I am a huge comic book fan. So finding out Moon Knight was getting a TV show was pretty cool. He was underrated in the marvel universe so I'm glad to see his recognition. The show is more violent let alone more bloody than anything the MCU has put out. And that is awesome to see. The character is funny like he is in the comics and it feels more like a movie than a TV show. The bad guy isn't super exciting but I'm sure as the series goes on he is better. Overall, I haven't been this excited for a marvel TV show since Wandavison.
I like this show more than I thought I would, though it's certainly not without issues - including that very weak finale. I think it's better than both Hawkeye and Falcon and the Winter Soldier (though maybe that's not saying much). Interested to see where they go with a second season if it gets one.
Totally a sh*tshow. I guess there is no other series that I find unnecessary to make.
While this show has a similar structure to Wandavision, it struggles to mine the same depths. Instead it opts for a globe-trotting adventure feel that then gets too bogged in the details of its world. The action scenes are frequently weak and the CGI is borderline laughable until the final two episodes where they clearly blew all their money. The most intriguing aspects of this character are tossed aside for a world-ending plot that only becomes more confusing when you consider that no Avengers appear and they’re barely even referenced at all. It’s necessary, I suppose, but if a man was about to wreak havoc on the world and kill a bunch of people, it seems like Arthur Harrow could be taken care of pretty swiftly by Doctor Strange by himself. Throw in a couple other heroes and it becomes pretty obvious why it’s necessary for this show to ignore that entirely.
Rather than build to the level of stakes the finale does, Moon Knight would have been significantly better off as an exploration of reality and mental illness. As someone who has not read a single Moon Knight comic I recognize this could be very off-brand for the canon, but it would have boasted a better narrative and allowed the acting (the best part of this series) to flourish. Instead, somehow in a series with Oscar Isaac twice it still feels like he’s sidelined.
All in all, Moon Knight has the same problems that other MCU shows (aside from Loki) have: absolutely whack pacing and a struggle to retain any sense of relevance when it’s apparent Disney is reticent to put any A-list Avenger in one likely because of budget and fear for lost ticket sales. While Disney+, although a success for the House of Mouse, is still getting off its feet there is a serious lack of emphasis and narrative weight that can be put into individual series. To a certain extent this remains to be seen: Loki’s climax definitely hints at the next major team-up, Hawkeye and Falcon and the Winter Soldier do little more than introduce characters, and I haven’t seen Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness yet so perhaps I’m talking out of my ass but Wandavision definitely cares more about character development than macro plot progression. The fourth phase of the MCU feels part post-script, part extended introduction. Seeing as how Marvel and Feige felt it necessary to move on from our old heroes, we are currently either wrapping up old threads or introductions new ones a la phase one. Moon Knight is the pinnacle of how awkward that can be post-Endgame. I think there’s a sense that we’re gearing up towards something, but when you consider that the Infinity Stones were teased as early as Thor 1, only two years after the first MCU ever. We’re spinning our wheels a bit and it feels like the fans want a little more.
All this said, Moon Knight isn’t all that bad. Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke bring the heat as usual. May Calamawy follows up her excellent performance in Ramy her to string results too. I appreciate the introduction of a new set of mythology to the MCU, even if I wish it were handled better. But the six episode structure hampers all development and makes the series feel like a drag. Although it’ll sound contradictory, I think eight episodes would allow each element more time to breath and as a result pace everything up. As it stands, it feels like pacing comes to a standstill because of how awkwardly we are jettisoned from plot to plot so we can’t settle at all.
Good first episode, but completely falters afterwards. This show tries its hardest to be a Moon Knight show without actually having Moon Knight in it. Just pick up any of the comics instead. Lemire's run is referenced a lot, but feels like it belongs in a different show. Layla was a highlight, I hope they put her in better written stuff next.
I’m four episodes in and quite frankly, I don’t see this show getting any better. At least Wandavision picked up after the third episode. Those people saying this is the best MCU show so far must be on crack.
UPDATE:
Now that I've finished watching all the episodes, I still feel a bit shortchanged with this show. I do think Oscar Isaacs did an incredible job all through the season, but I still feel it's terribly paced. Even though the last episode was awesome, I had already lost much of the initial interest. Ethan Hawke's character falls flat for me. Marvel films have created great villains with powerful motivations to justify what they do. Damn! I still think Thanos had a very good point! If Hawke was supposed to be Marc/Steven's foil, he came across as a bland bad guy who wanted to be bad because Khonshu is a trickster god who lied to him (we still don't know exactly how). Had his history arc been developed thoroughly, it would've opened more complex layers in the story. Also, they boast they got an Egyptian director who knew his way around Egyptian mythology... but... the show was quite lacklustre on that regards as well, IMO. Now we're left with a cliffhanger that hints at a second season. Oh my...
There is nothing special other than just introducing the Moon Knight and all his dual personalities.
The story is good, but unfortunately the way Marvel introduces its Egyptian myth is so lacking or even non-existent. Things that should be explained are simply skipped, as if we were Steven Grant who didn't know anything and just got involved.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, my name's Steven with a V
Eh. Like pretty much every other Marvel movie I diss on, this was forgettable and at moments just dull (the final fight just made me roll my eyes, it was in no way climactic). Also, a superhero show about a character with a mental illness that has a twist ending in a psych ward is not new. You bastards, remember when Noah Hawley actually did something new and created Legion. Fight scenes are boring but a dance scene isn't. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84ja5ehgpCA)
I also feel like not casting an actor of Middle Eastern descent or a Jewish actor was a huge missed opportunity. I say this as a Latino and a Mexican who will soon be getting a Latinx superhero who's the Latinx equivalent of Black Panther and Shang-Chi in not just being a superhero but also representing a culture and minority. As to who that superhero is I'll give you a hint: Imperius Rex. Anyways, a young Egyptian girl gets someone to look up to but what about the Egyptian boys? Many boys of colour still feel underrepresented and I believe Marvel should give many superheroes the race change treatment, this was definitely one of those times but the decision wasn't as inspired. I mean was Rami Malek not available? This is just a thought.
62 I Moon Knight fulfilled the expectation that this show gave from the trailer. The color tone was perfect for this series It has a dark theme blended with moonlight, also warm colors several times appeared. Moon Knight did not try to be funny but it find its way to do it, so it didn't feel forced at all. Split's fans would be loving this series because of the characters that Oscar Isaac played. Oscar Isaac's performance was enjoyable to watch. The British accent is a plus point for this series. But it was unfortunate that the quality of this show was only maintained by Oscar Isaac, even Ethan Hawke's character was not that interesting.
Marc Spector has a boring personality in this series. This series could bring him as a smart and serious character but instead, he was useless except for fighting. At first, Marc Spector's character backstories are unclear, how and when he was in Steven's body. Was Marc even a human? Was that Marc or Steven's original body? We will get that explanation eventually. When we slowly know the truth about Marc, the more we understand Steven is. But, the impact of that truth did not feel as strong as it should be. Might be because we expect this kind of truth happened so the element of surprise became weaker than it should be. Nevertheless, Marc and Steven are enjoyable characters. Oscar Isaac succeeded to brought that characters alive.
The beginning of the fourth episode was tried to give a creepy atmosphere and the end of that episode just confusing and interesting at the same time. Episode four gave us a lot of questions. With all of the nonsense that happened in that episode, is it from the comic book material? After the ending of episode four, Marc and Steven have more interesting characters than before.
We got a bit more understanding about Egypt's ancient God who need a human avatar to live. The ancient Egypt Gods are shown as unwise creatures with how they made rapid decisions. They easily trust Harrow without any second thought. That's one of the reasons some episodes were bad but fortunately, it still has its charm. Speaking of which, there was an emotional episode in this series. That episode is about the past and then talking about death. When there is life, there is death. That's how life finds its balance.
Even though the story is not the strongest element of Moon Knight but it has some great action scenes. How Marc or Steven turned into Moon Knight has some good transitions. Another cool action scene is the Ultraman fighting scene in Egypt. But still, the conclusion of the fighting was a bit anti-climatic and boring. Anyways, we got a woman's falcon in this show, she is as cool as Falcon. With all of that coolness, this show still can't create great storytelling. Some parts seem rushed and the plot armor was thick. Even worse the ending of this series was a little bit off but fortunately saved by a new appearance of a mysterious character in after credit scene.
My Instagram: @hardalikesmovies & @moviemanner
Rating: 61.61
Favorite Episodes
69.71: E1 I The Goldfish Problem
68.71: E4 I The Tomb
65.04: E5 I Asylum
60.63: E2 I Summon the Suit
54.21: E3 I The Friendly Type
Favorite Characters
70.00: Marc Spector
65.83: Steven Grant
59.17: Arthur Harrow
51.25: Layla El-Faouly
52.50: Donna
Started out strong, dragged on for a bit, had a great penultimate episode and then failed to stick the landing.
Shout by Miguel A. ReinaBlockedParent2022-05-08T19:55:37Z
It is contradictory that, the worse fit they have in the MCU, the more interesting these proposals for series of lateral characters are. In this case, there is a remarkable approach to multiple personality disorder that, mixed with Egyptian mythology, offers a very striking proposal. But, when it tries to regain the connection to the MCU, it becomes conventional and uninspiring. Oscar Isaacs is superb.