Marvel fans who aren't familiar with the comic books probably think they know every single hero in the MCU universe. Over the years, Sony has had the opportunity to buy rights to many Marvel characters, but only picked the likes of Iron Man, Thor, and Spider-Man because they thought nobody would be interested in the more obscure heroes.
So, it was quite a surprise to see Sony bring Moon Knight, a lesser-known hero to the screen despite the character first appearing in comic books by Marvel in 1975. As a part of MCU's sprawling phase four TV series, the first season of Moon Knight is now streaming on Disney+, and is scheduled to run for a total of six episodes with new episodes every Wednesday until May 4. As of now, with only one episode left to go, it is still not clear what the series is building up to, but Moon Knight eclipses expectations and is wildly entertaining.
The premise follows Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac), a shy, awkward museum gift shop employee who becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life. Admitting that he can't tell the difference between life and dreams, Steven soon discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and somehow shares a body with a mercenary named Marc Spector. As Steven and Marc's old friends and enemies converge upon them, the two must navigate their complex identities while navigating mysterious superpowers from the Egyptian God of the Moon, Khonshu.
Going straight into the story, Moon Knight feels different and disconnected from MCU. We are first introduced to Steven Grant, a pretty regular guy despite the fact that at bedtime he chains himself to a bed surrounded by sand in order to prevent himself from sleepwalking as on some mornings, he wakes up in the middle of a shootout on the mountains of Europe. The show keeps switching between reality and dreamlike sequences to confuse the audience about the fact if the events really are happening or if they are only inside Steven's head.
In the first two episodes, the show requires a bit of patience to understand what's going on, particularly about the exact nature of Steven's madness. If you're the kind of viewer that doesn't like questions and wants to know everything quickly, then Moon Knight is probably going to turn you off because the story is filled with questions and lots of weird, bizarre things keep happening. While I had no clue what to expect, I love the way the story is told and when writers trust their audience not to be bored when things are not explained. Yet, the show gradually begins to reveal its mystery, as well as introduce new characters as the story progresses. Episode three gives us more information about Khonshu's power and his relation to other ancient Gods. Episode Four also gives us a Tomb Raider vibe with catacomb adventures and creepy creatures lurking in the dark. The show moves from humour to action, and to horror wonderfully.
I really enjoyed Oscar Isaac's performance in Moon Knight. I also liked his roles in Star Wars and Dune, so he totally nails it playing different characters and personalities. This is especially true in Episode Five where we get to see the origin of Marc's multiple personalities. I really felt his manic confusion, and how he acted every single emotion, not to also mention how he brilliantly switched between American and British accents. So far, this episode is my favourite as it touches more on serious issues such as the idea of grief and trauma and disassociating yourself from it and the consequences of that. It also explores what happens if you don't face that grief of trauma.
Ethan Hawke also appears in the series as a villain and cult leader Arthur Harrow, who encourages Marc and Steven to embrace the chaos. They actually have a tonne of screen time together. The series also features May Calamawy as Layla, an old friend of Marc who later gets caught in an odd love triangle and French actor Gaspard Ulliel, who appears posthumously as Anton Mogart, the alter ego of the character known as Midnight Man. Ulliel sadly passed away in a ski accident earlier this year, and Moon Knight was one of the last projects he ever worked on.
Overall, Moon Knight is a refreshing chapter in the MCU Universe with a compelling story, great character development, and top-notch performances by cast members. With new shows like WandaVision, Loki and Hawkeye, it's great that MCU has come into this new era and see how the series format has helped expand the story to allow actors to explore characters in ways that perhaps the feature format didn't allow.
- Moon Knight
- Starring Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, May Calamawy
- Created by Jeremy Slater
- Now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar
