Moon Knight

Starring: Oscar Isaac (6 episodes), Ethan Hawke (6 episodes), May Calamwy (6 episodes), F. Murray Abraham (5 episodes), Ann Akinjirin (5 episodes), David Ganly (4 episodes), Antonia Salib (3 episodes), Khalid Abdalla (3 episodes), Gaspard Ulliel (1 episode)
Directed by: Mohamed Diab (4 episodes), Justin Benson (2 episodes), Aaron Moorhead (2 episodes)
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
2022

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Oscar Isaac) begins experiencing supernatural events and soon discovers he's part of something bigger than he imagined and beyond belief.

Review:
Tim: I still remember seeing the initial announcement that Moon Knight was coming to the MCU. I don't know a great deal about the character, but I've always thought he was incredibly cool and I was ecstatic to welcome him into the largest, greatest franchise. Fast forward now two years and Moon Knight barely made a blip. It's a miniseries, I guess, with no word on future appearances in the MCU. I'm not sure what to make of this, truly. The miniseries was fine- it introduced the character, we got some cool CGI moments. Not a whole lot happened. None of it felt especially memorable. I'd call this a decent series, but also admit that it was a bit of a letdown.

Steven Grant, or Marc Spector is a fascinating character. The series did a solid job of introducing him, and it's wonderful to see Oscar Isaac flex his acting muscles. I really do think Moon Knight is one of the most unique, cool characters in Marvel. I don't think the small screen was the right place to introduce him, though. Everything about this series feels small, feel a tad unimportant. Larger isn't always better, but I wish the series felt more important. We do get to know this character and there's a few epic moments, but it felt like there was a lot of downtime. We're lost much of the time. Six episodes isn't long enough to truly establish this character. Just when we feel like the series is starting to hit its stride, just when we're getting comfortable with Moon Knight, it ends. This is a severe limitation of these small screen adaptations. I don't think the showrunners did a lot wrong, but the medium itself wasn't right. The fact of the matter is, I felt somewhat bored watching this miniseries. I know it's a contradiction to want more episodes when the ones we got weren't all that compelling, but that's one of the central issues- we needed more time with this character and we needed a more compelling story. Contrast this with Hawkeye- another quick, 6-episode miniseries. The difference there is that we all know Clint Barton. We've seen him in multiple movies. Sure, he's been a supporting character, but we can jump in faster because we're familiar. To really do Spector justice, we needed 2-3 more episodes.

I'm a bit hard on this series now, but it was honestly solid. There's entertaining moments. There's some impressive visual effects. I didn't love all the narrative choices, but it does feel somewhat unique within the larger MCU context. It was fun seeing this very different hero emerge. Isaac is quite good in the lead role. Ethan Hawke makes for a surprisingly different antagonist. He's quite memorable in the role. I loved F. Murray Abraham as the voice of Konshu- that was absolutely a highlight of the series. I didn't love May Calamwy. She was fine, but far too unmemorable of an actress. She doesn't elevate the role.

The series does an excellent job of portraying Dissociative Identity Disorder, and it takes some bold swings- Taweret is one of the more memorable aspects of the series. This is where I loved the series most- its idiosyncrasies, it's uniqueness in the MCU when we've had countless movies and television series. It's also what makes me frustrated that it feels like it doesn't add up to enough. We explore this new corner of the MCU and now it's been two years and the events here feel forgotten, disconnected from everything else. Mar Spector, Moon Knight is an unbelievable cool character. That doesn't quite translate here.

I know this hasn't been the most positive review. I did like the miniseries. I feel like I should watch it again- maybe I'd appreciate it more. It tackles its subject with earnestness. The issue is that it feels too one-off, too unimportant. Marvel is capable of amazing things, Moon Knight absolutely feels like a slightly lesser effort. It's a success, and yet...

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: Hawkeye, Wandavision