MCN Review: 'Marvel's Jessica Jones'
Netflix will tap the Marvel Universe again with its new drama series Marvel’s Jessica Jones.
Unlike Marvel’s more mainstream, action-heavy franchises like the Avengers, Jessica Jones provides a much darker, edgier look at a Marvel superhero, similar in tone and complexity to Netflix’s Daredevil series that premiered earlier this year.
Krysten Ritter plays Jessica Jones, a former superhero with a very, very dark past. Jones is a flawed, hard-drinking private detective who is rough around the edges but has a soft heart for those in need. She’s trying to put her life together after escaping the mind-control spell of a demented man known as Kilgrave (David Tennant), and she is in constant fear of him finding her again.
When events begin to point to a possible return of Kilgrave to her life, Jones has to determine whether to run or stand and fight the demons both inside of and around her. Along with Ritter’s terrific portrayal of Jones, the series is filled with equally interesting supporting characters including Jones’ best friend Trish Walker (played by Rachel Taylor), attorney and Jones employer Jeryn Hograth (Carrie-Anne Moss) and bartender Luke Cage (Mike Colter), a character who is expected to get his own Marvel-based series on Netflix in the near future.
Burdened by her past and the destructive things that Kilgrave did to her and made her do to others, Jones comes off as more mortal than superhero, although she does she shows off her superhuman strength in spots throughout the series.
Yet it’s Jessica Jones producer Melissa Rosenberg's clever character development as well as the show's overall storyline that makes Marvel’s Jessica Jones one of the most unique dramas on television and a marvel worthy of a look.
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R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.