If you ever find yourself stranded in a Hell’s Kitchen hallway, you better hope you don’t bump into Daredevil.
Since the second episode of the Netflix “Daredevil” series, the concept of hallway fight (usually portrayed as a single continuous shot) has become synonymous with the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen fighting style. Whether Charlie Cox’s Daredevil appears in his own TV show or someone else’s, you can usually expect to find him going against a group of goons continuously spilling into a corridor. At this point, it’s about as baked into Matt Murdock’s cinematic language as web-swinging is to Spider-Man.
It’s fascinating how well each action sequence reflects the strengths and weaknesses of the television seasons they find themselves in. The choreography and cinematography of the Season 1 and Season 3 sequences show why those remain some of the best runs of superhero television ever assembled, while the flaws in the “Defenders” scene highlights why that show isn’t held in such high esteem. Basically, a season of “Daredevil” is only as good as its hallway fight.
With the newest episodes of “Daredevil: Born Again” adding yet another action sequence into the mix, it’s time to rank every Daredevil hallway fight to date.
7. “Daredevil: Born Again” Season 1
Episode: “Heaven’s Half Hour”
Directors: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
Cinematographer: Hillary Fyfe Spera
When “Daredevil: Born Again” revived the long-dormant franchise surrounding the Man Without Fear (surviving a massive creative overhaul), premiere directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead cut through all the pretenses. The filmmakers open the season with a 16-minute prologue, about half of which is dedicated to an extended one-shot fight between Daredevil and Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) at Josie’s Bar (and, for a moment, in a hallway and stairwell) after the latter fatally wounds Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson).
This fight sequence is a perfect encapsulation of many of the problems that plague the first season of “Born Again.” It does a fine job of imitating what fans remember loving from the original Netflix series, yet it fails to capture any of the grit and texture that made those seasons special. A smoke grenade thrown early in the sequence obfuscates the specific details of the fight, putting a cloud over the weightless, hyper-digital rendering of Daredevil and Bullseye’s weapons and abilities.
There are things to enjoy, such as the ticking clock of Foggy’s fading heartbeat and the performances from Cox and Bethel. Still, the action itself — despite all the bells and whistles — feels stakeless and inert.
“The Defenders”
Episode: “Worst Behavior”
Director: Peter Hoar
Cinematographers: Matthew J. Lloyd, Jim McMillan
There is an undeniable amount of joy in the hallway sequence in the third episode of “The Defenders,” as all the street-level heroes assemble and fight together for the first time.
The sequence starts off well enough, with Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) mocking Matt Murdock for wearing her scarf as a face mask. The two soon join forces with Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Danny Rand (Finn Jones) to fight an army of Hand henchmen.
But the action scene quickly abandons the one-shot gimmick “Daredevil” was known for, struggling under the weight of having so many characters with distinct powers in a small space. Aside from a few fun moments of the heroes working in tandem and some well-choreographed action as Daredevil fights Elektra (Elodie Yung), the scene never finds its footing enough to rank among the greats.
“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law”
Episode: “Ribbit and Rip It”
Director: Kat Coiro
Cinematographer: Florian Ballhaus
“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” tries to accomplish a few things with its hallway fight.
For starters, the “She-Hulk” episode “Ribbit and Rip It” marked the first live-action appearance of Daredevil (outside of a Matt Murdock cameo in “Spider-Man: No Way Home”) since his Netflix series concluded in 2018. As such, Kat Coiro and company needed to remind viewers why they love The Man Without Fear (a mission they completed quite successfully in a charming episode of Marvel TV).
At the same time, “She-Hulk” needed to stay true to the show’s comic tone as a superhero send-up. The show finds a tongue-in-cheek excuse to get Daredevil into a hallway with a bunch of goons, showcasing a brief bit of action (and never even attempting to pull off a continuous take). After that, She-Hulk quickly bursts through the ceiling, dispatching the rest of the assembled enemies before Daredevil has a moment to join in.
It’s a fun bit that fits nicely into “She-Hulk’s” overall approach to Daredevil, one that stays true to the character while placing him in a more playful environment (akin to the tonal shifts seen in comic books when characters appear in more lighthearted heroes’ titles). Daredevil is an excellent fighter, but his knock-down-drag-out approach to these hallway-set confrontations becomes meaningless pretty quickly when he’s joined by someone at She-Hulk’s power level in the same environment.
“Daredevil: Born Again” Season 2
Episode: “The Scales & the Sword”
Director: Solvan Naim
Cinematography: Jeffrey Waldron
Now this is more like it.
After a turbulent first scene, the opening trio of episodes for “Daredevil: Born Again” Season 2 generally indicate that we’re on an upward trajectory. This is seen on full display in the hallway fight at the conclusion of the most recent episode, “The Scales & the Sword.”
There are a few things this sequence does really right. It places Daredevil against a sea of Anti-Vigilante Task Force officers (is there anyone we want to see beaten up more?) rather than the single supervillain seen in Season 1. It gives Daredevil an urgent objective, with the vigilante standing between these AVTF goons and the citizens they’ve imprisoned. It has a clear composition, framed by cages, that both makes Daredevil feel boxed in and gives the audience total spatial awareness of the hero and his foes.
It also gets Tony Dalton in the mix, and I’m not going to complain about that.
This one-shot scene harkens back to the hallway fights of old, bringing more tension, stakes and clarity than we’ve ever seen outside of the original Netflix series. There’s still a bit of wonkiness that comes from the sequences’ digital effects, but this is the best action set piece “Born Again” has exhibited to date.
“Daredevil” Season 2
Episode: “New York’s Finest”
Director: Marc Jobst
Cinematographer: Martin Ahlgren
If I were ranking the episodes featured on this list, “New York’s Finest” would surely take the cake, a thrilling hour of television that philosophically pits The Man Without Fear and The Punisher against each other for the first time in live-action.
The episode features a damn good hallway fight, too, upping the ante after Season 1 with a few key elements: an empty revolver taped to Daredevil’s hand, a metal chain in his other, a portion set entirely in a stairwell.
It’s an excellent action scene, though it loses minor points that the last two sequences on this list simply don’t. The stitches (or edits in the “continuous” shot) stand out, the camerawork at times feels too claustrophobic in the small filming space and Matt lacks a bit of the pure, exhausted scrappiness that really elevates the Netflix series’ other two sequences.
“Daredevil” Season 1
Episode: “Cut Man”
Director: Phil Abraham
Cinematographer: Matthew J. Lloyd
The hall that started it all.
I wouldn’t blame you for choosing this sequence as the very best. On a different day, I might do so myself.
If the first episode of “Daredevil” didn’t let you know that Drew Goddard and Steven S. DeKnight’s take on the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen for Netflix was something special, the end of the second episode surely did. “Cut Man” ends with the first hallway fight, a strongly composed and choreographed action sequence that would forever define the visual language of this character.
The “Cut Man” fight is brilliant in its simplicity. A wounded Daredevil attempts to rescue a kidnapped child with a hallway full of men standing between them. There are no tricky camera moves, no hidden cuts — simply a well-choreographed, green-tinted action scene evocative of “Old Boy.”
“Daredevil” Season 3
Episode: “Blindsided”
Director: Alex Garcia Lopez
Cinematographer: Christopher LaVasseur
There is filmmaking that calls attention to itself, and there is filmmaking that is invisible. Some one-shots, such as those in many a Steven Spielberg film, can go by with hardly a second thought, hidden by masterful blocking and subtle movement. Compare that to projects like “1917,” “Adolescence” and “Birdman” — all impressive, but certainly wanting you to notice that the shot hasn’t broken.
There’s a risk in calling attention to stylistic choices in this way. It opens you up to greater criticism if everything isn’t operating at peak capacity. It’s why I often prefer the Spielberg route, in this case, more similar to the hallway fight from Season 1.
Yet every time I watch the grand prison sequence in “Daredevil” Season 3, I am left in total astonishment. The scene from “Blindsided,” in which Matt must escape a prison filled with guards loyal to Fisk and after his head, runs 11 minutes in total, a true one-shot with no hidden cuts or stitches.
The sequence is nothing short of magic, a fight scene with gripping choreography that tells a complete story from beginning to end. In one unbroken shot, Matt stumbles his way through a set piece involving costume changes, squibs, smoke grenades, blinking lights, fire and a whole lot of fighting. It’s a total technical achievement, one that never overwhelms the story being told.
The “Cut Man” and “Blindsided” scenes are difficult to compare, but this is one of the finest Daredevil moments ever put to screen.
