"Moon Knight" pleases the performance of Oscar Isaac, but does not impress

On March 30, Moon Knight premiered on the Disney+ streaming service. This project is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but, according to the creators, it should be different from previous works. New promisedMarvel's Disney Plus Series Prove That Moon Knight Could Go Very Dark / GameRant make it darker: with hard action and elements of horror.

However, if this is true, then the first episode only gives a couple of hints for further development. In the meantime, Moon Knight retains the typical Marvel atmosphere: the main character jokes a lot, and the fights are more funny than exciting.

Therefore, it is better to tune in that the introduction will only please the unusual role of Oscar Isaac, but is unlikely to be remembered much.

The character is unusual, but too funny

Shy Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) works at a museum and leads a very quiet life. But every morning he wakes up shabby and tired, as if he had not slept all night. One day, frightening things begin to happen to Stephen: after another memory lapse, he finds himself in an unknown place, and even hears a voice in his head. The hero realizes that dangerous people are after him, and his mind is periodically controlled by someone else.

Those who read the original comics about Moon Knight, already in the first sentences, realized that the authors of the adaptation treated the character in a very unusual way. This is still the story of a man suffering from dissociative identity disorder. But the story is told from the perspective of Stephen, a side personality of the hero, who, moreover, has no idea about his rest of his life. But even those who are not familiar with comics will remember very quickly "Fight cluband understand what is wrong with the hero.

In part, this approach pleases: the film adaptation will surprise even fans of the original, especially since the image Steven has been changed a lot, and Mark Spector, who should be the main character, is only mentioned a couple of times. There is a feeling that Marvel came up with a whole new story.

However, the problem is that the studio seems to be following its standard pattern. The stated gloominess is noticeable only in a couple of short episodes. And most of the time, Isaac's character makes me laugh rather than make him worry. His reaction to the voice in his head and the first encounters with the villains are completely reminiscent of Venom: the hero just screams funny and hides.

I would like to believe that in future episodes the comedy will be removed and Isaac will be allowed to fully reveal his talent. Over the past year, he managed to light up both in the fantastic "Dune" and in the drama "Scenes from married life”, so there is no doubt about his abilities. The actor can definitely play a tough but injured hero. The main thing is not to interfere with the script.

And the action in "Moon Knight" is still behind the scenes

The Moon Knight from the comics is often referred to as the counterpart Batman. There are indeed many parallels between the characters, and even the costumes are similar. But the Marvel character also suffers from a personality disorder and does not hesitate to kill his enemies. Therefore, a significant part of the action should even be frightening: Moon Knight's obsession is associated with the Egyptian gods.

But the first episode only in the finale hints that there will be a place for cruelty in the series. During the main time, the action was treated very sadly. It was just cut out. A couple of times it even looks witty: the hero experiences memory lapses, and after them he each time finds that he miraculously defeated the enemies. But the reception quickly gets boring.

And that small part of the fights, which is still shown, looks comical. Steven drives away from his pursuers in a pink van and, to the song Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, throws cakes at the villains. It doesn't really fit the "dark show" concept.

Of course, these are just first impressions. In total, there are six episodes in the season, which will tell a whole story. You could say that Marvel shoots a movie for 4-5 hours, and it's hard to get the full picture from the intro. But so far it seems that the announced change of atmosphere is, if not a hoax, then an exaggerated publicity stunt. Therefore, you should not expect a new Daredevil from Moon Knight, this is a traditional project of Marvel and Disney +. Which is probably a good thing too.