Luke Cage (spoiler free) review – do Netflix and Marvel work together well?

Luke Cage (spoiler free) review – do Netflix and Marvel work together well?

12th October 2016 Off By Cameron Mitchell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytkjQvSk2VA

The series takes place in Harlem, New York, where a troubled Luke Cage is starting his life over. The peace ends when local happenings draw him out from the crowd, making him feel like he has to take things into his own hands and restore peace to Harlem.

The creator of the series, Cheo Hodari Coker, has worked on two previous productions (Lowrider and Notorious) and he’s taken influence from both, one of which being the actor Theo Rossi, who plays Shades. This connection with the actor and seeing his performance in his other productions made him the prime candidate to become the famous sunglasses lover.

Another element that Choker has taken from past productions is idealism. There’s a photo hung up in one of the backgrounds in the episode of Christopher Biggie Wallace, the Notorious B.I.G from the film Notorious. One of the characters tries to make a point by explaining how Christopher Biggie Wallace got to the top to become a ‘King’.

lukecage

via Giphy

With regards to the series bringing the characters to life and making the story believable, I was drawn in almost immediately. The series in a sense plays out like a film with a beginning, middle and end. I think this makes it easier to follow as it’s given the structure of a film but instead of one massive chunk of information at once it’s given over episodes or days at a time. The script suits each character perfectly and doesn’t make you question the character’s motives at any time because you expect them to say what they’re saying and act how they do. With regards to action in the story, I wasn’t disappointed.

Luke Cage is a force to be reckoned with, but his character doesn’t want to always show that, he literally says “I’m not a superhero”. The drama to action ratio is perfect in my opinion. The drama leads up to the action and when the action starts and finishes you go through the build up again because it’s choreographed so well.

Last but not least the acting is second to none. The actors do an amazing job to bring their assigned comic book character to life. The actor who plays Luke Cage (Mike Colter) couldn’t have been better casted to play the role. His personality and skill shone through his character, he really brought life to a 2D comic book character.

The supporting actors are what make the story and complete this section of the Marvel cinematic universe. The character development is subtle yet obvious at the time it needs to be and that’s why I recommend to watch Luke Cage yourself, give your own opinion to what is one of my favourite episodic TV series that I have watched in a long time.