Geek Chorus – April 21 2015
We’re trying out a new feature on the site: The Geek Chorus. I’d like to start a weekly discussion about recent developments in the world of geekdom. These aren’t just meant to be blog posts, where I pontificate on some subject, but free-flowing conversations between all of us. I’ll get the ball rolling with some thoughts on the topic of the week, and then I’m counting on you to take it from there!
Now, the Specialists crowd is a pretty classy community, so I don’t anticipate having any problems, but I should probably make a few things crystal clear right up front. We’re going to disagree about things; that’s what will make the conversation interesting. But let’s never forget Wheaton’s Law: Don’t be a dick. It’s fine to disagree, so long as we’re civil about it. Personal attacks of any kind will never be tolerated. If you don’t like something, don’t just state that it sucks. Talk about what you don’t like about it or what you would have liked better.
In short, we’re all friends here. Let’s be friendly.
This week, I want to talk about two things, which could result in some confusing conversations, but a lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. We’ll try a more focused discussion next week, but for now, our topics are:
Marvel’s Daredevil
I’ve never been a fan of Daredevil comics, but Marvel Studios hasn’t let me down yet, so there was never any doubt that I’d watch this. And I have to say, Marvel’s winning streak remains unbroken. I loved the dark tone of this series, and the street-level scope of it. I loved the brutality of the fights, and the fact that Matt left each one battered and exhausted. And I love that the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand, encompassing different tones and formats. I can’t wait to see what they do with the rest of their Netflix series!
The new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Like most guys my age, I was a huge fan of the original Star Wars movies growing up. I saw A New Hope over a hundred times before I stopped counting. Star Wars was a huge part of my childhood. But then the Special Editions and the prequels came out and soured the whole thing. For all their technical accomplishments, the new movies just didn’t feel like Star Wars any more. When Disney bought LucasFilm, and announced a new series of movies produced without Lucas’ involvement, I was cautiously hopeful, but still skeptical. The first teaser looked cool, but didn’t sway me. But then last week, the new trailer was released, and it was like I was eight years old again. This looks like — feels like — Star Wars, and for the first time, I’m actually looking forward to seeing the new movie in December.
So, have you seen Daredevil, and if so what did you think? And what are your thoughts on the new direction of the Star Wars franchise? Let’s hear it!
(Next week, we’ll compare and contrast Marvel and DC’s approaches to their movie universes and talk about the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron and the new Batman v Superman trailer.)
I started to type my feelings on the whole Marvel/DC approach, but will leave that till next week. I’m only six episodes into DD but I’m loving it. I’ve been a DD fan for a while, so seeing characters popping up from the comic has kept me very happy. Marvel understands it’s material and plays to it’s strengths… and it’s working well.
I’m wasn’t too psyched for the other Marvel Netflix series they have lined up, but after how well they have handled Daredevil, I’m looking forward to them too.
Agreed on all counts. I wasn’t really sure what to expect out of the Netflix series. I know next to nothing about Jessica Jones, and my only knowledge of Luke Cage and Iron Fist is from old Power Man & Iron Fist comics, which were back when Luke was sporting a big afro and metal headband. But after having watched Daredevil, I can’t wait to see how the other shows turn out!
I can imagine the Luke Cage/Iron Fist being a great show. I am very excite!
I haven’t started Daredevil yet, but I intend to. I’m actually excited about Marvel taking a more “street” level approach on these Netflix series.
Star Wars… One of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. Han summed it up perfectly. “We’re home.”
The difference in scope from saving the world to saving the neighborhood gives the show a whole different feel, but in a way, it’s more… relatable, I guess? I just love that the MCU is big enough to encompass these different kinds of stories.
As cool and Star Warsy as the imagery in the first Episode 7 teaser was, I think just having those links to the original trilogy really helped to punch my nostalgia buttons. I love that this new movie is finally uniting Star Wars fandom, instead of polarizing it.
That’s true. We’ve all been so torn by the prequels. Also, this is the first trailer in a long time that I can recall is just getting universal praise. People just love it. Even friends of mine who don’t even like Star Wars all that much are like “that looks cool.”
The prequels did a lot of damage to the franchise. It certainly killed of a lot of my interest for any further Star Wars projects.
Will wait till I hear some reviews before deciding to go and see the new one.
It was a bizarre situation where the creator of the franchise was the absolute worst person to be its caretaker. It was as if Lucas didn’t understand why people loved his creation. When he started going off the rails with the Special Editions and prequels, it almost felt like a betrayal. He was taking away this thing that we loved (the fact that he stubbornly refused to make the uncut original trilogy available makes this literally true).
When Episode 1 came out, I wanted it to be good so badly that for a while I was in denial that it was a huge turd. After I realized how crappy it actually was, and after he failed to make up for it with the next two, I was pretty hesitant to get my hopes up for the new one. And it’s not that I’m completely convinced. I’m not as excited for the new Star Wars as I am for the new Avengers, for instance. But my hope for a worthy successor to the original trilogy is growing.
I think the Prequels weren’t nearly as bad as so many have claimed.
I must say that for me the superlative SW Rebels blunts the impact for me concerning the new SW #7 so far. The second season is going to be bigger than the first. Too bad Star Trek hasn’t gone this way. An excellent means of going into more detail.
I’ve only seen the first episode so far, and I liked it. I’ll have to catch up sometime!
Now Daredevil has already been picked up for a second season!
I have to agree that ‘the look’ is certainly back. Whether the storyline and dialogue is worth it remains to be seenseen but I’m cautiously optimistic. In will way this: Han Solo’s cool factor went down considerably upon seeing that he hasn’t updated his fashion sense one iota in 35 years. Dude still wearing the same clothes.
He’s like one of those guys who peaked in high school, and now he hangs around the school in his Camaro, wearing his letter jacket. 😉
As much as I loved Daredevil, I did have a few complaints. For one, it did drag in a couple of places. Karen and Ben’s investigation was a prime example of that. And I’m not in love with the red suit. I don’t hate it, but something about it just doesn’t quite work for me. I kind of like the black transitional suit better!
Also, I do really like that the show plays with some moral ambiguity, by giving Matt a bit of a dark side and making Wilson’s ultimate goal the betterment of the city. But any attempts to imply that Matt and Wilson were two sides of the same coin, or to suggest that Matt was on a slippery slope to being as bad as Wilson just didn’t work for me. Wilson was willing to flat out murder anyone who got in his way, even that’s a sweet old lady who just wants to keep her home. Matt may use extreme methods, but he only goes after criminals. He’d never do anything to endanger civilians. So that equivalency just doesn’t ring true at all.
I don’t know that they are “two sides of the same coin”, nor is there any real equivalence. They are two approaches to a similar goal – Matt’s is, “I want to reduce/eliminate crime”, Fisk’s is “I will do anything to erase the stuff that made my childhood a horror”. They both want to make Hell’s Kitchen a better place, but Fisk wants to do so by basically removing it entirely – extreme gentrification via the old, “we had to destroy the village to save it” route.
That’s what I’m saying. I don’t think that they are very much alike, but it seemed like the show was trying to imply that they were, or that they could be, if Matt wasn’t careful not to slide down a slippery slope.