JESSICA JONES SEASON 1 (2015)
ACTION / CRIME / DRAMA
CREATOR - MELISSA ROSENBERG
STARRING - KRYSTEN RITTER, RACHAEL TAYLOR
FOR FANS OF - ANY COMIC BOOK TV SHOWS
MY RATING - 9 / 10
After the runaway smash hit that was Daredevil, Marvel Studios wasted no time in announcing their next Netflix series Jessica Jones. Jessica Who? Most of you may have thought. Well, I have to admit, I was one of those people asking that question, I class myself as a pretty hardcore comic book nerd, but I had never come across or read any books containing this character. A quick wiki search and I found all I needed to know there and then.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered this character was created by one of my favourite comic book writers Brian Michael Bendis! I found myself much more excited for this series than I originally was. However, upon finding out that this show is based around what happens AFTER Ms Jones hangs up the superhero costume, trading it in for civilian clothes, a bottle of whisky and a boring job as a PI, I was pretty underwhelmed at this idea.
"But how is this gonna be a cool superhero show if she's not showing off her cool superhero powers and saving people whilst wearing a sweet costume?" I naively thought. Oh, how wrong I was. This show broke boundaries, and completely turned the "superhero" genre on it's head. To be completely honest, this blew me away.
This show was a crime thriller first and superhero drama second. The clever thing about the writing in this show was the fact that a lot of the main characters had superpowers but this was almost incidental to the plot. Jessica is a PI that just so happens to have super strength. Luke Cage is a bar owner, that just so happens to have impenetrable skin. Seeing these super powered folk just trying to live normal lives was a welcome and fresh take on the genre.
The first few episodes were...shall we say...intense!
ACTION / CRIME / DRAMA
CREATOR - MELISSA ROSENBERG
STARRING - KRYSTEN RITTER, RACHAEL TAYLOR
FOR FANS OF - ANY COMIC BOOK TV SHOWS
MY RATING - 9 / 10
After the runaway smash hit that was Daredevil, Marvel Studios wasted no time in announcing their next Netflix series Jessica Jones. Jessica Who? Most of you may have thought. Well, I have to admit, I was one of those people asking that question, I class myself as a pretty hardcore comic book nerd, but I had never come across or read any books containing this character. A quick wiki search and I found all I needed to know there and then.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered this character was created by one of my favourite comic book writers Brian Michael Bendis! I found myself much more excited for this series than I originally was. However, upon finding out that this show is based around what happens AFTER Ms Jones hangs up the superhero costume, trading it in for civilian clothes, a bottle of whisky and a boring job as a PI, I was pretty underwhelmed at this idea.
"But how is this gonna be a cool superhero show if she's not showing off her cool superhero powers and saving people whilst wearing a sweet costume?" I naively thought. Oh, how wrong I was. This show broke boundaries, and completely turned the "superhero" genre on it's head. To be completely honest, this blew me away.
This show was a crime thriller first and superhero drama second. The clever thing about the writing in this show was the fact that a lot of the main characters had superpowers but this was almost incidental to the plot. Jessica is a PI that just so happens to have super strength. Luke Cage is a bar owner, that just so happens to have impenetrable skin. Seeing these super powered folk just trying to live normal lives was a welcome and fresh take on the genre.
The first few episodes were...shall we say...intense!
Blood, sex and booze are the main themes on offer here.
The show really sets the tone for the kind of ride we are in for whilst also setting it apart from anything we have seen before. This is a completely different experience than you got with Daredevil. It becomes quickly apparent that binge watching this series isn't going to be an option as at the ending of each episode, you are left feeling disturbed, dirty, and exhausted! I personally couldn't bring myself to watch more than 2 episodes in a row. It was just so emotionally draining and intense! There was rarely an episode that didn't have me shouting at the TV or gasping in shock. I really got involved with this one, and loved every twist and turn in the plot.
The main thing that sold me was the acting, especially from the star of the show Krysten Ritter. She is just fantastic. Her performance is so believable, you can't take your eyes off her. One of the things I loved the most about the first half of the season was the way in which they introduced the villain, my favourite character in the show, Kilgrave (AKA Purple Man in the comics). Played by the brilliant David Tennant his character is without a doubt the sickest most terrifying villain introduced so far into the MCU. He may look like a normal guy in this series and not have purple skin like he does in the comics. But the most frightening thing isn't what he looks like, it's what he is capable of. That is truly terrifying and disturbing, and makes you fear this maniac more than any of Marvel's heavy hitters so far. This show is a psychological rollercoaster, with Kilgrave at the helm. And it's all thanks to David Tennant's performance. It is fucking phenomenal. I loved the way they dressed him in purple clothes for most of the time, as a nod to the source material. There was a scene in the final episode (see below) that even showed his face morph for a split second into something straight from the comic books! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me at first. It was very cleverly done.
The show really sets the tone for the kind of ride we are in for whilst also setting it apart from anything we have seen before. This is a completely different experience than you got with Daredevil. It becomes quickly apparent that binge watching this series isn't going to be an option as at the ending of each episode, you are left feeling disturbed, dirty, and exhausted! I personally couldn't bring myself to watch more than 2 episodes in a row. It was just so emotionally draining and intense! There was rarely an episode that didn't have me shouting at the TV or gasping in shock. I really got involved with this one, and loved every twist and turn in the plot.
The main thing that sold me was the acting, especially from the star of the show Krysten Ritter. She is just fantastic. Her performance is so believable, you can't take your eyes off her. One of the things I loved the most about the first half of the season was the way in which they introduced the villain, my favourite character in the show, Kilgrave (AKA Purple Man in the comics). Played by the brilliant David Tennant his character is without a doubt the sickest most terrifying villain introduced so far into the MCU. He may look like a normal guy in this series and not have purple skin like he does in the comics. But the most frightening thing isn't what he looks like, it's what he is capable of. That is truly terrifying and disturbing, and makes you fear this maniac more than any of Marvel's heavy hitters so far. This show is a psychological rollercoaster, with Kilgrave at the helm. And it's all thanks to David Tennant's performance. It is fucking phenomenal. I loved the way they dressed him in purple clothes for most of the time, as a nod to the source material. There was a scene in the final episode (see below) that even showed his face morph for a split second into something straight from the comic books! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me at first. It was very cleverly done.
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The only criticism I have about the show is that towards the end of the season the pacing felt a little off. There seemed to be a lot of characters, plots and even whole episodes that didn't really seem necessary. It almost felt like they were making it up as they went along, trying to tie up loose ends that they hadn't planned on. The ending was rather odd and something I didn't see coming. I wouldn't go so far as saying that it was unfulfilling, but it definitely left a strange taste in the mouth. On a whole though I thoroughly enjoyed this headfuck of a show and would recommend it not only to comic book fans, but anyone interested in psychological crime dramas and thrillers.
- Chris Wakefield
Twitter - @chriswakefield0
- Chris Wakefield
Twitter - @chriswakefield0