Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant in Marvel Studios’ MOON KNIGHT. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
A few days ago I was given the wonderful opportunity by Disney to view the first four episodes of Marvel Studios upcoming Disney+ series ‘Moon Knight.’ I have thought a lot about my feelings over these episodes, I have rewatched the episodes just in case I didn’t miss anything. There might be some minor spoilers, so warning ahead. Reminder this is all my own individual opinion. Before I go into my thoughts, here is some background information on the character.
Marvels Moon Knight was created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin back in 1975, having first appeared in Werewolf by Night #32. Marc Spector (Moon Knight) is a Jewish superhero, who grew up ashamed of his father, a Kabbalist who dealt with brutal antisemitism from their neighborhood. Against his fathers pacifism, Marc decided to become a fighter and soon become a mercenary. After being left for dead, he is brought into a tomb of the statue of Egyptian moon god Khonshu where he is revived back to life as Khonshus Knight of the moon. As his stories continued in the comics, the character of Marc Spector has dissociative identity disorder. The first identity being the mercenary Marc Spector, the second is Steven Grant, a millionaire in Wall Street, the third is Jake Lockley who is a street-smart cabbie, the 4th is Mr. Knight, a classy detective and/or private investigator, and the fifth and final is Moon Knight.
In Marvel Studios adaptation of the Marvel Comics superhero, we are introduced to Steven Grant played by Oscar Isaac, a quirky male protagonist who we follow alongside on this action packed mystery-induced adventure. The antagonist is Arthur Harrow, who is played by Ethan Hawke. Arthur is sort of like a religious cult leader who has a past with the Egyptian Moon God Khonshu. Khonshu in the show reminds me of a Wizard101 commercial, Khonshu sort of has this comedic timing that they offer through scenes often criticizing Steven. Marc Spector who is played by Oscar Isaac is sort of like a level headed badass action male protagonist, in the first four episodes we have not touched into any of Marcs Jewish heritage so hopefully we’ll explore that in the last two episodes. So far Moon Knight comic supporting characters such as Frenchie and Marlene are not currently present in the show, nor are they acknowledged. We are however introduced to a brand new female character named Layla who is the love interest to Marc.
What I find great about the show so far is how different it feels from more recent MCU projects. It’s an entirely standalone story, there are no references to past MCU events nor are there many connections. The show keeps a consistent tone through story, while offering humor through action, especially with Mr. Knight. Mr. Knight from what we saw isn’t the private investigator from the comics, it’s more-so a suit Steven accidentally summons and he is very incompetent. It’s possible they are using Mr. Knight as a way to help Steven find his footing into the mantle of Moon Knight. Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke are phenomenal in the series and are a treat watching on screen together. The cinematography is one of the best parts of the series, especially the lighting. The score composed by Hesham Nazih is so thrilling as well! In terms of action and violence, there is not a lot that we actively see on screen. There are some thrilling sequences though for audiences throughout. We get some cool bits between Moon Knight and these CGI Anubis dogs who reminded me of those purple CG creatures from Scooby-Doo (2002) in the second episode.
I think the action piece that stands out the most is in episode 3. Moon Knight is very badass in that episode! Especially with his cool moon shaped cape. I think the violence is more *graphic* than something we would normally see in the other MCU projects. But it never got as raw as something like the Netflix Marvel shows. However episode 4 was very horrifying to me in the right way, like it does go far there but I don’t mean action wise. Moon Knight reminds me of Agents of Shield and Agent Carter much more with a mix of Phase 1 in terms of Marvel but as a standalone project it’s kind of fells like a “diet” version of The Mummy (1999). Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does feel like that is the vibe the show is going for at times.
I enjoy the show on its own for the most part, but I sometimes feel conflicted as there’s not a lot I can say about the story that is very memorable. While I’m intrigued to see how it ends, I have some of this feeling of “nothingness”? I don’t hate the show at all, but as I explore the stories told in the comics prior, the show has this very small percentage of everything great about the character. It’s awesome he has a moon shaped cape and some dynamic moments on rooftops. It still feels like we aren’t getting close to the full potential with these characters. Is it bad I sometimes receive this feeling of forgetting this is Moon Knight while watching? I think it’s definitely a nice step for the MCU going forward, but it still feels like there’s a lot more steps it could’ve gone more. I’m very excited to explore more of this supernatural-induced era of the MCU but I just hope there’s way more risk taking. With the NETFLIX shows now on Disney+ alongside Moon Knight releasing. I think we might be heading towards that going forward.
In conclusion, Episode 1 and 4 are my favorite episodes of the show so far, they’re the most interesting creatively with some nice callbacks to the comics. I hope the last two episodes stick the ultimate landing and maybe improve some of my own personal concerns because I do believe in the potential on this project and am excited to see more. Moon Knight will be streaming March 30th on Disney+ and I hope you’ll enjoy the show as well.
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