Moon Knight Review: Marvel recently has been putting out these new Disney+ projects, and to be honest, they have been quite mixed. WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier started strongly but stumbled in the end, while shows like What If…? and Hawkeye just couldn’t find their footing. Loki alone was able to follow a clear path as it didn’t run into the problems the other shows had. So it makes me glad when I can say that Moon Knight is the best of all the Disney+ shows out yet, or at least the first four episodes, which were provided for review purposes. Moon Knight: Release Date, Time, Where to Watch – All You Need to Know About Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke's Marvel Disney+ Series!

Moon Knight focuses on Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac), who works at a gift shop in a museum and in general lives a pretty hard life. Things suddenly take a turn for the worse when he starts hallucinating the Egyptian god Khonshu and learns that he has a second personality by the name of Marc Spector who happens to be a mercenary. He gets drawn into the deadly mystery involving the gods and turns into Moon Knight when need be.

There is this point usually thrown around when a new MCU project is about to come out that “This is the most distinct Marvel film/series yet,” and then it releases and it doesn’t feel like that, bar for the exception of Eternals. Moon Knight feels different compared to the rest of the MCU. It feels very standalone in its approach and that’s refreshing.

No constant references are being thrown around to other superheroes or not building up to a cameo that will be revealed at the end. Moon Knight feels very straightforward in its approach. It features a guy who is losing his mind while hallucinating an Egyptian god while a cult leader is after his life and has other supernatural goals.

Watch The Trailer:

Oscar Isaac is by far the best part about this show. Essentially playing two different characters, he does a great job at switching them up and making them feel different. While Mark is the more hands-on, broody guy, Steven is more of a person who just wants to go back to his old life and not be a part of what’s happening. That’s a really impressive feat and there will be scenes where Isaac has to switch up the characters on go, and he makes it look so easy. I would say Isaac as Steven is more interesting as he has that British accent and plays this human who is feeling miserable.

Ethan Hawke plays Arthur Harrow. Can’t reveal much about his character because well, not much has been shown in the promos, but he is captivating in the role. Hawke has said how cult leader David Koresh inspired his role, and that’s very much visible here, although his character can feel one note at the start. Even after knowing his plan, I don’t know how to feel about it. Thankfully Hawke’s performance helps make Arthur feel intimidating. May Calamawy who portrays Layla is also a welcome surprise here. I can’t reveal who she is, but her dynamic with Steven is fun.

The show can also be violent, while not as violent as the Netflix Marvel shows were, it still takes a dark turn in many scenarios. Fists get bloody, people get stabbed, it’s all you would expect from the character of Moon Knight. That tone is executed well for this character. The mythological lore of the ancient gods is also well done here. It’s not exactly explored like how the Norse mythology was explored, but Moon Knight does it quite interestingly. At times it’s presented here so well that it gives the show an adventurous feel akin to the Indiana Jones films.

Now many have been wondering if DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) would be on display or not, and it very much is. Moon Knight doesn’t shy away from the mental health aspects of the character, which is nice to see, but I was a bit disappointed when the Jewish heritage of the character wasn’t represented over here much.

Moon Knight in the comics is very deeply rooted in Judaism and the Jewish representation is on full display. For Moon Knight, Judaism is what Christianity is to Daredevil, so it was weird seeing that not being represented over here. While of course, we have just watched the first four episodes only, here is hoping that those aspects are brought forward towards the end. Moon Knight: Marvel Studios Share New Glimpses From Oscar Isaac’s Show Ahead of Its Premiere (Watch Video).

The action in Moon Knight can be a hit or miss as well. Some of it is framed beautifully while others feel a bit cheap and fake in a way because the CGI isn’t convincing enough. In one action scene, there were two different cuts for the same frame which felt jarring. Don’t know if this will be fixed on release, but still worth pointing out.

Yay!

Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight

Feels Different

Nay!

Action Can Be Hit or Miss

Final Thoughts

Moon Knight brings a new, fresh feeling to the MCU and cements itself as the most different and distinct project in the franchise. Oscar Isaac gives a great performance that will leave a lot of Moon Knight fans happy and asking for more. Moon Knight will start streaming on Disney+ Hotstar from March 30.

Rating:3.5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 29, 2022 06:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).