The Defenders (Part 3)

[continued from here; as with that post, this one includes:]

 ***MAJOR SPOILERS***


Just moving right along...

Danny Rand/Iron Fist (Finn Jones): So let's talk about this particular Danny Rand. I'll say it again, I think Finn Jones does an excellent job in the role. Danny Rand isn't a terribly complex character (few superheroes are), but he is a bit of a strange duck as I've written before. Yes, he's the immortal weapon of K'un Lun and he's plenty cocky about his fighting ability. He also prefers not to fight people who he clearly over-matches (like non-powered criminals), often trying to talk them out of it ("You know I was trained in the martial arts for ten years in the mystic dimension of K'un Lun...") which, of course, never works, thus requiring him to lay the beat-down. 

In some ways, he's a stunted man-child, as one might expect from his upbringing. There's a wonderful scene in an early episode when he speaks in Mandarin to the owners of a Chinese restaurant where The Defenders are hiding out, getting them to stay open by offering to float their business for six months (and making the owners throw in dinner as part of the deal). When Luke points out that Danny could be using his money rather than his fists to have real impact on injustice, Danny gives it a try...even after Colleen (rightly) points out to him that he's a warrior, not a businessman. The complexities of living an adult life in a 21st century American city are still things Rand is coming to grips with; for most of us it takes decades to accomplish (I didn't really mature until my late 20s, early 30s), and some of us never make that adjustment (my brother, for instance). Even though Danny can center his focus with meditation and harness his chi, he's only just begun his road to the kind of maturity he needs to survive like a functioning adult in a city like New York.

He's a kid. I imagine that's part of why he's always referred to as "Danny," never Dan or Daniel.

It's the same in the comic books (though, by the time of The Immortal Iron Fist series, he's mostly got his shit together...the character's existed for decades, by now). Mostly. But in the television show we're still watching these characters as they grow into their own, and even though he may feel he's ready to be a hero (or a warrior or whatever), the truth is there're a lot of areas where Danny Rand still has growing to do. And I think Jones is great at portraying that. It's just too bad the writers don't do a better job of showing his goofy, likable side, instead focusing on his frustrations and resentments with the situation of his life. I can understand why some people find the character annoying. 

As for Iron Fist's fighting style, I like the way they've done it. In his comics, especially the more recent Immortal Iron Fist series, he is drawn with an unorthodox style of long sweeping movements, fully extended legs and arms, contorting his body horizontally at times, more like a ballet dancer than a UFC fighter or centerline military HTH. It is distinctly different from other scrappy heroes of the comic universe, and I think Jones is fairly competent in his action. Others look at his wild flailing about and say, "boy, that actor sure sucks at martial arts." To me, it simply appears to be the fight choreographer's attempts to emulate the comics. The proof of course is in the character winning his fights...he must have some preternatural ability to fight like that and get away with it, right?

But that's part of the suspension of disbelief...the same thing that allows us to turn a blind eye on four heroes miraculously NOT catching a bullet when half-a-dozen automatic weapons open up in a cramped restaurant space (despite only one of them being bullet-proof). The same suspension of disbelief that makes us ignore a killer with a sword deciding to execute a kick on an unarmed opponent rather than slashing them dead. This is how Iron Fist fights...yes, even hunching up to deliver a single chi punch when his fist becomes LIKE UNTO A THING OF IRON (thanks, Stan). We've seen fight sequences in cinema, and have an idea of how we think they should look. But Iron Fist's moves aren't based on cinematic fighting alone. Like it or not, there are some comic sensibilities at work here.

[that's not to say that things won't change down the road. Observe the final battle sequence in the first cinematic Avengers film. They have Captain America doing full frontal flips while running along the tops of cars...much as he would in an 80s comic book. Later films have removed these needless, comic book acrobatics from his fight sequences. His fighting style has changed to fit the needs of cinema]

But I'll stop belaboring the point. Me liking a particular quirky show (Twin Peaks, Arrested Development, Firefly, etc.) has never stopped such shows from being cancelled.

Misty Knight (Simone Missick) and Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick), a.k.a. The Daughters of the Dragon: Also known (in the comics) as Nightwing Restorations detective agency. But I suppose you couldn't do yet another superhero detective agency, seeing as how we already have Jessica Jones. Come to think of it, that may be part of why there's no Heroes for Hire agency either. Ah, well.

I'll talk Colleen first, since hers was the larger part in the series (she was as much one of the "Defenders" as any of the big four). Remember how I praised the Iron Fist series for the way they chose to portray Wing as an interesting, complex person instead of some two-dimensional, cardboard sidekick? Well, The Defenders reduce her to pretty much a two-dimensional sidekick. I'm sure Ms. Henwick was just happy the creators haven't chosen to kill her off like her Game of Thrones character (or like Ben Urich in Daredevil). You know...to give Danny Rand some "extra motivation."

*sigh*

But even so, she must be chomping at the bit for a new run on Iron Fist. There was quite a bit of interesting stuff that was going down with Colleen's character in the first series...her relationship with her students, her relationship with Danny, her relationship with her own martial art (and the best use of that art). Of course, there was also her relationship with The Hand which (I felt) was only poorly explored in Iron Fist and in The Defenders was simply milked for a couple extra fight scenes. I found the entire Bakuto subplot to be a waste of space (and a waste of Ramon Rodriguez's talents). He just wasn't as villainous, or creepy, or scary-deadly as he needed to be. In the end, he was only there to cut Misty's arm off and even that was unnecessary...she could have lost it to the bomb explosion, similar to her comic book canon.

Yes, she finally lost it. Even as they teased us at the end of the Luke Cage series (before confirming that, yes, she would keep her arm), it was clear to me that they were going to take it from her the moment she walked into the Midland Circle building in the final episode. I saw it coming a mile away...I know they're trying to develop these characters along lines similar to their comic counterparts and being a one-armed, ex-cop is part of Misty's whole identity. The faster she gets a bionic replacement from Stark Enterprises (or the Rand Corporation or whoever), the better as far as I'm concerned. Her introduction to Colleen Wing already took waaaay too long.

But though Misty made strides from being a hard-nosed cop to hard-boiled cyborg, she still was left on the sidelines for most of The Defenders, much to my chagrin. Like Colleen, her character and subplots were downplayed (though Simone Missick is such a strong actor, she demands attention even in the few scenes she appeared). But, boy, was she watered down...especially with her being all hunky-dory about Luke's new girlfriend. I realize that the comic book history destines these two for other people (Luke for Jessica and Misty for Danny...well, for about 40 years before she moves on to Sam Wilson) so it's not a huge deal, but she was really crushing on Cage in his series, and I fully expected at least some...I don't know, antipathy? Rivalry? with Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson). 

[perhaps she's too busy to pine over "the Hero of Harlem;" perhaps she gives zero fucks because she is too busy fighting real crime as an officer of the law. That would certainly fit with the character and Missick's portrayal]

And as for The Night Nurse/Claire Temple: we did see Rosario do a lot more medic duty and a lot less ass-kicking in The Defenders...a good thing in my opinion (that whole hippocratic oath thing). But she's still a good fit and nice lynchpin for all these various Defenders of New York, and she was in on plenty of action, as well as providing Luke Cage with a serious, solid love interest.

Now let's be clear here. The Jessica Jones comic book character (to whom comic book Luke is happily married) has only been around since 2001. Luke Cage's character has existed since the 1970s. And for much of those early years, his main girlfriend/romance was with Dr. Claire Temple. She only broke up with him because she got tired of Luke putting himself in danger all the time, even while she knew (and encouraged him) to be a help to people using his abilities. The end of their relationship actually reminds me a bit of Rosario's walking out on Daredevil in his first season; apparently, she has less worries (so far) about a man who's bulletproof (even though she's now had to treat him...what? Three times?...when Luke was comatose and/or seriously injured). 

I only write this for folks who might not know the old Cage stories and who are wondering why he's with Claire when he obviously continues to have feelings for Jessica (and vice versa). This is actually the writers sticking to the character canon. And if they continue to do so, Claire may one day leave Luke and leave the door open for Jessica. So there. 

[still have absolutely no idea how the Danny of the television series will ever end up with Misty]

Anyway, in case you can't tell, I have a soft spot for these particular ladies. I would really, really like to see a Daughters of the Dragon series featuring Colleen and Misty (and Claire) at some point in the future...a little vacation from the men-folk of the Marvel Netflix Universe. However, no such series appears to be scheduled at this point...more's the pity.

Alexandra (Sigourney Weaver): I'm not going to talk about the various Hand villains any more than I already have, and these posts are already super-long and I've got other stuff to do, but I do want to finish up with "the Big Bad" of the series. I love Sigourney Weaver. I've been a fan since the Alien films and Ghostbusters and I've seen quite a few of her films over the years. I could gush over her for a paragraph or so, but most folks are familiar with her work...she's been nominated four times for Academy Awards, and she'll probably pick-up a lifetime achievement Oscar someday.

This was not a good role for Ms. Weaver. It has nothing to do with her acting chops or her ability to appear subtly menacing and powerful while still trembling with desperation at her character's impending demise...she does as much as she can with the role. It's just that the writers don't give very much for her character to do in the series. Mostly she stands around (or sits) talking. Usually quietly. Sometimes just staring, pondering her immanent doom. 

As the head of centuries-old shadow organization called The Hand...which had all sorts of crazy in previous shows that set our superheroes trembling (remember draining people of their fluids and turning them into zombie abominations?)...you'd think she'd have something more interesting to do than snipe and politic with her (suddenly all-too-frail) fellow "masterminds." 

"Alexandra" is weak...the character is weak. The bad guys are all weaksauce. She's put all her chips into Elektra (based on some "prophecy" that we never really hear anything about), clearly a loose cannon with a history of being on the other side and betraying EVERY side for her love of Daredevil. That's just suicidally stupid...and it doesn't make any sense. I'd think some Machiavellian immortal would hedge her bets at least a little...maybe have a Plan B and Plan C? Seems like that would have made more sense. Certainly more sense than turning your back on a malfunctioning weapon and going out like a chump.

I don't know, I guess I've played to much Vampire over the years with Antediluvian machinations manipulating world politics, and exerting influence over the world of darkness.

It's pretty lame. Despite having the biggest name star yet in any of these Netflix series (certainly the biggest star in a Marvel flick since Robert Redford showed up in Captain America), this has got to be the most pathetic excuse for an antagonist yet. And that's saying something when you consider the ones in the Iron Fist series. 

Look...I'm not going to write a whole bunch more on Elektra than what I wrote in my last post, but it seems to me that the showrunner(s) of The Defenders have done a major disservice to these Netflix shows. There's a LOT that could have been done with Elektra...especially given her history as an assassin for the Kingpin and her conflicts with the Hand. Clearly, the creators of the Daredevil series didn't want to retread the same ground as the Affleck film, killing the character off in a rooftop ninja fight (*sigh*). But bringing her back for this? Just to fight a few useless battles, kill Stick, and go all Godfather on the shadow mob? And then die again? What a frigging waste.

But that all goes back to the writing...again. The Defenders had some fun, and it was (mostly) fun to watch, especially as I like the characters (and the actors that portray them) so well. But a lot of the story was pretty crappy, I'm sorry to say. I look forward to better things in new seasons of Jessica Jones 2, Luke Cage 2, and (hopefully) Iron Fist 2.

All right, that's it. I'm out of words.