The First Wave Of Reviews For Marvel And Netflix's THE DEFENDERS Are In, And They're Decidedly Mixed
Though the premiere of The Defenders was met with a positive response when it screened at SDCC, the critic reviews for the first four episodes of the show paint a slightly different picture. Take a look...
The first installment of The Defenders screened at SDCC over the weekend to a mostly positive response and the new trailer went down very well, but now the review are in for the first 4 episodes of the show, and they definitely seem to be more mixed.
Though there's almost unanimous praise for the four heroes themselves (yes, even Iron Fist), the main complaints seem to be that the story simply isn't strong enough to suck viewers in, and it's too much of a slow-burn. This is an issue that's plagued the previous Netflix Marvel shows, but most of us assumed The Defenders would benefit from the shorter season and resist spreading the narrative too thinly. Apparently not.
Keep in mind, though, that this is just the first half of the season we're talking about so things may improve significantly in the final 4 eps. Have a read through some excerpts below, and be sure to share your thoughts in the usual place.
Collider:
There’s just not enough of it to start, and it takes too long for them to team-up. If you thought Defenders would be a culminating chapter to the other Netflix Marvel series so far, think again. So far it feels like another prelude, and it makes one wonder if we’ll ever get to the main event.
Empire:
Alexandra feels like yet another businessperson baddie whose dirty deeds are hidden by sharp suits, while the ongoing, vague chicanery of The Hand (like HYDRA, but ninjas) fails to ignite much excitement. Indeed, the peerless Sigourney Weaver herself seems desperately bored by it all. Even so, there is enough joy in watching the sparks fly as these four alpha characters finally collide to make you feel The Defenders might just have been worth the wait. It’s a long-anticipated crossover series that delivers some engaging character clashes, but which fails — in the first half at least — to up the ante story-wise.
NewsRains:
While the show starts as something of a slow burn, once the heroes come together, it more than lives up to the promise fans have been clamoring to see realized. It may not be the strongest Marvel Netflix series thus far (that would be a toss-up between Daredevil and Jessica Jones), but The Defenders splits the differences between its leads, creating something that even casual fans of these shows shouldn’t miss.
We Got This Covered:
Although only half of the show’s eight episodes were available for review, the indistinct plot of The Defenders thus far seems like little more than a serviceable excuse to tie all four Marvel Netflix series together, as if the writers opted to revisit previously established plotlines rather than devise a bold new threat. Perhaps this aspect of the show evolves in its latter half into something more memorable, but as it stands, the characters and not the story of The Defenders are what truly make it worth watching.
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