Warning: This article contains mild spoilers for The Defenders. So it's your call.

The team-up that Netflix Marvel fans have been waiting for is just around the corner.

The Defenders – starring Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), and Finn Jones (Iron Fist) – will launch its eight-episode run next month, but critics already have their hands on the first four episodes and have been giving their verdicts on what they've seen so far.

Netflix

Related: The Defenders season 1 – everything you need to know

Reception has been mostly positive, with universal praise for the team-up itself – commending the writing and the cast during scenes when the four heroes are together. They even liked Iron Fist, stating that he works better as an ensemble than as a lead.

On the other hand, critics were disappointed that the team-up doesn't happen until the end of episode three, calling it a "slow burn".

Here's what the reviews say...

Netflix

We Got This Covered – 4/5

"Amidst such inherently dark personalities as Jessica Jones and Matt Murdock, Iron Fist's relative naïveté offers a fun counterpoint, one which The Defenders uses to its full advantage.

"While the show starts as something of a slow burn, once the heroes come together, it more than lives up to the promise fans have been clamouring to see realised."

io9

"It's a show that's very aware of the expectations put upon it and the problems encountered by the other Marvel Netflix shows, and it knows how to best utilise its cast and its time. In other words, it's great.

"The good of The Defenders far outweighs the bad. The story isn't revolutionary, and as usual, the villains have a typically over-the-top and hilariously convoluted plan – but it's all a canvas to showcase Matt, Jessica, Luke, and Danny coming together as a team.

"They're not just stronger together than they are apart – it turns out they're more entertaining, too."

Empire – 3/5

"We're sorry to report, the big threat that unites the group proves a mild disappointment. Alexandra feels like yet another businessperson baddie whose dirty deeds are hidden by sharp suits, while the ongoing, vague chicanery of The Hand (like HYDRA, but ninjas) fails to ignite much excitement.

"Even so, there is enough joy in watching the sparks fly as these four alpha characters finally collide to make you feel The Defenders might just have been worth the wait."

ComingSoon.net

"For a show that boasts only eight episodes, it takes an awfully long time to see the superheroes (though Jessica would hate that description) team up... The scenes where they come together are wonderful, making it all the more obvious that it should have happened far sooner.

"For fans, this is definitely worth a watch."

Marvel Studios Netflix

Collider – 3/5

"It's something new, but it has a lot of problems. It's a tonal mishmash as it brings these characters together (including a very cringe-worthy decision to play hip-hop every time we see Luke in the first hour when no-one else gets a soundtrack — we get it, guys; he's black), but the interactions among the heroes are always great.

"There's just not enough of it to start, and it takes too long for them to team-up."

CNET

"The Defenders is the superhero power-group payoff we've been waiting for. Personal preference and style influence your favorite Netflix-Marvel show, but this one has something for every fan and makes some of the solo stories pale in comparison.

"Each hero brings a fresh perspective to the table and it's those differences that contribute to making The Defenders one of the best Marvel shows to experience."

Netflix

Mic

"Obviously, it's undeniably fun to watch some of the heroes meet for the first time and trade snappy one-liners – though in this department, no-one has Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) beat; at one point she threatens to punch Daredevil so hard that he'll see again.

"Strange as it may sound, The Defenders works in spite of Iron Fist's presence, but he could also be the show's most integral character. It's just as well: I can't wait to watch the next four episodes – Iron Fist and all."

The Defenders launches on August 18 on Netflix.

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