Luke Cage

For this week, I actually decided to watch a tv show instead of a movie. Being a huge comic book fan (admittedly far more of a DC fan than Marvel though), I knew it was only a matter of time before I really cracked into the Marvel Netflix shows. The only one I have seen is Daredevil and, quite frankly, I've only seen four or five episodes. So, of the other Marvel Netflix shows (The Punisher, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, The Defenders), I decided to go with Luke Cage. Luke Cage is an adaptation of the Marvel Comics character Luke Cage (obviously), a man who is almost completely indestructible.
The first thing I have to say is that Netflix and Marvel deserve mad props just for the pilot episode alone. The Luke Cage character in the comics quite frankly kind of sucks. He's bland and generic with very few good stories and even fewer good villains. Somehow, the show makes Cage likable and very charismatic. Of course, much of the appreciation here must also go to actor Mike Coulter, who previously had only popped up in small supporting roles in films such as Million Dollar Baby, Zero Dark Thirty, and Men in Black 3. Coulter is likable, fun, and just downright badass. It's made pretty clear that Cage is a lady's man with a character saying that some people just have "it," and Cage has that it factor. It's one of those things where the show does a great job of displaying that Cage is definitely a lady's man and it isn't just exposition that never is backed up. Additionally, Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) is terrific as Cornell 'Cottonmouth' Stokes, one of two big bads in the show and arguably the main antagonist. Like Cage, Cottonmouth is a sucky comic book villain. To put it in perspective, Cottonmouth was a primary villain for the "hero" Power Man (Don't expect this guy to pop up in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie anytime soon). Once again like Cage, he actually is really awesome here. Ali does a great job of making the character charismatic while also coming off as intimidating.
Another strength to the show is its tone and style. Luke Cage, while gritty like Daredevil, does feel different, mainly due to the large amounts of African American culture that the show uses, such as a soundtrack the features a lot of R&B music. The Daredevil show felt more like a Batman movie, sort of gothic and definitely more of a crime mystery, where as Luke Cage is an urban crime show with a good sense of humor. Just from watching the pilot, I think the higher ups that work on the Marvel movies really need to take notice. The major issue that has plagued the Marvel films ever since Iron Man 2 is that they all feel exactly the same. Even the best of these films still feel no different from the others. The movies have a formula that is safe and requires no risks, guaranteeing an at least decent movie, however this has also set a ceiling for these movies. With how the Marvel films work, they will never make a Logan (While based on Marvel comics, X-Men movies are made by Twentieth Century Fox), they will never make a Spider-Man 2 (The 2004 version), They will never make a Richard Donner Superman film, and they will most certainly never in a million years make a Dark Knight movie, nor even come close. These tv shows, however, can redefine the superhero genre and become more than just great superhero shows. Isn't that what it's all about? Taking risks to try and constantly set the bar higher? Sure the new wave of DC movies haven't all been overly well received, but they also made Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is only fourth DC Extended Universe film and, in my opinion, is already quality wise better than every film the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever released since this new continuity franchise began with 2008's Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. Much like the DC Extended Universe, Marvel's Netflix shows haven't all been hits with Iron Fist being universally panned. That said, Daredevil is terrific, and just don't just take my word for it. Both seasons of Daredevil as well as Jessica Jones and Luke Cage have received almost universal praise. While of course much of this has to do with qualities such as writing and acting, it also has to do with each having unique tones and styles. In fact, Luke Cage's style and tone aren't just good, they're great and are characters in and of themselves. They set the mood and scene perfectly, helping immerse the viewer into the show seamlessly.
While I personally don't think directing is quite as important with tv shows as it is movies, great directing regardless produces great results. The pilot is directed by veteran Paul McGuigan, who, along with cinematographer Manuel Billeter, craft a beautiful looking show complete with great color uses and impressive camerawork. The work these two do really is cinema level and not just average cinema level but great cinema level. It's clear that Marvel and Netflix allowed McGuigan to fully craft the pilot how he wanted which evidently paid dividends in the end.
The final thing I quickly want to mention here is the humor. Similar with what I mentioned above about tone, Marvel films ALL have the same humor, humor that, quite frankly, does not work. Aside from the first Iron Man, the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and parts of the second Guardians and Spider-Man: Homecoming, the humor in Marvel films is really childish and destroys the mood of the scene (by the way, 3 and 2 half films out of 17 isn't a great percentage). For instance, Captain America: Civil War is supposed to be a devastating movie and plenty of times is. However, Marvel still decided to throw in a lot of pointless, unfunny jokes. The only humor in the film should have been generated by Spider-Man and Ant-Man, however the film still gave jokes to almost every other character. The humor I think definitely took the movie from being a great movie to being just a great comic book movie and yes there is a huge difference. The humor used in Luke Cage is funny, but it fits with the tone as the humor is witty and adult, much like the rest of the show. Also, the humor is used sparsely and never used in a scene that is meant to be tense, dramatic, or sad. Unlike the Marvel movies, the show actually treats the audience as mature and realizes that not every scene needs to be happy go lucky.
In the end, I definitely recommend checking out Luke Cage. If you aren't into superheroes, that's ok. While he's a hero, he's far from a tradition superhero, which I think is both great and smart. I definitely plan on finishing the season by the end of Thanksgiving break.