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Jessica Jones
Nov. 28th, 2015 08:51 pmFinished binge watching Jessica Jones - approximately 13 episodes, watched three the night before, and it was a crappy day - overcast, cold and raining. Not that I need an excuse or anything, but a great day to binge watch television on Netflix.
Jessica Jones is based on a series of Marvel Comics by Brian Micheal Bendies, who is also the writer of the X-men arc that I've been reading. He likes anti-heroes, who complicated heroes that struggle with power and the abuse of power. The series unlike most of the superhero series is noir, it's not bright colors, the heroes don't avoid killing the bad guys, and the violence isn't cartoonish. Violence in noir tends to be gritty and realistic. People stay dead. The blood stains your clothes. And you get thrown in jail. If you get thrown against a wall, you get beaten up.
And yes, it's a bit gruesome in places. Yet still not as bad as the violence on the series Gotham -- which went too far for my sensibilities.
The hero of Jessica Jones, is a female private eye, down-on-her-luck, hard-drinking, and snarky. She tried the hero bit and it did not work out well. Portrayed by Kristen Ritter, of Breaking Bad and The Bitch in Apt. 3 fame (she was the bitch in the title), the character has just the right amount of grit and vulnerability to be believable. (I wonder sometimes how much better Dollhouse and Buffy would have been if Whedon had cast Ritter over Dusku? Ritter is by far the best thing in this series.)
The supporting cast, while diverse, isn't quite as good as the cast in Daredevil. Nor for that matter is the writing - Daredevil fell into cliche a bit less. There's a few lines in this that feel like they were pulled right out of 1940s pulp comic book that had been reprinted one too many times.
That said, I rather liked David Tennant's portrayal of Jones' stalker villain, Kilgrave. He's not what you would think of - or would expect. The perfect dapper English gent, willowy, and harmless at first glance. Even sort of charming. Then he speaks, and the creep factor enters into it and ruins the effect.
The story about abuse of power, and the struggle to do the right thing against all odds. In noir, the hero struggles to do the right thing, but often falls into the abyss. Or often the right thing involves crossing a few lines...which leave deep scars. At the end of Jessica Jones, Jones is seen as a hero by the surrounding community -- albeit a reluctant one and from her perspective for all the wrong reasons. She did the right thing -- but look at the cost. And no, she doesn't end up with the guy at the end.
There's a nice cameo by Rosario Dawson, from Daredevil. And on the horizon, there will be a Luke Cage and Iron Fist mini-series, leading up to a cross-over series entitled the Defenders - pulling together Jones, Daredevil, Cage, and Iron Fist. With the next Big Bad, which Trish Walker is investigating, being IGH. The organization that did testing and experiments - creating Cage and Jones superpowers.
In Marvel Comics - science is the culprit more often than not. The heroes either obtain their super-powers by accident (science experiment gone haywire), as a deliberate experiment (super-solider), or
a side-effect of some scientific mistake (mutations via atomic bomb or gamma rays). Sometimes it's aliens experimenting (In-Humans). The over-arcing theme is abuse of power or the consequences of human beings playing god. Which is the case in this series.
It's a thrilling series, held my attention throughout. But it is a violent one. And gruesome in places - I watched through my fingers at times. There's a scene where a man's arms are cut-off, and another man is attempting to push his arm down a garbage disposal unit. That's pretty much as bad as it gets. Well that and the sawed off head. Avoid if graphic violence isn't your thing. However, if you've made it through Breaking Bad, Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, Sons of Anarchy, Grimm, Justified, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, and True Blood...you'll be fine.
Jessica Jones is based on a series of Marvel Comics by Brian Micheal Bendies, who is also the writer of the X-men arc that I've been reading. He likes anti-heroes, who complicated heroes that struggle with power and the abuse of power. The series unlike most of the superhero series is noir, it's not bright colors, the heroes don't avoid killing the bad guys, and the violence isn't cartoonish. Violence in noir tends to be gritty and realistic. People stay dead. The blood stains your clothes. And you get thrown in jail. If you get thrown against a wall, you get beaten up.
And yes, it's a bit gruesome in places. Yet still not as bad as the violence on the series Gotham -- which went too far for my sensibilities.
The hero of Jessica Jones, is a female private eye, down-on-her-luck, hard-drinking, and snarky. She tried the hero bit and it did not work out well. Portrayed by Kristen Ritter, of Breaking Bad and The Bitch in Apt. 3 fame (she was the bitch in the title), the character has just the right amount of grit and vulnerability to be believable. (I wonder sometimes how much better Dollhouse and Buffy would have been if Whedon had cast Ritter over Dusku? Ritter is by far the best thing in this series.)
The supporting cast, while diverse, isn't quite as good as the cast in Daredevil. Nor for that matter is the writing - Daredevil fell into cliche a bit less. There's a few lines in this that feel like they were pulled right out of 1940s pulp comic book that had been reprinted one too many times.
That said, I rather liked David Tennant's portrayal of Jones' stalker villain, Kilgrave. He's not what you would think of - or would expect. The perfect dapper English gent, willowy, and harmless at first glance. Even sort of charming. Then he speaks, and the creep factor enters into it and ruins the effect.
The story about abuse of power, and the struggle to do the right thing against all odds. In noir, the hero struggles to do the right thing, but often falls into the abyss. Or often the right thing involves crossing a few lines...which leave deep scars. At the end of Jessica Jones, Jones is seen as a hero by the surrounding community -- albeit a reluctant one and from her perspective for all the wrong reasons. She did the right thing -- but look at the cost. And no, she doesn't end up with the guy at the end.
There's a nice cameo by Rosario Dawson, from Daredevil. And on the horizon, there will be a Luke Cage and Iron Fist mini-series, leading up to a cross-over series entitled the Defenders - pulling together Jones, Daredevil, Cage, and Iron Fist. With the next Big Bad, which Trish Walker is investigating, being IGH. The organization that did testing and experiments - creating Cage and Jones superpowers.
In Marvel Comics - science is the culprit more often than not. The heroes either obtain their super-powers by accident (science experiment gone haywire), as a deliberate experiment (super-solider), or
a side-effect of some scientific mistake (mutations via atomic bomb or gamma rays). Sometimes it's aliens experimenting (In-Humans). The over-arcing theme is abuse of power or the consequences of human beings playing god. Which is the case in this series.
It's a thrilling series, held my attention throughout. But it is a violent one. And gruesome in places - I watched through my fingers at times. There's a scene where a man's arms are cut-off, and another man is attempting to push his arm down a garbage disposal unit. That's pretty much as bad as it gets. Well that and the sawed off head. Avoid if graphic violence isn't your thing. However, if you've made it through Breaking Bad, Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, Sons of Anarchy, Grimm, Justified, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, and True Blood...you'll be fine.