Review by Logan
Just what is it that makes Star Wars Star Wars?
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Review by Logan
Darth Wrinkles. The Abominable Snowman. A midget green alien space ninja. The biggest plot twist in cinematic history. Of all the films in the Star Wars legacy, The Empire Strikes Back had the biggest task at hand. Having introduced the concepts of the jedi and The Force in the first film, it now had to open the universe up to a much larger, more expansive world, with some pretty fantastical elements, and still leave us saying that was pretty cool. Amazingly, it’s often touted not only as a good film in the series, but some arguing that it’s the best of the series.
Review by Logan
Throughout its 13 episodes, Daredevil has morphed its way across several genres. It starts out as a crime show, turns into a drama, and ends up an action series before the very end. This episode is firmly in the lattermost category, with the most high-stakes fighting the series has seen yet.
Review by Logan
Righteousness. Evil. Justice. Corruption. These are polarities, the very sort of ideas that fuel men of passion like Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk. They also fuel men like Ben Urich, whose quest to unveil the truth about Wilson Fisk is given a substantial increase in screen time in the twelfth episode of Daredevil. But for all the show’s development on questions of morality, the thing that left most an impression on me this time around was how these polarities relate to the show’s dark tone.
Review by Logan
Daredevil has succeeded where other superhero adaptations have failed because of its stellar focus on character development. When the show looks like it’s going to descend into the simple mantra of “the good guy beating up the bad guy,” they introduce a theological discussion with a priest, or a poor Hispanic woman who becomes like family. That’s good for the show – it makes it much deeper than the simple good versus evil motif which, while worthwhile, is in danger of becoming cliche, especially given the theological backdrop for martrydom and the devil in the context of Matt Murdock’s Catholicism. But unfortunately, for all the good the slowing down to develop the conflict does, it really makes the first half of this episode almost unbearably boring.
Review by Logan
Decisions have consequences. That’s often the most overlooked aspect of real-life when it comes to works of fiction, whether in literature or on screen. We tend to see characters get away with keeping secrets, committing sin, and doing various other things that ought to land them in a heap of trouble, and yet never seem to. But as Matt Murdock discovers in ‘Nelson V. Murdock,’ his decisions do indeed have consequences that are quite unpleasant to bear.
Review by Logan
Comic book movies have quickly become the new craze. After long failing with catastrophes like Batman & Robin, Ghost Rider, and Superman Returns, the industry seems to have finally found a way to successfully adapt comics to the big screen. That has opened the door for comic books beyond the superhero fare to gain their shot at the big-time, with Neil Gaiman’s Sandman being given the green light for an adaptation and, of course, Kingsman: The Secret Service.
Originality in story structure is hard to come by these days, most especially in the superhero genre. Origin stories have been done over and over again, to the point that, for most beloved comic book characters, they become unbearably superfluous. Even when it comes to Daredevil’s story, we’ve seen it before: a boxer’s son is in an accident where chemical waste gets into his eyes. In the absence of his sight, his other senses kick up and he gets a radar sense. Then his dad is killed because of the politics behind boxing, and he vows justice Batman style.
