Netflix Luke Cage Review (Spoilers allowed now :))

Okay I've just watched the series and wanted to gather your thoughts.

First thing to note is that this is not the Luke Cage of the comics. How he gets his powers is similar but modified and the characters are reimagined, this Luke is a lot more loquacious than the strong silent type of the comic and notably Not a Harlem native. Thats noteworthy as this story is very much about Harlem - a commentary on the nature of Blackness in modern America, so much so that its mix of Hip-Hop sensibilities, Black History and Bulletproof Blackman sometimes dominated the superhero story which was also being told.

Thats one of the hurdles of this story, it mixes its Black History with Origin Stories of the protagonist,Pops Harlem, Luke trying to live a normal life in extraordinary circumstances, the family/political drama between Cottonmouth and Mariah, the Misty Knights Police procedural and the debate between Superheroics and Vigilantism and doing right as a Black Man in a system that doesn't want you >Yo *FIST* Yo<.

For the first few episodes of the series, these weave and flow and I was satisfied. The acting is good and the story a lot more hopeful than the angst ridden Jessica Jones and sanguine grimness of Daredevil. Having already met Luke Cage was advantageous as we could dive more in to what he was doing as well as having time to get a lot of fun Easter-egg references.

However the second phase quickly began to drag and unravel. They introduce another villain (spoiler) who is too similar to Cottonmouth and given far too much to do. I personally would have dropped Cottonmouth from the story or at least given the second villain a more focused role as 'comic-book assasin/terrorist'

It makes me think that the 13 episode structure Netflix is imposing on these shows is too long and they should instead be confining them down to 10 episodes to get tighter narratives.

ANYWAY
I liked Luke Cage and Shades too (he gave me a Victor Zsasz vibe), and (SPOILER) I really liked the arc they gave to Night Nurse*. Also the set up for the Defenders was cool

Black Mariah was maybe a bit too understated for my liking and the other villains too predictable to the point of being cartoonish

*thats not a spoiler is it, we all knew she was gonna be in the show

So what do you all think?

Only into the second episode as I type this. So far it's coming off as a more positive version of the "Blackspoitation" movies I remember from the late '60s and the '70s. I'm enjoying it so far.

My biggest question is how a 53 year old white boy like me immediately recognized a picture of Biggie Smalls.

I'm five episodes in and it is boring. It isn't terrible and I can't pin point a really bad thing. It is just meh.

Maybe it will pick up later on with some worth wild stakes or feel Cage is in danger at some point.

It will be a couple weeks before I get around to it.

It is the best thing Marvel has done in the MCU, at least since Avengers. Maybe since 1st Iron Man, maybe at all.

the use of live music (Long Live The Chief!), the genuine dialogue, the way Harlem itself is a character in the show, the total lack of respectability politics, the freaking amazing cast...it's just...one of the best shows I've watched in years.

doctorbadwolf said:

It is the best thing Marvel has done in the MCU, at least since Avengers. Maybe since 1st Iron Man, maybe at all.

the use of live music (Long Live The Chief!), the genuine dialogue, the way Harlem itself is a character in the show, the total lack of respectability politics, the freaking amazing cast...it's just...one of the best shows I've watched in years.

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A friend pointed out something about that cast, which I hadn't considered, and it's likely part of why this show seems to work so well. It also seems to apply to the other Netflix Marvel shows. While the majority of the cast could be called attractive, very few of them present with that Hollywood pretty-pretty appearance. They're believable as people you might see on the streets.

Ryujin said:

A friend pointed out something about that cast, which I hadn't considered, and it's likely part of why this show seems to work so well. It also seems to apply to the other Netflix Marvel shows. While the majority of the cast could be called attractive, very few of them present with that Hollywood pretty-pretty appearance. They're believable as people you might see on the streets.

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Sure, it helps that no one looks airbrushed to "perfection" in these shows, but that's true of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, and I don't think either reaches the same level of excellence as Luke Cage. They're great, but LC is something altogether different, IMO. I think a big part of it is the music, lighting, and these actors, and the way it is just such a genuine story, in spite of the superhero stuff.

doctorbadwolf said:

It is the best thing Marvel has done in the MCU, at least since Avengers. Maybe since 1st Iron Man, maybe at all.

the use of live music (Long Live The Chief!), the genuine dialogue, the way Harlem itself is a character in the show, the total lack of respectability politics, the freaking amazing cast...it's just...one of the best shows I've watched in years.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't say it's the best thing Marvel has done, but I'll agree that the use of live music (Long Live The Chief), was amazing. I had not heard that song before, and after hearing it, I had to go look it up. They had a lot of good music. The dialogue was good, but there were instances where it just seemed a bit forced.

I liked the show for the most part. I wasn't a fan of some of the slang being used. It was very 60s/70s type slang. I get that Luke Cage comes from the blacksploitation genre, but they set it in modern day Harlem. Maybe that kind of slang is still used in Harlem, or some parts of Harlem, but as someone who doesn't have that level of familiarity, it felt a bit odd and out of place to me.

Some of the characters also felt a bit out of place. They felt as if they would fit well in a blacksploitation film, but just didn't feel right in a modern day setting. At times it kind of felt like I was watching a serious version of I'm Gonna Git You Sucka that didn't know it was supposed to be funny. Fortunately that wasn't very often.

I liked it. I may not have liked it as much as Daredevil (haven't watch Jessica Jones), but Luke Cage was a pretty good show. I'm curious to see how next season goes.

Homicidal_Squirrel said:

I wouldn't say it's the best thing Marvel has done, but I'll agree that the use of live music (Long Live The Chief), was amazing. I had not heard that song before, and after hearing it, I had to go look it up. They had a lot of good music. The dialogue was good, but there were instances where it just seemed a bit forced.

I liked the show for the most part. I wasn't a fan of some of the slang being used. It was very 60s/70s type slang. I get that Luke Cage comes from the blacksploitation genre, but they set it in modern day Harlem. Maybe that kind of slang is still used in Harlem, or some parts of Harlem, but as someone who doesn't have that level of familiarity, it felt a bit odd and out of place to me.

Some of the characters also felt a bit out of place. They felt as if they would fit well in a blacksploitation film, but just didn't feel right in a modern day setting. At times it kind of felt like I was watching a serious version of I'm Gonna Git You Sucka that didn't know it was supposed to be funny. Fortunately that wasn't very often.

I liked it. I may not have liked it as much as Daredevil (haven't watch Jessica Jones), but Luke Cage was a pretty good show. I'm curious to see how next season goes.

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Lol we know different ppl. The slang was spot on, for me. I thought the show did a great job of making he slang and general mannerism generational. I'm neither Black nor from Harlem, but the show feels right to me based on the people I'm close with, and the predominantly Black neighborhoods Ive lived and worked in, so I think it's a just a matter of experience on that part.

doctorbadwolf said:

Sure, it helps that no one looks airbrushed to "perfection" in these shows, but that's true of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, and I don't think either reaches the same level of excellence as Luke Cage. They're great, but LC is something altogether different, IMO. I think a big part of it is the music, lighting, and these actors, and the way it is just such a genuine story, in spite of the superhero stuff.

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I'd say that, over time, they're getting a much better handle on this style of story presentation.