Luke Cage S01E01 Review
Marvel has done it again. After the successes of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, the third installment of the Marvel Television Universe on Netflix has debuted to some impressive numbers. The hype train has been out in full force for well over a year as the huddled masses of Marvel fans have patiently, and not so patiently, awaited the coming of a beloved C-List comic book character.
Luke Cage has made appearances in the aforementioned Jessica Jones television show as well as being alluded to in the second season of Daredevil. All the little hints and clues as to what the actual Luke Cage television show would be have been dissected and gone over ad nauseum on the internet message boards. Some have said that it would be “darker and grittier” while others were hoping for the feel of the Cinematic Universe more so than the Television one that the other two aforementioned shows have given so far.
Marvel’s Luke Cage gets high marks for choice of director for the first episode. With movies such as Push and Lucky Number Slevin under his belt, Paul McGuigan is one of my favorite movie turned television directors. His style is extremely evident throughout the throwback feel of this episode and the choices made for shots and framing are very reminiscent of early Blaxploitation films without feeling overt or too politically incorrect. The soundtrack of the show is spot on as well with great tracks littered throughout the episode.
The timeline of the show is a little muddled if you haven’t seen all of Jessica Jones but for those fans that are up to date with all things Marvel, they will be able to figure it out very quickly. And for those that don’t know the timeline, it isn’t even remotely relevant.
All in all, this first episode is exactly what you want from a first episode of a brand new show, it gives you a taste of what you can expect but doesn’t spell anything out. It lets the viewer decide if they want to continue watching but I can tell you this, I will without a doubt finish this series and wait with bated breath for Season 2 to start.
