Third Marvel/Netflix series, Luke Cage takes us to the Harlem district of New York. After hoping for things for this first season, it's time to make a little post-viewing assessment, muscular of course!
Warning, this review may contain spoilers if you have not seen the entire first season!
After the first two seasons of Daredevil, and the first of Jessica Jones, Netflix and Marvel offer us Luke Cage, the third series that focuses on the African-American superhero Luke Cage, aka Power Man, a character created in 1972 by Archie Goodwin, John Romita and George Tuska.
A real phenomenon of blaxploitation in the United States, the series invites us to follow Luke Cage (Mike Colter), who a few months after his misadventures with Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), lives in the Harlem district of New York, where he works in a hair salon. Since a failed experiment turned him into a super-powered colossus with impenetrable skin, he has been trying to survive as best he can in hiding. But the past always catches up with us and Luke will have to fight against the underworld in the heart of the city.
We dive directly into the Harlem district of New York from the first episode of the series, immersed in the thoughts of Luke Cage at the barber Henry "Pop" Hunter (Frankie Faison). We slowly lay the foundations in a very musical atmosphere, which allows us to familiarize ourselves on the one hand with our hero Luke Cage but also to meet all the people we will meet during this season. We quickly understand that Luke is a loner, haunted by a prisoner's past, but that does not prevent him from having humor as well as charm, as evidenced by his meeting with Mercedes "Misty" Knight (Simone Missick) at Harlem's Paradise, the club run by Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes (Mahershala Ali).
The growing interest throughout this first episode will not be denied throughout the next twelve, with the starting point of the failed robbery and the escape of Chico (Brian Marc) which will really mark the beginning of the confrontation between Luke Cage and Cottonmouth, involving in passing some other characters like Pop.The highlight of this beginning of the season will remain the death of Pop, after a magnificent scene of strafing the barber's salon.
From there, we feel a desire of Luke to become someone, to help others, and this path will be one of the main lines of the series, despite many obstacles to overcome. The scenes of fights and violence are filmed with accuracy, and the indestructible side of the hero has never been so touching, as during the assault on the fortress of Cottonmouth.
The series then reserves us several surprises, such as the fact that the big bad presented as such at the beginning is not really, which redistributes the cards after the seventh episode. Note the formidable interpretation of Alfre Woodard in the role of Mariah Dillard, breathtaking accuracy and rage, as well as Simone Missick, the most bad-ass character at the moment of the television universe.
We also find with pleasure the character of Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson), thread of the Marvel universe on Netflix who has already appeared in the 2 previous series. It will undoubtedly be our entry point during the reunification of the Defenders at the end of 2017, after the broadcast of Iron Fist, scheduled for March 2017.
The credits of the series, on a heady music, is a real pearl for the eyes and ears, full of references to New York City and the history of blacks in the United States.
The soundtrack of the series, composed by Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, is a central character of the series, bringing together hip-hop, jazz and blues to accompany the action of the characters. The presence of Harlem's Paradise club also allows the appearance of singers and bands, such as Method Man, Raphael Saadiq, Jidenna or Faith Evans for live performances that detonate!
In addition to a simple superhero series integrated into an expanded universe, the first season of Luke Cage is a true hymn to African-American culture, through messages and music. A series that contrasts with its two big sisters Daredevil and Jessica Jones, and which despite some slowness in the middle of the season, allows to be much more than a series of superheroes …
You can find the entire first season of Luke Cage on Netflix, as well as seasons 1 and 2 of Daredevil and the first season of Jessica Jones, if you missed your entry into the Marvel universe of the channel!
