Marvel's The Defenders

Not able to achieve the (expensive) scope of, say, an all-out, multi-pronged Avengers melee, the group fights aren’t nearly as grand but enjoyable in their own right. But again, just as when the Avengers first assembled, much of the joy here is seeing disparate personalities get to know each other and reluctantly embrace the T-word--team.

Overall, The Defenders runs leaner and meaner (more on that in a bit) than any other Netflix Marvel show. Even under the lingering shadows, the first episode feels downright breezy at times.

The images are sharper and more inspired, the dialogue is wittier, and the pace is breezier than the usual Marvel-Netflix escapade. Kudos to showrunners Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez--the team behind the disappointing second season of Daredevil--for upping their own game, honoring the best parts of every series, and elevating the franchise.

Though Marvel’s The Defenders is and will continue to be arcane, it’s also thoroughly engaging, almost entirely thanks to its cast.

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.

The ultimate weakness of The Defenders is found in its plotting, especially the way it indulges in one massive superhero storytelling cliche towards the end. But when the show focuses on character, it’s at its best, especially when the secondary characters,--the women!--get a chance at the spotlight.

A little clunky at times, but otherwise all is well here, thanks especially to Alexandra [Reid (Sigourney Weaver)].

Some of the mystical stuff in The Defenders remains just that: mystical. But after a couple of episodes, and a couple of fights that resemble high-tech barroom brawls, viewers will get the rhythm of the story.

Together, they’re a riot. Both their heroic vulnerabilities and the franchise’s weaknesses are superseded by the collective and the joy of watching a super-sensed, ultra-strong, bulletproof, luminous fist-wielding foursome smash soulless corporate henchmen into smithereens.

Some eye-rolly writing drags down even the best parts of The Defenders, which is partly the fault of the writers of course but also partly due to the wholly weak comic DNA, where obvious shows of emotion and declarative sentences dipped in gooey cheese are part of the deal. And yet, despite all of that, The Defenders morphs into a likeable and enjoyable collaboration by the third episode.

The Defenders manages to overcome Rand’s initially central role in this plot by leaping between the narratives of his more compelling teammates without spending an excessive amount of exposition on their backstories. Ritter, Colter and Cox are still wonderful in their roles, though some may miss the wit that pervaded “Jessica Jones” and the first season of “Daredevil.”

It’s a fine superhero adventure even if you don’t know all the characters. Just go with it. It may not be super, but it gets in its hits.

The Defenders isn’t as sharp and powerful as “Jessica Jones,” as deep as Season 1 of “Daredevil” or as stylized as “Luke Cage,” but it does the job as a holdover until these flawed heroes return with follow-up seasons.

The product of meticulous planning, Marvel's The Defenders starts slowly but rewards patience, gradually uniting its "street level" heroes against a somewhat amorphous but bigger-than-any-one-can-handle threat.