Luke Cage - Review
Jul. 5th, 2017 09:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatAs previously noted, I didn't like this as much as the critics did. My guess is they are starved for socio-political commentary in comic book noir serials. And leapt on this like a bunch of starving kids seeing someone selling funnel wheels. It's funnel wheels...but hey, starving.
I've seen this sort of thing done better elsewhere. The first half of Luke Cage feels like a poorly written rip-off of The Wire. (If you haven't seen it? Go stream that instead. You can thank me later.) The second half, a poorly written commentary on Blaxploitation films of the 1970s.
To be fair, Luke Cage was Marvel comics reaction to the popular 1970s Blaxploitation films -- which were also commented on, albeit better by Quentin Tarantino with Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction.
The Marvel Comics back story on Luke Cage is that he becomes "a hero for hire" aka Powerman, marries Jessica Jone and has a child by her, and teams up with Iron Fist.
Throughout the television series, which is very noir, as were the Blaxploitation films of the 70s, Cage is referred to as either Powerman (a commentary on Black Power), and the bulletproof black man with a hoodie --- and a hero, a symbol of black male disenfranchisement. You also have various reference throughout to racial profiling.
Of the four series, Luke Cage has the most socio-political references. At times it stops everything and provides us with a lecture. The lecture either comes from Luke or one of the supporting characters. I actually think Daredevil and Jessica Jones handled it better, with less preaching. There's a lot of preaching going on in Luke Cage. Makes sense, considering the hero and the villain are sons of a southern baptist preacher.
The series suffers from some major league pacing issues. I kept falling asleep during it. We'd be in the height of action, and the writers would feel the need to do a music video. In which everyone is shown sitting around brooding while music is played in the background. OR we'd be treated to various and sundry press reports or speeches, mostly by Alfra Woodward's Councilwoman Mariah Dillard. All this slowed the action to a halt. And made it frustrating to watch. I started scanning past the speeches after a bit. This series was in desperate need of an editor.
The fight sequences also went on for too long. Luke Cage is gifted with skin that is bullet proof, he can't be effectively punched or shot, without special armor piercing bullets, called Judas Bullets.
So watching him fight is a bit like watching people fight a wall or battering ram. Also those no style to it. It's just punch and throw. Hardly as pretty or entertaining as Iron Fist and Daredevil's martial arts. No fancy leaps -- well unless you count Luke punching someone hard enough that they fly through the air, or when he throws people. I guess if you are into boxing it might be somewhat interesting.
There's a lot of unnecessary filler, which draws attention away from the characters and the story.
What works? Once again the female characters are by far the best developed and interesting. Misty Knight, the black female police detective who has a photographic memory and can visualize what happened just by looking at a photograph. She's also a basketball player. There's a history behind Misty and the show teases at it. The actress portraying the character is pitch perfect, world-weary and sharp. Unlike Mike Coulter, who plays the lead, you can see everything in her eyes and the lines in her face.
Then there's Rosaria Dawson's fourth or rather third turn as Clair Temple, who is developed even further in this entry, as a potential love interest for Luke, and a confidante. She's also kick-ass, and given family members and more of a back-story.
Alfre Woodward's Mariah Dillard is far more interesting than either of the male villains surrounding her. And her back-story more layered. She doesn't want to become the person she's being yanked into becoming by her family and her drive for power.
The cast is entirely black except for four or five characters, all supporting. And a lot of the cast comes from The Wire. Which is a nice shift, although hardly a stand-out. It's being done a lot now that we have over 450 scripted series, and POC have become a major marketing demographic. If this had popped up around the time The Wire did or fifteen years prior, yeah, big deal. Now? Which tells you how much things have changed and for the better.
There's various pop cultural references scattered throughout -- that highlight the trope that the writers are examining. They are also critic and academic bait. But I liked them and thought they added nuance to the series.
What did not work, besides the pacing and constant speechifying? Diamondback is an annoying villain. And poorly developed. By the time we get a back story, it's impossible to care. Shades, on the other hand, is more interesting. As was Cottonmouth, or Cornel Stokes, who had far more layers and in some respects felt more justified. Torn apart by guilt and resentment...his is almost a tragic story. It helps of course that he's portrayed by Marshala Ali of Moonlight.
And Mike Coulter, unfortunately, is not compelling as Cage. Pretty yes. But not compelling. It's telling when the villains are more compelling than he is. I half-wished this was Misty Knight's tale and not his.
Overall? Okay. Nothing to shout about. I probably won't stick around for S2.
Rankings?
Daredevil/Jessica Jones
Iron Fist
Luke Cage
I've seen this sort of thing done better elsewhere. The first half of Luke Cage feels like a poorly written rip-off of The Wire. (If you haven't seen it? Go stream that instead. You can thank me later.) The second half, a poorly written commentary on Blaxploitation films of the 1970s.
To be fair, Luke Cage was Marvel comics reaction to the popular 1970s Blaxploitation films -- which were also commented on, albeit better by Quentin Tarantino with Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction.
The Marvel Comics back story on Luke Cage is that he becomes "a hero for hire" aka Powerman, marries Jessica Jone and has a child by her, and teams up with Iron Fist.
Throughout the television series, which is very noir, as were the Blaxploitation films of the 70s, Cage is referred to as either Powerman (a commentary on Black Power), and the bulletproof black man with a hoodie --- and a hero, a symbol of black male disenfranchisement. You also have various reference throughout to racial profiling.
Of the four series, Luke Cage has the most socio-political references. At times it stops everything and provides us with a lecture. The lecture either comes from Luke or one of the supporting characters. I actually think Daredevil and Jessica Jones handled it better, with less preaching. There's a lot of preaching going on in Luke Cage. Makes sense, considering the hero and the villain are sons of a southern baptist preacher.
The series suffers from some major league pacing issues. I kept falling asleep during it. We'd be in the height of action, and the writers would feel the need to do a music video. In which everyone is shown sitting around brooding while music is played in the background. OR we'd be treated to various and sundry press reports or speeches, mostly by Alfra Woodward's Councilwoman Mariah Dillard. All this slowed the action to a halt. And made it frustrating to watch. I started scanning past the speeches after a bit. This series was in desperate need of an editor.
The fight sequences also went on for too long. Luke Cage is gifted with skin that is bullet proof, he can't be effectively punched or shot, without special armor piercing bullets, called Judas Bullets.
So watching him fight is a bit like watching people fight a wall or battering ram. Also those no style to it. It's just punch and throw. Hardly as pretty or entertaining as Iron Fist and Daredevil's martial arts. No fancy leaps -- well unless you count Luke punching someone hard enough that they fly through the air, or when he throws people. I guess if you are into boxing it might be somewhat interesting.
There's a lot of unnecessary filler, which draws attention away from the characters and the story.
What works? Once again the female characters are by far the best developed and interesting. Misty Knight, the black female police detective who has a photographic memory and can visualize what happened just by looking at a photograph. She's also a basketball player. There's a history behind Misty and the show teases at it. The actress portraying the character is pitch perfect, world-weary and sharp. Unlike Mike Coulter, who plays the lead, you can see everything in her eyes and the lines in her face.
Then there's Rosaria Dawson's fourth or rather third turn as Clair Temple, who is developed even further in this entry, as a potential love interest for Luke, and a confidante. She's also kick-ass, and given family members and more of a back-story.
Alfre Woodward's Mariah Dillard is far more interesting than either of the male villains surrounding her. And her back-story more layered. She doesn't want to become the person she's being yanked into becoming by her family and her drive for power.
The cast is entirely black except for four or five characters, all supporting. And a lot of the cast comes from The Wire. Which is a nice shift, although hardly a stand-out. It's being done a lot now that we have over 450 scripted series, and POC have become a major marketing demographic. If this had popped up around the time The Wire did or fifteen years prior, yeah, big deal. Now? Which tells you how much things have changed and for the better.
There's various pop cultural references scattered throughout -- that highlight the trope that the writers are examining. They are also critic and academic bait. But I liked them and thought they added nuance to the series.
What did not work, besides the pacing and constant speechifying? Diamondback is an annoying villain. And poorly developed. By the time we get a back story, it's impossible to care. Shades, on the other hand, is more interesting. As was Cottonmouth, or Cornel Stokes, who had far more layers and in some respects felt more justified. Torn apart by guilt and resentment...his is almost a tragic story. It helps of course that he's portrayed by Marshala Ali of Moonlight.
And Mike Coulter, unfortunately, is not compelling as Cage. Pretty yes. But not compelling. It's telling when the villains are more compelling than he is. I half-wished this was Misty Knight's tale and not his.
Overall? Okay. Nothing to shout about. I probably won't stick around for S2.
Rankings?
Daredevil/Jessica Jones
Iron Fist
Luke Cage