While Marvel has already released the first episode of Marvel’s Moon Knight series on Disney+, I was given the opportunity to watch the first four episodes! So, if you’ve enjoyed the start of the series, just wait until you see what is to come! Don’t worry, this is a spoiler-free review, and I won’t tell you anything that happens in future episodes.
I’m enjoying the hell out of this series! It’s just been so much damn fun to watch. It’s telling an exciting adventure story that is very much inspired by Indiana Jones and other adventure films that audiences have enjoyed over the years. I love stories that take me on grand adventures, especially those that also include mysterious supernatural elements, which Moon Knight definitely has!
One of my favorite aspects of the series, though, are the main characters played by Oscar Isaac such as Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee at a museum, who becomes plagued with blackouts and randomly wakes up in places with no recollection of how he got there.
You see, Steven has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with a mercenary named Marc Spector. Things get very weird and complicated when the two start communicating with each other. But, the dynamic between these characters is also so much fun! It’s so wild to watch Isaac go from one character to another, but I have to say, I’m mostly enjoying his take on Steven Grant, who has a completely charming and goofy personality. But, he’s also in a constant state of paranoia.
The series also features some great action sequences that are a lot more grounded than the kind of action scenes we see in some of the other projects that Marvel has made. The series also withholds some of the action and all we see is the aftermath of what happened because of Steven’s blackout issues, which I thought was a great and creative way of setting up the badassery of Marc Spector. Some of the action even incorporates some fun comedy as the two personalities switch back and forth.
One of the other aspects I appreciated about what I’ve seen from the series is the horror imagery and other elements of horror that it plays with. There is a cult at the center of the story that is led by Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow and Hawke gives a wonderfully creepy performance as he justifies the people his kills and the crazy dark lengths he will go to retrieve what he is after. Then, of course, there are the ancient deities, creatures, and demons that play a part in the terror.
There are a lot of great ideas and concepts that are incorporated into this series that help make it stand out from the rest of the projects that Marvel has produced. So far, this is one of my favorite things that Marvel has made and now I’m just hoping the series plays out and ends in a strong way! Steven Grant is also one of my favorite Marvel characters! He’s just such a likable and amusing character.
As you know, there’s been a lot of talk about the tone of the series and that it’s a dark and gritty show. But honestly, from what I’ve seen so far, it’s not darker than anything we’ve seen in the Indiana Jones movies. In fact, those films are darker. But the tone doesn’t matter, it’s the story that counts, and this series tells a great story!
I will say that episode four is where things get really interesting.
For those of you who have watched the first episode, what do you think so far?