Marvel's latest super hero themed Netflix series "Luke Cage" stars Mike Colter as the titular character and is created by Cheo Hodari Coker. Luke Cage played by Mike Colter is an African American super hero who, after an experiment gone wrong, gains bulletproof skin and super strength. While this simple concept could have been another cliché venture into the genre, it ends up being an intelligent, thrilling, and thought provoking take on one of Marvels most over looked characters.
In the age of over-saturation of remakes, sequels, reboots, and overall in-originality; Luke Cage faced a myriad of hurdles to jump through in order to create something unique. Thankfully this show is yet another breath of fresh air for the Marvel cinematic universe. First off, the acting here is for the most part spectacular. Mike Colter, Simone Missick, Rosario Dawson, and Ron Jones portray the heroes here. Overall they share great chemistry and their characters are all wonderfully developed throughout the show. Some characters who initially did not seem to be important ended up becoming vital to the show later on in the story. This leads to great character development and characters that audiences can't help but sympathize with. On the villainous side of things Mahershala Ali, Alfre Woodard, and Theo Rossi come along to make things difficult for the heroes. These actors do a great job of portraying their characters. Although most of these actors are great, I felt that Erik LaRay Harvey 's character of Diamondback was incredibly weak. Not to particularly blame Harvey, but his acting felt extremely over the top and at times outrageous. This may be attributed to poor writing, but sometimes it just felt like Harvey was overacting. Fortunately, this simple premise is expanded upon in a way that creates a unique story. Several aspects of this story further it from others like it. One of these is the chemistry and story line interactions between Luke Cage (Mike Colter)and Mahershala Ali (Cotton Mouth). They bring a different dynamic to the super hero genre and there are times where these characters have open interactions and conversations with each other. This creates a new type of dynamic for the protagonist and antagonist roles in the genre. Also unlike many of the bigger movies in the Marvel cinematic universe like "The Avengers", "Captain America", or even the "Thor" series; This series doesn't revolve around the hero saving the world. It focuses on the street level hero who just wants to make a difference in his community. This smaller and contained setting helps the series to truly feel down to earth and realistic. Speaking of being realistic, I couldn't properly review this series without mentioning some of the modern day conflict addressed in this show. Luke Cage is a black man living in Harlem and he struggles every day with the same kind of problems that many other people face. Only Luke is bulletproof so when either crooks or cops start shooting at him, there's not a damn thing they can do to harm him. While I won't spoil anything, I will say that this premise touches on issues of police brutality and gang violence in ways many people (including myself) didn't think possible. The show honestly prides itself in the way that it tactfully provides insight into one of the biggest issues in society in modern times.
Yet another aspect that works for this show is its tone. Like I stated before this is meant to be a street level super hero, therefore not every episode has a do or die feel. Some episodes have a lighter tone that help balance out the ones that are very serious. It gives the show a great overall feel to it. Onto the action scenes, here they aren't as spectacular as say the "Daredevil" Netflix series, but they stand on their own. Many of the action scenes involve Luke being riddled with bullets while smashing everyone and everything in sight. The only downside here is that the action scenes decrease as the show goes along because once the bad guys realize they can't kill Luke, they wise up and most just stop. Another strength of the show has to be its writing. Most of the characters here are very well written and there are many interesting dialogue pieces strewn throughout the length of the show. Also thanks to the great writing many of the story lines in the show intertwine and feel cohesive by the show end. I will say however that the pacing here is very off. While I won't spoil anything I will say that the latter half of this show is far weaker than the first. This is due mainly to a weak villain that simply doesn't hold up to the rest of the standards set by the show. Unfortunately, he (along with some weak writing and absurd scenarios) drags the latter half of the season down. This isn't a major disappointment as the episodes are still great, but it feels like they never truly reach their potential. Lastly the most shocking part of Luke Cage is the soundtrack. This soundtrack is downright addicting. It's a mix of old school hip hop, jazz, and R&B that gives the show an incredibly different feel. The soundtrack here is so good that it somehow manages to make the show feel fun and exciting while not being overly pretentious. I really can't express how good this soundtrack is. Every intense event in this show is only amplified by the amazing music that plays in the background. Luke Cage delivers big when it comes to living up to the rest of the movies and shows in the Marvel cinematic universe.Ultimately, Luke Cage is a great addition to the Netflix library and it deserves to be on your list. Score: 8.5/10
In the age of over-saturation of remakes, sequels, reboots, and overall in-originality; Luke Cage faced a myriad of hurdles to jump through in order to create something unique. Thankfully this show is yet another breath of fresh air for the Marvel cinematic universe. First off, the acting here is for the most part spectacular. Mike Colter, Simone Missick, Rosario Dawson, and Ron Jones portray the heroes here. Overall they share great chemistry and their characters are all wonderfully developed throughout the show. Some characters who initially did not seem to be important ended up becoming vital to the show later on in the story. This leads to great character development and characters that audiences can't help but sympathize with. On the villainous side of things Mahershala Ali, Alfre Woodard, and Theo Rossi come along to make things difficult for the heroes. These actors do a great job of portraying their characters. Although most of these actors are great, I felt that Erik LaRay Harvey 's character of Diamondback was incredibly weak. Not to particularly blame Harvey, but his acting felt extremely over the top and at times outrageous. This may be attributed to poor writing, but sometimes it just felt like Harvey was overacting. Fortunately, this simple premise is expanded upon in a way that creates a unique story. Several aspects of this story further it from others like it. One of these is the chemistry and story line interactions between Luke Cage (Mike Colter)and Mahershala Ali (Cotton Mouth). They bring a different dynamic to the super hero genre and there are times where these characters have open interactions and conversations with each other. This creates a new type of dynamic for the protagonist and antagonist roles in the genre. Also unlike many of the bigger movies in the Marvel cinematic universe like "The Avengers", "Captain America", or even the "Thor" series; This series doesn't revolve around the hero saving the world. It focuses on the street level hero who just wants to make a difference in his community. This smaller and contained setting helps the series to truly feel down to earth and realistic. Speaking of being realistic, I couldn't properly review this series without mentioning some of the modern day conflict addressed in this show. Luke Cage is a black man living in Harlem and he struggles every day with the same kind of problems that many other people face. Only Luke is bulletproof so when either crooks or cops start shooting at him, there's not a damn thing they can do to harm him. While I won't spoil anything, I will say that this premise touches on issues of police brutality and gang violence in ways many people (including myself) didn't think possible. The show honestly prides itself in the way that it tactfully provides insight into one of the biggest issues in society in modern times.
Yet another aspect that works for this show is its tone. Like I stated before this is meant to be a street level super hero, therefore not every episode has a do or die feel. Some episodes have a lighter tone that help balance out the ones that are very serious. It gives the show a great overall feel to it. Onto the action scenes, here they aren't as spectacular as say the "Daredevil" Netflix series, but they stand on their own. Many of the action scenes involve Luke being riddled with bullets while smashing everyone and everything in sight. The only downside here is that the action scenes decrease as the show goes along because once the bad guys realize they can't kill Luke, they wise up and most just stop. Another strength of the show has to be its writing. Most of the characters here are very well written and there are many interesting dialogue pieces strewn throughout the length of the show. Also thanks to the great writing many of the story lines in the show intertwine and feel cohesive by the show end. I will say however that the pacing here is very off. While I won't spoil anything I will say that the latter half of this show is far weaker than the first. This is due mainly to a weak villain that simply doesn't hold up to the rest of the standards set by the show. Unfortunately, he (along with some weak writing and absurd scenarios) drags the latter half of the season down. This isn't a major disappointment as the episodes are still great, but it feels like they never truly reach their potential. Lastly the most shocking part of Luke Cage is the soundtrack. This soundtrack is downright addicting. It's a mix of old school hip hop, jazz, and R&B that gives the show an incredibly different feel. The soundtrack here is so good that it somehow manages to make the show feel fun and exciting while not being overly pretentious. I really can't express how good this soundtrack is. Every intense event in this show is only amplified by the amazing music that plays in the background. Luke Cage delivers big when it comes to living up to the rest of the movies and shows in the Marvel cinematic universe.Ultimately, Luke Cage is a great addition to the Netflix library and it deserves to be on your list. Score: 8.5/10
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