Is 'The Defenders' Any Good? Here's What The Reviews Say
Netflix green-lit four hero-focused Marvel shows and a crossover series before they even had the roles cast — now the story that began two years and five seasons ago has come to a climax. The Defenders, available to stream today, unites Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Matt "Daredevil" Murdock and Danny "please like 'Iron Fist'" Rand in a Manhattan-bound "Avengers." Is it worth a binge? Here's what the reviews say:
You Don't Need To Have Seen Every Show To Follow Along
Even if viewers haven't seen any of the other Marvel-Netflix shows, "The Defenders" will bring them up to speed, an exposition-heavy process that can sometimes give the proceedings a rote feel. Each superhero's core traits are reinforced in separate storylines in the first few episodes, and many characters from each show's supporting cast also put in appearances, which packs the drama with a crowded array of faces. But the fact that "The Defenders," at least in the early going, switches frequently among its lead characters gives it a pleasing sense of momentum, a quality that can be difficult to find in the opening hours of other Marvel (or Netflix) drama series.
[Variety]
Look, you don't need to have watched Iron Fist to enjoy the brisk, brawling silliness of The Defenders, a team-up adventure that's something like a surprising return on an investment you thought had soured.
(Of course, if you want to watch everything Marvel, we've got a helpful order here for you.)
Fans Of The Previous Shows Should Be Pleased, Even If The Team-Up Feels A Little Rote
The series matches tone and genre to its four protagonists eerily well, and then switches deftly between them, mimicking Jessica Jones' tension-inducing camera work and Luke Cage's musical motifs with real skill. The Defenders doesn't feel like four characters guest-starring in each others' stories, nor does it feel like the four of them taking lead in a fifth, original production. It feels like all four shows coming together, not just in terms of narrative, but visually and audibly.
[Polygon]
Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, the best of these series, thrived on mood, personality and atmosphere rather than story – both seemed to run out of plot before the debut season was up. But both characters remain credible full-fledged humans here. Ritter and Colter carry themselves with a protective emotional armor over their private grief and trauma; in his quieter, moodier way, so does Cox as Murdock. They've survived crippling pain – that's what makes them dangerous.
"The Defenders" is loaded with familiar faces in an attempt to keep fans of the first four series as happy as possible just from the joy of being reunited with characters they've loved in the past[…] I realized watching "The Defenders" how little depth there is to all of this, and how much seeing these recurring characters didn't feel like world-building as much as it did fan service. There's a crucial difference.
The Show Definitely Knows Danny Rand Is Annoying
Cage, Jones and Murdock all seem like haunted adults who've endured some serious shit; they have apparently let their barista tag along as part of his gap-year Outward Bound course for aspiring alienated kung-fu masters. It could have been titled Three and a Half Superheroes, though that would be too kind. As the mentor of Daredevil, Scott Glenn's Stick says, "The Immortal Iron Fist, protector of the sacred realm, is still a thundering dumbass."
Many of the complaints critics and viewers had about Iron Fist work their way into the dialogue, including the privilege he isn't aware he's constantly benefiting from and asserting. At times, the criticism is shoehorned into the conversation; at others, it deals a more devastating blow than Danny's glowing fist.
Sigourney Weaver Is Another Great Netflix Marvel Villain
The plot is the purest Marvel hokum, this time involving the Hand, a secret order of immortal ninja assassins ruled in part by a real-life immortal Sigourney Weaver, whose height and power give her the edge in all her scenes, no matter how much beefcake she's surrounded with. Sleeveless at 67, and still more intimidating than any superpower an f/x department might conjure up, Weaver quickly establishes her character — indomitable CEO Alexandra — as possessed of both a quiet ferocity and surprising, misplaced tenderness.
As she always does no matter how outlandish the premise of her latest project, Weaver plays things straight and with abundant screen presence; the only downside is that — like Vincent D'Onfrio as the Kingpin on Daredevil — she tends to pretty badly overshadow the leads when they're together.
[UPROXX]
Getting a genuine movie star to make a TV series was a coup for Marvel, and "The Defenders" is generally smart about how it uses Weaver's ability to combine silky, intelligent charisma with intense tenacity. Her character, Alexandra, is believable as an accomplished New York City power player and also as someone much more malevolent than she first appears.
[Variety]
The Fights Are Fun When They Actually, Y'Know, Happen
Martial artistry remains the dominant fighting style (with Jessica Jones lamenting, "am I the only one left who doesn't know karate?"), but don't let the recent trailers fool you into thinking the show is action-packed. There are good sequences, but they are scattered.
[Collider]
The ninjas dance and whirl about sewers and boardrooms, but then crash into Cage, that one-man wall, while Jones chucks pieces of city at them — and lashes them with cutting remarks. Cage proves more into the idea of a team-up than she does, but together these two skeptics ground all the mystic ninja business and handily save the series. Their finding it all ridiculous makes it all that much easier to swallow.
Even Though It's Shorter, 'The Defenders' Inherits The Pacing Issues Of Its Predecessors
If you were hoping that The Defenders, with its short 8-episode run, would rectify some of the issues of the solo series regarding pacing and narrative choices, it does not. But like in those series, there are still things to enjoy.
[Collider]
The economical use of exposition and improved pacing are signs that Marvel Studios and Netflix have been taking notes on the solo series, which have notoriously been light on plot and meandered toward their conclusions. Those issues haven't been totally resolved; even with just eight episodes, showrunners Marco Ramirez and Douglas Petrie still manage to dawdle.
The early episodes have some obligation to both re-establish what each character is about — and to introduce them to any potential viewer who didn't watch all the previous shows — and to set up the arc of the season, involving the Hand, a group of evil, immortal ninjas who have been villains on both Daredevil and Iron Fist. But those hours feel so much more sluggish than the later scenes featuring two or more of the heroes, as if even Petrie and Ramirez really only got excited once they got to put people together.
[UPROXX]
TL;DR
The Defenders is far from perfect. But it's an enjoyable superhero adventure distinguished by improvements and innovations that I hope Marvel will carry forward. Shorter seasons. More team-ups. Fewer shows.
Watch The Trailer
Check out our review roundups for 'Iron Fist' Season 1, 'Luke Cage' Season 1, 'Daredevil' Season 2 and our up-to-date Marvel Cinematic Universe guide from our 'Fan Service' series.
