow in the first two episodes, it’s cool to see each character’s story progress, as they all feel like natural continuations of their solo shows. But once their stories intersect and the heroes join forces, it’s (mostly) full speed ahead. Like most of the Marvel Netflix shows, the fight choreography is on point, and the action scenes are intense. The choreography is especially improved for Iron Fist, who suffered from mediocre action in his solo series.

The Defenders is jammed pack with action and story, largely benefiting from its shorter episode run. Each of the solo shows have 13 episodes per season, but this one has eight. As a result, the storytelling is tighter and there’s less filler. There’s still some slow pacing here and there, but not enough to ruin the momentum. There are some killer plot twists here too. The eighth episode concludes with a stunning action sequence and a shocking cliffhanger. Needless to say, you’ll be counting down the days for the next phase of Marvel’s Netflix saga.

Ultimately, the heart of The Defenders is its cast. All four characters have great chemistry with one another. Seeing Murdock and Jones play off one another is so much fun, while Cage and Rand’s developing friendship is fantastic. Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, and Mike Colter are all perfect as Murdock, Jones, and Cage, respectively. While Finn Jones’ Rand still isn’t flawless, his writing has improved here, and the character arguably works best in an ensemble cast rather than alone.

The Defenders also takes the time to put all the shows’ supporting casts together. Colleen begins her friendship with Misty Knight, while we see the likes of Karen Pace and Trish Walker meet for the first time. The series also pits the characters against several recurring villains, such as Madame Gao and Elektra. The latter character has one of the most complex character arcs; she’s been resurrected as a weapon by The Hand, and Murdock seeks to save her soul.

Speaking of The Hand, I can’t help but feel disappointed by the group. Yes, the organization served as a formidable force against the Defenders, while individual characters like Alexandra (Sigourney Weaver) are a delight to see. But in the end, their motivation just feels generic. The Hand wants to destroy New York City and attain immortality for…reasons? For a group that has been built up for two years and on multiple shows, The Hand just feels underwhelming. This also has a detrimental effect on the series’ story, which is otherwise solid.

Elsewhere, The Defenders boasts another unique opening title sequence. The cinematography is great, as the lighting’s color changes for each character’s scenes; for example, Rand’s scenes are green, Cage’s scenes are yellow, and so on. The score is good, the production value is strong, and the character development is great.

In summary, The Defenders is yet another solid addition to Marvel’s Netflix library. The character dynamics and action scenes elevate the story, which suffers from underwhelming villains and occasionally slow pacing. Fans of the studio’s past shows will definitely get a kick out of this. I can’t wait to see the characters return next year, and hopefully, there’ll be a second season of The Defenders.