Marvel fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’. With a bigger budget and the return of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher, expectations were high.
However, the increased production value has not necessarily translated into a better show. In fact, the biggest problem with ‘Born Again’ is also its weakest point as its overuse of CGI dilutes the raw, visceral action that made the Netflix series so beloved.
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Action Feels More Like Video Game Fighting Sequences
Instead of enhancing Daredevil’s street-level combat, the CGI-heavy sequences in ‘Born Again’ make the fights feel weightless and unnatural. What made ‘Daredevil’ on Netflix stand out was its commitment to practical stunts. Unfortunately, the reboot seems to be moving away from that.
To fans, the main issue with the show is how the fight sequences feel artificial. In the first episode, we see Daredevil swing into action as he takes on Bullseye in a long-awaited rematch. However, rather than delivering a fight on par with their iconic battle in Daredevil Season 3, what we get instead is a visually over-the-top sequence where Daredevil moves more like Spider-Man.
When Matt Murdock swings through the city and collides with Bullseye, there’s no real sense of impact. The scenes all play out like a video game cutscene. This is a stark contrast to the legendary hallway fight from Season 1, where every strike felt real. In Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’, fans could see Matt taking damage, getting tired, and fighting through the pain.
He wasn’t invincible, and that’s what made him so thrilling to watch. However, ‘Born Again’ seems to be abandoning that approach in favor of high-flying, CGI-enhanced action. Additionally, this problem isn’t unique to Daredevil. It’s an issue that has plagued many MCU characters without superhuman ability.
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Stripped Bullseye Of His Lethal Edge
The issues with Born Again aren’t just limited to Daredevil’s movements. Bullseye, one of the best villains from the Netflix era, also suffers from the show’s reliance on CGI. In ‘Daredevil’ Season 3, Bullseye was terrifying not just because of his precision but because of the everyday objects he used as deadly weapons.
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In one of the show’s most intense fight scenes, he hurls office supplies, pens, staplers, and even a tape dispenser, with lethal accuracy. The audience can relate to these objects because they know what they are. We’ve held them in our own hands. That kind of real-world violence made Bullseye one of the most unique villains in Marvel’s roster.
However, in ‘Born Again’, this element is largely lost. Instead of creative, practical weapon choices, Bullseye throws an endless barrage of CGI daggers, each more obviously fake than the last. They lack weight, they lack impact, and they lack unsettling realism. Even when the show attempts to use practical objects, the camera work undermines it.
This over-reliance on CGI extends beyond the fight choreography and into the show’s symbolism. The original Netflix series excelled at showing rather than telling. ‘Born Again’, on the other hand, feels the need to overemphasize its themes through artificial visual cues. So, if Marvel wants this show to truly succeed, they need to remember what made ‘Daredevil’ great and stick to it.
