You've heard the hype: Marvel's Jessica Jones, streaming now on Netflix, is the best Marvel adaptation ever to come to television. The bar hasn't been set all that high, of course, and I've only watched half the series, but I have to agree.
Krysten Ritter as Jessica perfectly embodies the mood of the series, which unspools as an old-fashioned film noir detective flick. It just so happens that this private eye has super strength, her on-again, off-again boyfriend is invulnerable, and she's up against a villain who can control minds. The cast features mostly unknown actors who all make strong first impressions: Mike Colter makes for a dark, deeply wounded Luke Cage, Rachel Taylor perks up the show as Jessica's mentor and best friend, radio host Trish Walker, and Eka Darville brings vulnerability and hidden resolve to the role of Jessica's sidekick Malcom.
If there's a weak spot here, it's the former Doctor, David Tennant, as Jessica's arch-enemy Kilgrave. He's been written not so much as a supervillain but as an obsessed stalker, serial killer, and psychopath. Kilgrave is very clever, and seemingly always one step ahead of Jessica, but what's his agenda? He seems content with using his mind-control powers to make Jessica's life miserable, when he could easily just kill her and move on with conquering the world.
Jessica Jones the character debuted in 2001 in Alias Comics, long after I had stopped reading comic books, so I'm going into this series with only a bare bones idea of her (considerable) backstory. And that's fine; Jessica Jones has been written so you don't have to know anything about the comics. Instead of ham-handedly giving us an origin episode (like seemingly every other comic book franchise to date,) Jessica's story unspools slowly in flashbacks and dialogue. There are "cookies" embedded in the stories that will give comic book nerds goosebumps, but you don't have to get all the in-jokes to enjoy the series.
What we do learn is that a freak accident gave Jessica powers, including super strength and a limited ability to fly (although Jessica says it's more like "controlled falling.") She set out to use those powers as a superhero, only to fall under Kilgrave's control and forced to commit horrible acts. So Jessica decided to hide her powers and took up a new career as a private eye, albeit one with an edge who can snap open the strongest locks and perch atop rooftops like Spiderman.
Like Netflix's Daredevil and ABC's Agents Of SHIELD, this series takes place in the familiar Marvel universe, a world with costumed super heroes and alien invasions. We don't see them, though, they're just casually mentioned in throwaway dialogue, often jokes. The Avengers and the attack on New York depicted in the first Avengers film get mentioned and even figure in a sub-plot, although it would be more believable if Jessica's New York City showed some of that devastation. (Apparently all those skyscrapers destroyed in the film have been rebuilt overnight; compare that to how long it took NYC to just clean up the WTC site at Ground Zero.)
If Jessica Jones reminds me of anything, its Watchmen, the film that convinced critics that super hero movies could be "art." With its gritty New York streets, jazzy score, and film noir voiceover narration, Jessica Jones deserves to be taken seriously; but don't worry. It's also engrossing entertainment.
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