DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN Episodes 1.1: “Heaven’s Half Hour”

Name: DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN Episodes 1.1: “Heaven’s Half Hour”
Item: DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN Episodes 1.1: “Heaven’s Half Hour”
Author: Review

"A Disappointing Follow-Up to a Great Series"

Family Content: -2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN is a comic book thriller series on Disney+, based on a series that aired on Netflix before the COVID pandemic began. Matt Murdoch gives up his Daredevil persona after his best friend is brutally assassinated. A year later, Matt’s archnemesis, Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, re-emerges onto the public scene and declares his campaign for mayor of New York City. Matt warns Fisk to make good on his claim to be a “new man.” Will Matt have to don his vigilante costume again?

The first episode of DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN is painfully middle-of-the-road. The episode is engaging, and the performances are excellent. However, the writing quality, pacing and stunt work are below the heights of Netflix’s DAREDEVIL series. BORN AGAIN has a strong Christian, moral worldview. The hero tries to stop a rogue assassin, mourns his best friend’s death, and values Grace, mercy, redemption, justice, and divine retribution. However, the big action scene has some very strong violence, and the episode has strong obscenities and profanities. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for first episode of DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN.

Content:

(CC, BB, L, VVV, A, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

A strong Christian worldview throughout, the hero tries to fight injustice through the law system, he mourns for the death of his best friend, the same hero keeps up his promise of sparing his arch villain’s life, a former mob boss claims “he is redeemed” and reconnects with the hero, the villain has a strong marital bond with his mob-boss wife, the same man runs as a “clean mayor” for New York City, the hero briefly discusses the divine idea of “retribution”, and the hero gives up his vigilante ways to process his grief;

Foul Language:

Two obscenities such as “damn” and “f--k”;

Violence:

Hyper action violence in episode one, a lawyer is sniped through the heart and bleeds to death on the street, Daredevil engages in hand-to-hand combat with an assassin, the assassin throws knives and other blunt objects into the bodies of New York citizens, Daredevil throws the assassin’s body off the roof of a building, a villain owns a painting of two men bruised in bloody fashion, and the villain admits to crushing a man’s skull in a previous episode;

Sex:

No sex, but the hero flirts with a competitive female lawyer;

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

Daredevil and his friends visit a local pub and take shots of alcohol;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or illegal substances; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

The villain claims to be a “changed man” from his previous crime life, the villain’s wife orchestrates deals with other mafia gangs, and the hero’s best friend fails to mention he is harboring a client wanted dead by other gang members.

More Detail:

DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN is a crime drama and superhero series on Disney+. After his best friend’s assassination, Matt Murdoch (Charlie Cox) gives up his Daredevil persona for good. A year later, Matt’s archnemesis, Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin, re-emerges onto the public scene, declaring his campaign for city mayor. Moreover, a new wave of chaos overtakes New York City. Will Daredevil don his cape again? DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN is a direct sequel to the Netflix series DAREDEVIL.

In Episode One, “Heaven’s Half Hour,” Matt Murdock / Daredevil fails to stop the murder of his best friend “Foggy.” Foggy was harboring a client who rival gangs had targeted. One year later, Matt has given up on his superhero duties and vows to fight injustice only through legal means. Meanwhile, a notorious mob boss, Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin, returns to the public eye as a “redeemed” man. Fisk runs for mayor of New York City and vows to clean up the rising crime wave due to Daredevil’s absence. He also vows to stop all the costumed vigilantes trying to take Daredevil’s place and put the police back in charge

Later, Matt interrogates Fisk about any possible connections to Foggy’s death. Fisk denies it, claiming he only wants what’s best for the city. Matt is suspicious, claiming he will dish out “divine retribution” if Fisk returns to his old ways. The following night, Fisk wins the mayoral race. The episode ends with Matt distressed at the latest news.

The premiere episode of DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN leaves a mixed first impression. The acting from Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio is stellar, but some of the dialogue feels stilted and “on the nose.” The characters are blunt with their “feelings” in almost every scene. Also, after the big action scene in the opening, the episode’s pacing slows down too much. The episode’s biggest saving grace is its strong Christian, moral worldview.

For example, Matt Murdoch, aka Daredevil, fights evil. Then, after his best friend is murdered, he tries to fight injustice through the law system. He also mourns the death of his friend and keeps his promise of sparing his arch-villain’s life back in season three. Fisk claims he’s a redeemed man and reconnects with Daredevil in a public setting. However, the villain has a strong marital bond with his mob boss wife, who’s spent the time since he’s been gone to make her husband’s criminal organization squeaky clean and “bulletproof.” Lastly, Daredevil briefly mentions that he was raised as a Catholic and believes in Grace and Redemption, but also “divine retribution.” Sadly, this worldview doesn’t apply to the show’s action violence or language.

This, the beginning of Episode 1.1 of DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN features an action scene with some blood and intense violence. A sniper kills Daredevil’s best friend, Foggy, shooting him through the heart, leaving him with a bleeding chest as he dies on the street. Daredevil pursues the assassin, who throws knives and other blunt objects at Daredevil and into innocent bystanders. The bystanders include people visiting a known hangout for policemen. When he is both in and out of the suit, Daredevil protects his fellow citizens. Lastly, Daredevil punches the assassin in the head. After failing to get information out of the perpetrator, Daredevil throws the murderer off the roof in massive grief. However, there is a more pressing charge against this show.

How does BORN AGAIN compare to the first three seasons of Netflix’s DAREDEVIL? The previous seasons are more violent than BORN AGAIN, but they were much richer in thematic and moral content. Those earlier episodes dealt with Daredevil’s conflicted ideas on justice, his rocky relationship with the Catholic Church, and his choosing to show mercy to his archnemesis. BORN AGAIN feels like a generic crime show, while the earlier seasons were crafted with intense care and expertise. The difference is night and day.

Lastly, the stunt choreography in BORN AGAIN is a major downgrade. The pilot episode in the Netflix incarnation has the famous “one-shot hallway fight.” It was well shot, had great direction, and was a spectacular feat in stunt work. The first episode of BORN AGAIN tries to recreate that with the bar fight between Daredevil and the assassin. The CGI model quality is subpar, the stunt work is less convincing, and the CGI scenery contains a dark fog. BORN AGAIN fails to strike lightning twice for a franchise known for excellent fight scenes.

The first episode of DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN is painfully middle-of-the-road. The acting from Daredevil and Fisk is excellent, but the writing quality is below the heights of Netflix’s DAREDEVIL series. However, the new series has a strong Christian aura, with the hero trying to stop a rogue assassin, mourning over the death of his best friend, and showing mercy to his previous archnemesis. Moreover, the main villain has a strong marital bond with his wife, but she has apparently cheated on him with another man since he’s been gone. Finally, the first episode of DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN has five “f” words and three strong profanities.

MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN: Episode 1.1.