Luke Cage starts off great with a strong classic noire vibe in a modern coat of paint. A strong cast creates a powerful atmosphere and tone that draws you in. Mike Colter clearly looks the part of an indestructible giant and plays Luke Cage in a somber and traditional "tormented, silent protagonist" kind of way, but it is the surrounding cast that truly brings out this jewel: Simone Missick as the honest officer from the street, Mahershala Ali as the tormented gang leader, Frank Whaley as the smart mouth sidekick cop, Alfre Woodard as the congresswoman stuck in both the future and the past, Frankie Faison as the mentor and spot of light in the dark.
Sadly as the story progresses through the season and especially about half way through with some major shake up of the status quo, much of the great character nuances and complex relationships that had started to develop were taken in a very different direction and new characters were given more screen time. This I think was a mistake; not only because in its current iteration replaced focus of interesting characters and arcs with something very straight forward and boring, but also because it happened so soon in the series.
Such a significant shake up would have been much more suitable for a season finally and with a second season dealing with the fallout and changing landscape for our cast to traverse, not as a throw in at the half way mark.
All in all the first half of the series was a clear 8 for me and the second half about a 6 so on average it comes out a 7, Good, but not a must watch.
