Luke Cage (2016)

Netflix original's Luke Cage takes a beloved Marvel character and delivers an experience that, at best, is lukewarm (forgive the pun)!

Netflix's attempts at the superhero genre have been all hits. Particularly the second season of Daredevil. Luke Cage drags the story too long - particularly half-way through the season, it puts Luke Cage out of commission for almost three episodes. In other words, the dearth of material was visibly apparent!

Comparing with Daredevil season two, in which we had three superheroes (Daredevil, Punisher, and Elektra), Luke Cage didn't have much to offer. Instead of story or character development, the showrunners decided to address the recent issues in the society. But they didn't use any finesse in their approach. Many of the speeches felt like texts written by highschool students in honour of Martin Luther King. So, things were a little on the nose!

The season's ending was also ambiguous. That's mostly the problem with universe-building rather than telling a cohesive story. Actually, the shared Universe between the shows worked both in favour of and against Luke Cage. I personally would have skipped this show after the second episode if it weren't for the shared universe - so this way, it helps the show gain and also maintain audience. But on the downside, the show had to just lay the grounds for the Defenders. We also had to listen to references to "the green monster" (i.e., the Hulk), and the "guy with the hammer" (i.e., Thor) at least once in every two episodes.

I'd give it a 4.5/10 due to slow pace and weak story.