[Netflix] Marvel's Luke Cage

On October 03 2016 12:44 Plansix wrote:
It is very good so far. Deep cuts from Luke Cage's 70 era blaxploitation root. It takes some turns well beyond the trailer and all the characters are well thought out. And there is something cathartic about seeing a black man in a hoodie that is bullet proof.

On October 03 2016 21:44 Plansix wrote:
I think the hero being impervious to damage, but also unable to be everywhere at once is a good dynamic between hero and villain. The most interesting part of Luke Cage is that he is about community revival. He isn’t like Iron Man or Captian America, who travel around the world fighting villains. He lives in one section of New York and tries to make that place better, both by fighting criminals and by trying to inspire people.

I loved the fact that the writers has Luke take the time to try and convince a man to stop drinking. And that he hangs out in diners trying to figure out how to rebuild a barber shop. Fight scenes are fun, but the community building aspect of the show is its strongest part.

Plus the criminals becoming used to him just ruining their day, destroying their guns.

On October 04 2016 01:30 Plansix wrote:
I find catholic Batman to be a passable series, but the writing and grittiness sort of goes downhill the longer seasons go on. Season one did an ok job, but the “I need to be the man this city needs” lines were on thick and not at all self aware. JJ and Luke Cage are more aware of how silly this all is and take the time to poke a little fun at themselves. (“Killgrave? Really? MurderTomb was taken?”) I’m interested in DD season 3, but it is my least favorite of the Marvel TV shows.

On October 04 2016 06:11 monk wrote:

Killgrave is his real name in the comics. It's certainly a downgrade from "The Purple Man", which is the name that was much more commonly used in the comics.

On October 05 2016 06:32 DickMcFanny wrote:
Saw the first episode, so I'm not reading any of the replies here, seems the same as Jessica Jones and Daredevil: great shows about really boring heroes.

What I will say, the music in this one, at least in episode one, was superbly cool.

On October 06 2016 18:42 Morfildur wrote:
Watched the whole season last weekend and it was weird. It wasn't a bad series as such, it just lacked the charisma of Jessica Jones or Daredevil, especially in the form of the enemies. The motivation of all bad guys was pretty much "because we're black and we have to do it". The whole depth of their personality was also "I'm black". Might be that the actors were just not of the caliber of David Tennant's Kilgrave or Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin to make the characters believable or that the script was just too bad, I don't know.

I know Luke Cage used to be very much focused on racism in it's comic origin, but for the Netflix series either I'm too German/European to understand the black American culture or it was just too backwards stereotypical.

All in all it's pretty meh. Good for a binge watch but forgettable afterwards.

On October 08 2016 03:00 Plansix wrote:

For context, Luke Cage is a hero from the Blaxploitation era of US media. They were films made to cater to black audiences but grew in popularity across racial lines. They are filled with racial stereotypes, but also tapped into a lot of black culture, music and empowered a black actors of the era. Luke Cage was Marvel's attempt to tap into this market and the violence in inner cities a story line.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaxploitation

You are right that the story is stereotypical and filled with racial tropes. But Blaxploitation films and media seek to subvert those tropes. Like a gangster that is deeply invested in his community and also just wants to play piano. I do agree that some of the moments in Luke Cage don't work, but the series goes for it in a way that most TV shows don't even try. Luke charging into a building full of dudes with guns while listening to the Wu Tang Clan's Bring the Ruckus is a deep cut from black action movie loving culture(there is this awesome obsession in US black communities with bad Hong Kong action movies). And arguments about Bruce Lee vs Jet Lee is another thing you don't see in a lot of US media about blacks.

Personally, I was into all of it. I like TV shows that try hard and maybe slip up alittle. Its better than playing it safe.

On October 08 2016 03:18 Trainrunnef wrote:


I assume then that you have watched the beauty that is The Last Dragon

On October 04 2016 22:15 Manit0u wrote:
Well, this show is worth watching for the music alone.

I'm just glad they didn't include any ninjas in this one. I hope they can minimize the ninja damage in the Iron Fist too (entire ninja plot line was seriously weak in DD and what's made half of the second season pretty much unwatchable).

On October 06 2016 23:35 ETisME wrote:
It's just not nearly as good as any of the previous marvel tv series.
the overall story is too blend, the characters fall short including the villains.

there's just nothing that really stands out.