Luke Cage Luke Cage General Discussion Thread - Part 1

[Random490]

Yeah it still bothers me a bit that you don't see Stark tower in the skyline.

You want to fork up the $100,000, or more, it would cost to add that in all necessary shots? CGI shots add up

I'm okay suspending disbelief if it means using their budget to make a quality show than blink and you miss them effects that really adds nothing to the story. And if you don't know NYC well, won't take anything away from it.

 

[Flint Marko]

For all the talk about how Faraci is a blind MCU fanboy, he sure doesn't love these Netflix series.

 

[Darepool]

He praised JJ and really liked DD S2. He even wasn't that negative on DD S1 after he saw it, he just didn't praise it like everyone else did or the way he praises the films. This he seems down on in his tweets, but we'll see eventually.

 

[Dr. Evil]

I don't ever see Misty getting that bionic arm because of the nature of the Netflix shows compared to the rest of the MCU.

- The Netflix shows are grounded in reality compared to the rest of the MCU. The rest of the MCU involves Tony Stark, The Hulk, Thor, Vision, Sam Wilson, James Rhodes, The Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Strange, Scarlet Witch etc.
- If Misty had debuted on Agents of SHIELD or an MCU movie, we might have seen her with that bionic arm later. I don't ever see that happening.

 

[Lord]

Faraci also brings up the point of these shows being a few episodes longer than they probably should, which is something i agree a lot with. Usualy dislike some of his reviews, but i think he has been spot-on with his Marvel Netflix ones.

 

[MadVillainy]

Finished this on Saturday.
TL;DR: It's pretty good but definitely the weakest first season to any of the Marvel Netflix Shows.

1) The villains were lackluster. Surprising considering they gave us Kilgrave and Kingpin. Cottonmouth was pretty good, but [BLACKOUT]they killed him off in the stupidest way just when things were getting good[/BLACKOUT]. And his performance was kinda off some times. (You could make a drinking game everytime he laughed and then went "intimidating)
Shades was ok but wasn't giving much to do other than looking cool/intimidating.
Mariah was ok. I liked her performance.
Diamondback I think they shouldve saved for season 2 and sometimes he was just too cartoonish (I avoided spoilers and a lot of casting news and didn't even know Diamond back was in the season. I thought he would just get teased by Shades)

2) The action wasn't that good. The big action scene is probably the Crispus Attucks building raid. I love Wu Tang Clan. Enter the 36 Chambers is my favorite album, but the action in the scene itself was so boring. Luke just ripping through people with little challenge was boring to me. I mean you know Daredevil, JJ, Iron Fist, or Cage aren't gonna die but at least when DD is fighting a swarm of enemies he get's challenged a bit. In subsequent seasons they need to give Cage more of a challenge.
The Diamondback fight was pretty good but should've come at the end of the finale instead of wrapping it up in like the first 20 minutes and then just have it be all epilogue for the remainder.

3) People in this were really, really stupid. And yes I know, Hollywood Stupidity and all that. But in LC it was too much.
People have their target dead to rights and then they don't do anything. For instance [BLACKOUT]Diamondback had Cage cornered with the Judas Rifle and then for some reason he doesn't aim for his head. Okay, fine that's a harder target. But I don't even think he aimed for his heart or anywhere that could kill him and then he let the garbage truck carrying Luke to get away[/BLACKOUT]. Don't put your hero in situations like that if you aren't going to handle it right
And that's just one example, other than Luke so many of the main characters had a moment that completely took me out of it because they were really stupid. Shades not knowing that Luke was/is [BLACKOUT]Carl Lucas[/BLACKOUT] was just baby town frolic

4) The "messages"/socio political commentary wasn't handled that well. Now don't get me wrong, I love the messages they were trying to send but sometimes they were handled so hammily. Like the speech Luke gives before the Crispus Attucks raid to the guy trying to rob him. Again, I love the message he was saying but it came off so corny and over the top. The whole prison flashback couldve been used to show in a better way how messed up this whole mass incarceration, for profit prisons are. But instead they used it to show a prison fight club with Coulter rocking one of the worst wigs I've seen. And coming off of The Night Of, the way LC handled the prison system was just laughable
I get not everything can be the Wire, but The Wire is a great example of showing socio political commentary without being corny or over the top about it. Again, I love the messages. Didn't like how they most were handled. The bullet hole hoodie thing was great though

5) Luke Cage as a character has a very boring personality to me. In a lot the comic stories Ive read with Cage, he usually comes off as a jerk with a "F*** you, pay me" mentality. And while I'm glad they didn't do that, they still shouldve gave him some bite, some attitude. I've been saying that since he appeared on JJ season 1. He was just corny sometimes too and I get that was just part of his charm but for me sometimes it was too much

6) They killed off some of their most interesting performances/characters

7) I dont think the tone served the story well. And then if I compare it to DD or JJ the tone for this just wasn't good at all. If they wouldve gone with a darker tone it couldve helped them with those socio--political themes.
Some moments like the Method Man scene (Method Man is in my top 5 rappers of all time but his invovlement as playing himself was kinda wonky. Especially that freestyle), "Bye Felicia", and the "he just talked about your momma" scene from the final fight just showed how off the tone was for me.
The whole blaxploitation angle (other than the score) was not the way to go for this imo.


I know that's all bagging on the show, but I did enjoy it. Nothing in this was terrible, some things just weren't handled well. After DD, Cage was the character I was really interested in seeing on the Netflix universe (until Punisher was announced). I hope they kinda course correct a bit because just some small fixes will make this great.

My current ranking (after only watching DD S2, JJ, and LG one time)
1. Daredevil season 1
2. Jessica Jones
3. Luke Cage
4. Daredevil season 2

What seems to be the general consensus? From what I've seen black people love this but most of everywhere else seems to think this is good not great

 

[P Supreme]

So ****ing true. I didn't like this series at all, but it's definitely better than Agents of Shields mind numbing melodrama.

feel the same way Colter was borderline bad in the role IMO

Loved everyone else but not the lead sux for me

it's the worst out of the Netflix shows but better than agents of shield which is not saying much

 

[chamber-music]

Mike Colter said he talked to John Singleton and if they get a second season then Singleton might direct some episodes. Singleton was going to direct the Luke Cage movie when the rights were at Sony/Columbia years ago.

 

[BoredGuy]

wow, lotta negativity in here
i know it was slow and at times a bit purposefully cheesy, but didn't think it was that bad

 

[DavidHaller]

I also want to say something positive, although I really agree witht the negativity about the show!

What I really loved about the show was what the have done with the character Mariah. She is definitely the most interesting villain I saw on screen for a very long time (well, not too long, because Daredevil's Wilson Fisk was of course glorious). But I think Mariah is equally fantastic in a very unique way. She is not your typical villain but this is what makes her storyline in Luke Cage so compelling. The series was actually as much about her as it was about Luke Cage.

I hope she will be transferred to a better show like Daredevil soon. Fisk and Mariah need to share some screentime! The Marvel Movie Universe should really start to make use of these great series villains because they still lack those big time!

But some scenes of this show were so cliché and so on the nose! Episode 13 was just too much for me: "Who could have ever thought a black man in a hoody can be a hero?!" Some things are so much stronger and more meaningful when they are shown not explicitly narrated...

Luke Cage as a character seemed to have been the weakest link of this entire show. I prefered spending time with all the other characters except for him to be honest! Can we give Claire some superpowers ASAP please and cast her as Captain Marvel!

 

[Darepool]

What seems to be the general consensus? From what I've seen black people love this but most of everywhere else seems to think this is good not great

I think this is accurate. From what I've seen the praise is definitely not on the level of DD or JJ across the board but black people are generally loving it. I'd say the reception reflects the series somewhat, a patchwork of everything from bad to great but generally positive in the end, so yeah - good but definitely not great as a concensus.

 

[Darepool]

There seems to be low audience participation on RT. It only has 207 user ratings and the series sits at 79%, not even close to the reception of DD or JJ.

 

[Web-Head]

There seems to be low audience participation on RT. It only has 207 user ratings and the series sits at 79%, not even close to the reception of DD or JJ.

Sounds about right. I'm liking the show, but I don't think it's as good as DD or JJ. But I haven't finished the show yet, so maybe that could change.

 

[Motown Marvel]

This show has a lot of flaws. Particularly the writing which was often cheesy, convoluted, and clunky. Though I don't think those flaws were intentional, they were remarkable similar to the flaws of blaxploitation films, which were obviously a big inspiration to Luke Cage. Most cherished blaxploitation films aren't examples of good film making, but the fact that they were even able to exist makes them important none the less. I can't remember the last time there was a mainstream production as unabashedly proud and promotional of black culture as Luke Cage. That is not only important, but also endearing and gives the show great value and charm. I recognized the shows flaws but was able to be entertained by them because I was merely excited to see an underdog culture proudly celebrate itself for the same reasons its oppressors would malign it.

 

[kguillou]

Wow, there definitely seems to be a lot more negativity towards this series. Interesting. Its funny, going into the series, I had heard that the show was "slow" and it took a while to get going. But, honestly, the show didn't feel slow to me at all. I mean, yeah, it takes its time with the story but there's important stuff happening in every episode that moves the plot forward and the characters are engaging. To me, "slow" is stuff like Mad Men, where you have to slog through 10 episodes of nothing happening for something significant to happen and move the story forward and even the most recent season of Mr Robot, where just nothing is happening for several episodes.

Now, I will slightly agree with one thing, Colter. He's a very likeable character, but he is not as engaging a lead character as Charlie Cox or Kristen Ritter. His Luke Cage is very subdued and sometimes his acting is a little awkward, especially when he's trying to be dramatic. But I still think he does a good job and he's surrounded by an engaging cast of characters.

I'm 3/4's done with the season though, on ep 9, so maybe my opinion will change but so far, I think this is a very solid show.

 

[Endeavor]

Binged this, was done by Saturday night.
I liked it, although I have to say for me it's the weakest of the Marvel Netflix shows so far.
I didn't feel the writing was up to par compared to DD and JJ.
The effects on power display were a definite improvement from JJ though.

 

[BoredGuy]

yeah Colter's definitely likeable, I'd love to have a beer with the dude
He just doesn't have the (*shuddertosay*) swagger for Luke Cage

and as for his powers, they could've maybe been a little more inventive with how they were used
it was a tad disappointing the villains secret weapon to defeat bulletproof-guy was "better bullets!"

 

[Endeavor]

This show has a lot of flaws. Particularly the writing which was often cheesy, convoluted, and clunky...

I agree. [BLACKOUT][BLACKOUT]That fight scene between Luke and Diamondback, when the neighborhood is cheering him on[/BLACKOUT][/BLACKOUT]... Most of that was cringe-worthy for me.

 

[Darepool]

I didn't feel the writing was up to par compared to DD and JJ.

This was the biggest disappointment for me. I've come to expect much better from a premium content provider like Netflix. The characters made it forgivable at times, but they need to step up their game for season 2.

 

[Kane52630]

I think what a lot of people dont understand is that this show is a homage to blacksploitation. The silliness comes with the territory.

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

I think what a lot of people dont understand is that this show is a homage to blacksploitation. The silliness comes with the territory.

That doesn't excuse it though. There needed to a middle ground. Especially considering the producers kept saying this was The Wire of the MCU which is laughable considering what we got.

 

[BullMcGiveny]

Well, I loved it. A few flaws, but best Marvel TV so far, IMO.

 

[kguillou]

I think we can all agree the women on this show were some of the most well written in the MCU. And fine too. Heck, even Claire's mom was hot. Hehe.

 

[chamber-music]

This shows didn't feel slow to me at all. I thought it was more fast paced than JJ.

5) Luke Cage as a character has a very boring personality to me. In a lot the comic stories Ive read with Cage, he usually comes off as a jerk with a "F*** you, pay me" mentality. And while I'm glad they didn't do that, they still shouldve gave him some bite, some attitude. I've been saying that since he appeared on JJ season 1. He was just corny sometimes too and I get that was just part of his charm but for me sometimes it was too much

I don't know which comics your read but that isn't the Luke Cage I've seen in most of the comics I read. Cage would do jobs for free if people genuinely needed his help but couldn't afford to pay him. Cage would also refuse to work for people that didn't meet his moral or ethical standards. He was a hero for hire and not a mercenary. The only times he took a f*** you, pay me attitude is with people that turned out to be shady or tried to get out of paying him what he was owed.

I think when they cast Colter they went the route of Cage being more like Colter. A bit more of a classy boyscout southern gentleman than a reformed inner city brawler.

 

[MadVillainy]

I think what a lot of people dont understand is that this show is a homage to blacksploitation. The silliness comes with the territory.

From what I've seen people get that fine. They just don't think they did the tribute to blaxploitation that well