Netflix’s Jessica Jones is complex, funny, and super watchable

There will be a season 2, right? Because we want more Krysten Ritter.

Read the whole story

 

[Rosyna]

I remember when The Doctor first used his mind control powers against Harriet Jones.

 

[yota821]

Awesome series, watch it people!! Can't wait to see Luke Cage given his own 13-episode run.

 

[eric123]

having a real hard time mustering the ability to continue the show. may not.

just isn't going anywhere for me.

 

[caldepen]

benjitek[/url]":378f74ld]It was a slow moving, disappointingly boring, low-budget superhero series. Must've had zero budget for effects as there weren't any. Writing and acting didn't make up for it -- even the fight scenes were filled with repetitive stunts. Throwing people against walls was particularly popular. Slow moving -- 10 hours would've been a stretch, 8 hours plenty -- 13 hours meant a lot of filler scenes.

Would've been better if they'd done more, 13 hours provided plenty of time for a story that morphed into 3-4 different villain subplots, possibly something that cleverly intersected. Another better use of the time would've been a couple episodes covering the childhood years and the adoptive mother stuff. Another episode or 2 when she met and started out with Kilgrave with the rest for current-day. Instead they shoved what could've been great into lazily constructed flashbacks.

They had a 13 hour canvas, they drew the story with pencil :-(

Hmm, I liked it. Thought it was dark and well written with good characters.

I guess I shouldn't watch Greatest American Hero with you, hunh?

 

[Coriolanus]

benjitek[/url]":3b7isyfz]It was a slow moving, disappointingly boring, low-budget superhero series. Must've had zero budget for effects as there weren't any. Writing and acting didn't make up for it -- even the fight scenes were filled with repetitive stunts. Throwing people against walls was particularly popular. Slow moving -- 10 hours would've been a stretch, 8 hours plenty -- 13 hours meant a lot of filler scenes.

Would've been better if they'd done more, 13 hours provided plenty of time for a story that morphed into 3-4 different villain subplots, possibly something that cleverly intersected. Another better use of the time would've been a couple episodes covering the childhood years and the adoptive mother stuff. Another episode or 2 when she met and started out with Kilgrave with the rest for current-day. Instead they shoved what could've been great into lazily constructed flashbacks.

They had a 13 hour canvas, they drew the story with pencil :-(

I find that nothing ages faster or looks cheesier than overly ambitious superhero effects on a TV show budget. Sometimes, subtle is better. Sometimes, less is more.

 

[salamanderjuice]

eric123[/url]":t2ld9b5p]having a real hard time mustering the ability to continue the show. may not.

just isn't going anywhere for me.

I was excited for it. I heard a lot of good things about it before release but after watching the first episode I think I'd just rather rewatch Veronica Mars. :/

 

[caldepen]

Still male orientated view of women. Pity.

I didn't get that impression. What made you think this?

 

[nehinks]

Watched the whole thing this weekend - was pretty excellent. More focused, less origin story than Daredevil. They did a great job of casting for all of the characters. David Tennant has never been so creepy. And Carrie-Anne Moss is supremely suited to play the icy queen shark of lawyers. And I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of Luke Cage.

I liked the musical and framing callbacks they did to old school film noir detective fair as well - nice touch.

 

[Entegy]

DisplayNameTaken[/url]":2gh9yf1z]Still male orientated view of women. Pity.

I only half pay attention to the opening credits, but isn't the lead writer and/or director a woman? Melissa something?

 

[Thereitis]

David Tennant does really good creepy characters.

Spoiler

"Damn. He ain't gonna be in Rush Hour 3"

 

[benjitek]

Coriolanus[/url]"y504wkt]
I find that nothing ages faster or looks cheesier than overly ambitious superhero effects on a TV show budget. Sometimes, subtle is better. Sometimes, less is more.

If the writing, acting and overall production quality make up for it, then yes. Unfortunately that wasn't the case with JJ -- a 'low-budget' perception was only one of many shortcomings I mentioned. Everyone's takeaway is different -- doesn't make mine or yours definitive, depends on the viewer.

 

[caldepen]

Entegy[/url]":3oabtreh]

DisplayNameTaken[/url]":3oabtreh]Still male orientated view of women. Pity.

I only half pay attention to the opening credits, but isn't the lead writer and/or director a woman? Melissa something?

I think he/she said that in a cool, sitting in a university coffee-bar sort of way.

 

[solomonrex]

Coriolanus[/url]":3g1mcvm0]

benjitek[/url]":3g1mcvm0]It was a slow moving, disappointingly boring, low-budget superhero series. Must've had zero budget for effects as there weren't any. Writing and acting didn't make up for it -- even the fight scenes were filled with repetitive stunts. Throwing people against walls was particularly popular. Slow moving -- 10 hours would've been a stretch, 8 hours plenty -- 13 hours meant a lot of filler scenes.

Would've been better if they'd done more, 13 hours provided plenty of time for a story that morphed into 3-4 different villain subplots, possibly something that cleverly intersected. Another better use of the time would've been a couple episodes covering the childhood years and the adoptive mother stuff. Another episode or 2 when she met and started out with Kilgrave with the rest for current-day. Instead they shoved what could've been great into lazily constructed flashbacks.

They had a 13 hour canvas, they drew the story with pencil :-(

I find that nothing ages faster or looks cheesier than overly ambitious superhero effects on a TV show budget. Sometimes, subtle is better. Sometimes, less is more.

The original Wonder Woman is still awesome. For different reasons, but still. Mind control missiles! Extra large glasses! Nukes!

And Bionic woman! Look at her jump in slo mo!

30 years later, I'm still waiting for my Bionic Dog spinoff show. sigh.

 

[tgiokdi]

I was bored to tears by this series and was shocked at how they handled alcoholism and addiction, things that could just be swept away at a moment's notice and you'll be fine?

bleh.

 

[Niceguy4186]

Watched the whole thing over the weekend, first 2-3 episodes was pretty slow, really picked up around episode 6-7 and then overall maintained. I loved dare devil, and while this one was good, it didn't live up to the expectation.

 

[SixDegrees]

I very much liked this series. I didn't think it was quite as good as Daredevil, but that's setting a very high bar indeed. It left me wanting to see more of all the characters.

If I have a criticism, it's that the series was too compartmentalized. Marvel prides itself on its single, consistent universe, but despite JJ taking place in the same neighborhood as Daredevil, we never get even a mention of the rampaging vigilante, or of Kingpin's efforts to gentrify and otherwise control the entire area, even though the two series apparently take place at the same time. We get a couple of very mild one-offs referring to "The Incident" portrayed in The Avengers and a short subplot devoted to negative reactions to superheroes in general as a result, but there's surprisingly little crossover here.

Looking forward to the remaining two series in this arc, and their eventual Defenders miniseries. I hope Marvel keeps the production standards as high as they've been in these first two efforts.

 

[Marlor_AU]

benjitek[/url]":940pq6pk]Slow moving -- 10 hours would've been a stretch, 8 hours plenty -- 13 hours meant a lot of filler scenes.

Maybe you needed to pace yourself? The show has been on Netflix for all of around three days... so to have watched it all, you must have done some serious binging.

I've watched two episodes, and I'm not too impressed yet, but that's all the more reason to take my time and not watch it all in one sitting.

Very few shows are classics that can be watched in one sitting. We've just been spoiled by having quite a few that fall into that category recently.

 

[Panick]

If you watched and liked the Daredevil series you'll probably like this. I personally liked the Daredevil series a bit better. Nothing wrong with Jessica Jones as a character but a lot of the series just seemed like it wasn't paced all that great. There isn't anything wrong with going all dark and gritty but I'm starting to tire of the whole "dark=adult" writing laziness going on these days. It's a knock that could be leveled against a lot of shows right now. That's great, I get it. She's a gritty character whose lived through some hairy shit, but I'm going to need to see some sort of character arc at some point (Jessica's arc is pretty mild in this series. Here's hoping the Defenders or the second season gives her a bit more leeway to evolve).

 

[SixDegrees]

tgiokdi[/url]":1dbwztnf]I was bored to tears by this series and was shocked at how they handled alcoholism and addiction, things that could just be swept away at a moment's notice and you'll be fine?

bleh.

Malcolm didn't sweep away his addiction by any stretch, although they didn't dwell much on his recovery. And JJ didn't strike me as an alcoholic; she's got PTSD and drinks, in part, to self-medicate, but that's a different issue and one they explore pretty deeply.

I don't know what to say about your boredom. Unlike other Netflix series that I plow through over several days - or weeks - I watched this pretty much continuously on Saturday from start to finish, and my interest never flagged.

 

[SixDegrees]

Panick[/url]":1o63zaw0]If you watched and liked the Daredevil series you'll probably like this. I personally liked the Daredevil series a bit better. Nothing wrong with Jessica Jones as a character but a lot of the series just seemed like it wasn't paced all that great. There isn't anything wrong with going all dark and gritty but I'm starting to tire of the whole "dark=adult" writing laziness going on these days. It's a knock that could be leveled against a lot of shows right now. That's great, I get it. She's a gritty character whose lived through some hairy shit, but I'm going to need to see some sort of character arc at some point (Jessica's arc is pretty mild in this series. Here's hoping the Defenders or the second season gives her a bit more leeway to evolve).

I mostly agree, and I'm hoping to see her return in Luke Cage. The two of them together worked really well, and there's still some unresolved tension that would be nice to see addressed in their relationship.

 

[Kamina]

benjitek[/url]":1v74r7gk]It was a slow moving, disappointingly boring, low-budget superhero series. Must've had zero budget for effects as there weren't any. Writing and acting didn't make up for it -- even the fight scenes were filled with repetitive stunts. Throwing people against walls was particularly popular. Slow moving -- 10 hours would've been a stretch, 8 hours plenty -- 13 hours meant a lot of filler scenes.

Would've been better if they'd done more, 13 hours provided plenty of time for a story that morphed into 3-4 different villain subplots, possibly something that cleverly intersected. Another better use of the time would've been a couple episodes covering the childhood years and the adoptive mother stuff. Another episode or 2 when she met and started out with Kilgrave with the rest for current-day. Instead they shoved what could've been great into lazily constructed flashbacks.

They had a 13 hour canvas, they drew the story with pencil :-(

You should watch super girl, you will love it. They have masterfully managed to avoid coming up with a single original idea just to satisfy your appetite for regurgitated vomit.

 

[SixDegrees]

Kamina[/url]":2d53xy03]

benjitek[/url]":2d53xy03]It was a slow moving, disappointingly boring, low-budget superhero series. Must've had zero budget for effects as there weren't any. Writing and acting didn't make up for it -- even the fight scenes were filled with repetitive stunts. Throwing people against walls was particularly popular. Slow moving -- 10 hours would've been a stretch, 8 hours plenty -- 13 hours meant a lot of filler scenes.

Would've been better if they'd done more, 13 hours provided plenty of time for a story that morphed into 3-4 different villain subplots, possibly something that cleverly intersected. Another better use of the time would've been a couple episodes covering the childhood years and the adoptive mother stuff. Another episode or 2 when she met and started out with Kilgrave with the rest for current-day. Instead they shoved what could've been great into lazily constructed flashbacks.

They had a 13 hour canvas, they drew the story with pencil :-(

You should watch super girl, you will love it. They have masterfully managed to avoid coming up with a single original idea just to satisfy your appetite for regurgitated vomit.

Mmmm! Nothing like a warm, steamy mug of vomit!

 

[heySkippy]

I binged it over the weekend and loved it. Best thing I've seen on TV in quite a while.

 

[JustAnotherNobody]

I watched the first episode. It's good and I liked it. My one complaint would be that if you don't know who Jessica Jones is (I was never into comics), you still won't after the first episode. You get clues, but you still don't really know who she is.

 

[sofiloteo]

I wasn't feeling the first couple episodes, but then it took off for me. I also wasn't too content with this version of The Purple Man -not crazy enough-, but at the end of the series it was a much closer to the comic book villain than I'd expect. As someone who didn't watch DD or any other marvel tv project, and was dissapointed with Powers, I'm glad someone did justice to a Bendis' comic for once.

 

[Vipre77]

caldepen[/url]":kkvzqr13]

Still male orientated view of women. Pity.

I didn't get that impression. What made you think this?

Ditto. I came to the series knowing nothing about this character and, if anything, I got strong LGBT agenda vibe from the first few episodes I've watched so far.

The part I don't get is the timeline. They suggest this takes place, like DareDevil, not long after the events of the first Avengers movie. Yet it seems to take place a while after Jones has left the New Avengers and her old Jewel persona behind. So, the New Avengers apparently weren't around long enough and had no adventures of their own worthy enough to tell their story and offer some had acted development before throwing us this character? Or does this take place a lot longer after Avengers than it seems?

 

[caldepen]

I wish they would review other sci-fy on this site other than mainstream stuff. I accidentally came upon 'The man in the High Castle' the other day and was quite happy with it.

Marvel and Star Wars probably does not need the publicity as much as others do, yet we mostly only see media report on them.

Like giving free handouts to the rich..

 

[divisionbyzero]

Kamina[/url]":2z05f7ad]

benjitek[/url]":2z05f7ad]It was a slow moving, disappointingly boring, low-budget superhero series. Must've had zero budget for effects as there weren't any. Writing and acting didn't make up for it -- even the fight scenes were filled with repetitive stunts. Throwing people against walls was particularly popular. Slow moving -- 10 hours would've been a stretch, 8 hours plenty -- 13 hours meant a lot of filler scenes.

Would've been better if they'd done more, 13 hours provided plenty of time for a story that morphed into 3-4 different villain subplots, possibly something that cleverly intersected. Another better use of the time would've been a couple episodes covering the childhood years and the adoptive mother stuff. Another episode or 2 when she met and started out with Kilgrave with the rest for current-day. Instead they shoved what could've been great into lazily constructed flashbacks.

They had a 13 hour canvas, they drew the story with pencil :-(

You should watch super girl, you will love it. They have masterfully managed to avoid coming up with a single original idea just to satisfy your appetite for regurgitated vomit.

Glad to hear I'm not missing anything by not watching super girl. Looks positively horrible.

 

[pj-]

Coriolanus[/url]":1qn8605a]

benjitek[/url]":1qn8605a]It was a slow moving, disappointingly boring, low-budget superhero series. Must've had zero budget for effects as there weren't any. Writing and acting didn't make up for it -- even the fight scenes were filled with repetitive stunts. Throwing people against walls was particularly popular. Slow moving -- 10 hours would've been a stretch, 8 hours plenty -- 13 hours meant a lot of filler scenes.

Would've been better if they'd done more, 13 hours provided plenty of time for a story that morphed into 3-4 different villain subplots, possibly something that cleverly intersected. Another better use of the time would've been a couple episodes covering the childhood years and the adoptive mother stuff. Another episode or 2 when she met and started out with Kilgrave with the rest for current-day. Instead they shoved what could've been great into lazily constructed flashbacks.

They had a 13 hour canvas, they drew the story with pencil :-(

I find that nothing ages faster or looks cheesier than overly ambitious superhero effects on a TV show budget. Sometimes, subtle is better. Sometimes, less is more.

Other times, less is less.

I'm 4 or 5 epsidoes in and I find almost nothing to like about this show. Daredevil was fun because of how silly and over the top it was. JJ has the stupidity of Daredevil or an episode of Fringe, minus the fun.

Hopefully I can shift this show into the "stuff my gf watches while I play fallout" category.

 

[Katana314]

"we don't see her in a costume once"

I liked this about Daredevil. In fact while we have by now seen the "official Netflix version" of the Daredevil red costume, I myself find the "random black rags and sporting pads" look for Matt Murdock to be preferable.
I guess when comparing it to things like Arrow and Flash, the less rehearsed feel of it (both the manner of the fights, the "posing", and the costumes), feels a little bit less cheesy. Even Batman has to always do something *really* badass to introduce himself in any scene of the Dark Knight trilogy, before he's excused for his fancy-dress. (eg, batclawing a guy up through the ceiling and then landing on the lead henchman)

 

[sofiloteo]

Vipre77[/url]":yorj4bcc]

caldepen[/url]":yorj4bcc]

Still male orientated view of women. Pity.

I didn't get that impression. What made you think this?

Ditto. I came to the series knowing nothing about this character and, if anything, I got strong LGBT agenda vibe from the first few episodes I've watched so far.

The part I don't get is the timeline. They suggest this takes place, like DareDevil, not long after the events of the first Avengers movie. Yet it seems to take place a while after Jones has left the New Avengers and her old Jewel persona behind. So, the New Avengers apparently weren't around long enough and had no adventures of their own worthy enough to tell their story and offer some had acted development before throwing us this character? Or does this take place a lot longer after Avengers than it seems?

I don't think there where/are New Avengers in the cinematic MU. Since there is zero SHIELD presence (and you'd think they would be on it) as well, it seems to me this would take place between the Winder Soldier movie and the second Avengers movie, so still no second team of Avengers. In this comic the story takes place before the Disassembled arc.

 

[Otto96]

Found the show immensely enjoyable.
Found all the endless discussions of how it tackles social issues (rape, alcoholism, fat shaming, women's pleasure, feminism, interracial relationships, and more) endlessly grating.
Can't anything just be enjoyed as entertainment anymore without it being judged against a checklist of contemporary social issues?

 

[Coriolanus]

Enochrewt[/url]":2619yn0l]My wife vetoed it as soon as I suggested it because every shot shows her in a really bad wig. I wouldn't judge so lightly, but if the wigs look this bad how is the rest of the show going to hold up?

Imagine how the world would've been different if people held the 1966 Star Trek series up to that standard.

 

[caldepen]

Enochrewt[/url]":7ep4pfdc]My wife vetoed it as soon as I suggested it because every shot shows her in a really bad wig. I wouldn't judge so lightly, but if the wigs look this bad how is the rest of the show going to hold up?

What an odd, arbitrary way of deciding what to enjoy...

 

[nehinks]

caldepen[/url]":2eywtr16]I wish they would review other sci-fy on this site other than mainstream stuff. I accidentally came upon 'The man in the High Castle' the other day and was quite happy with it.

Marvel and Star Wars probably does not need the publicity as much as others do, yet we mostly only see media report on them.

Like giving free handouts to the rich..

To be fair, they mentioned that show back when it got its season order. It's only been actually out for the same amount of time as Jessica Jones I believe, so they still might review it. (The Man in the High Castle is next on my list of binge shows, as I greatly enjoyed the pilot back when it came out).

 

[Black Eagle]

I'm 11 episodes in, and based on what I've seen so far, I'd rate Jessica Jones as the best product of the MCU so far. Even a bit better than Daredevil (which is a high bar to clear). Not only that, but I'd say it has a place among the very best television shows in any genre.