Critic Reviews

Intense, mysterious, action-packed and flat-out fun, this series takes all the best aspects of earlier Netflix Marvel shows and rolls them into one great package.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

The Defenders is a workmanlike series that gets the job done with a reasonable amount of energy and a few bursts of flair.

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.