Published May 12, 2022
BY RYAN JALILI
Rarely do the Disney+ shows rival the actual quality of television that preceded the era of Disney corporate television that values spin-offs and incomplete stories from underdeveloped characters. But “Moon Knight” comes out the Disney+ oven as a hot and fresh original new character with great writing and directing as well as spectacular acting.
“Moon Knight” follows Steven Grant, a mild-mannered British gift-shop employee who becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life. Grant discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector played by Oscar Isaac who brilliantly portrays the multiple personalities of Spector.
The story develops in many twists and turns that may seem to be following cliches, but it manages to surprise you in its dark and violent direction. As the audience delves deep into what made Spector into the fearful Moon Knight as well as the dynamic between Spector and Grant, the show always keeps the audience on their toes.
An impressive feat that “Moon Knight” carries is the number of genres it manages to blend into one fun ride. At times it’s horrifying, emotional, sad and beautiful, taking the show into an intriguing and different genre-bending storyline.
Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant/Marc Spector in Moon Knight. (courtesy of MARVEL STUDIOS)
The show’s villain Arthur Harrow is played by Ethan Hawke who does an amazing job at showing the monotone horrors of his evil cult leadership. His delivery is truly horrifying, yet sometimes makes the audience question what’s really going on.
Directing and writing has highs as well as lows. While at times the show feels creative and original, the plot may be confusing to some viewers as it focuses on emotional beats of the story rather than explaining the full context of every scene.
On a story level, the show heavily resembles “Wanda Vision” by exploring the protagonist’s past and how it makes the viewer evaluate the scenes they had just seen.
Some creative endeavors do fall flat with strange plot directions that are never truly explained. The show’s mysticism is seemingly valued over a coherent plot structure which makes the viewer feel as if they are plopped into the middle of a much larger story.
8.5/10
