Originally posted 2016-02-06 17:00:23.
Jessica Jones Series Review
Netflix Original Series
Grade: B
Synopsis (No Spoilers):
Delving deeper into the Marvel Universe we’re treated to meeting the delightful (sarcasm) Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter). A cold, rude, alcoholic personal investigator, Jones spends most of her nights chasing cheating husbands around Hell’s Kitchen.
Only requiring the slightest background in comic books or Marvel movies, Netflix does well to create a world for the casual binge-watcher.
Taking place in the same timeline and portion of the city as last year’s Daredevil series, we’re again exposed to a dark and gritty New York landscape. Drug use, poverty, and alcoholism are alive and well, and Jones does little to stop it. A reluctant hero, Jones only uses her “gifts” to suite her own narrative, as she knows first-hand what they could do if they were put in the wrong hands.
Jones squares off against her nemesis, Kilgrave (David Tennant), a mind-controlling lunatic hell-bent on torturing our anti-hero. Needing his testimony to free a “murderer,” Jones needs to take him alive; a task easier said than done when with one word you’d be under his control.
Needing help from the best and worst Hell’s Kitchen has to offer, Jones teams up with her sister Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor), her lawyer Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss), her junkie neighbor Malcolm (Eka Darville), and most notably, Luke Cage (Mike Colter), another individual “gifted” with the abilities of unbreakable skin and super strength.
Review (Minor Spoilers):
This was a unique viewing experience for me as I don’t think I’d ever even heard of Jessica Jones before the series was released. A quick glance at Wikipedia and last year’s Daredevil series was enough to ensure my viewing. Marvel’s darkest series yet, Kilgrave leaves a trail of pain in death wherever he goes. Violent deaths, emotional torture, and rape, are all part of his repertoire.
Feeling more like a supernatural version of Law and Order: SVU than a superhero show, the focus is more on finding Kilgrave than Jessica’s abilities of super strength, speed, and jumping. There are some exciting visuals, but without regularly exploiting Jessica’s powers, nothing matches the acrobatics of Daredevil.
A nod to film-noir, Jones is a booze fueled cynic who never eats and is constantly starting at the bottom of an empty liquor bottle.
To me the biggest strength of the show was it being part of the Marvel Universe. I love the idea of thinking that there are gifted individuals hiding around the country while the Avengers get all the press. I found Luke Cage to be the most compelling character in the series. His demeanor, abilities, and chemistry with Jones set the stage well for his own series to debut later in 2016.
Final Rants:
Why are all the best bad guys always British?
Do all bad guys go to the Stormtrooper School for Kids Who Can’t Shoot and Want to Learn to do Other Things Bad Too?
Can I fast-forward my life to Daredevil season 2?
