Moon Knight – Disney+ Series Review

MOON KNIGHT on Disney+ is a new series from Marvel Studios. Oscar Isaac stars in the title role and he is amazing (as always). The six episodes will air weekly, and you have a lot to look forward to. Just don’t expect to understand everything at first. Read our full Moon Knight series review here!

MOON KNIGHT is a new Marvel series on Disney+ which stars Oscar Isaac. And yes, he is absolutely amazing in the title role, which has him effectively playing several different personas. While I definitely enjoyed watching his performance, I am not a fan of how it’s told.

There are six episodes to this series, which will air weekly. For this review, we received screeners for the first four episodes, which did help me get into the story. However, it isn’t until that fourth episode that we really start getting some much-needed background information on the main character(s).

Continue reading our Moon Knight series review below.

Begin at the middle

When Moon Knight begins, it’s pretty much in the middle of everything. Don’t get me wrong, I love the kind of story that slowly unfolds and which has us [the audience] understand things alongside the main character. However, the way Moon Knight is done, you feel like you land in a series that’s in the middle of its third season.

There is just too much that remains left unsaid and never truly explained. Then again, I still need to watch those final two episodes of the series, so maybe I’ll get there. A series like Watchmen on HBO did suffer from the same form of storytelling. Ultimately, it was a straight-up masterpiece. Still, it’s a dangerous way of telling a story, when you need people to come back week after week.

But, having said that, of course, people will come back week after week.

Oscar Isaac makes it work

Oscar Isaac is truly amazing in the title role, which is enough reason to keep you coming back week after week. Also, there’s that breathtaking mystery that involves Gods and superstition. Even magic, of a sort, so it does get under your skin quickly. Plus, there’s the whole adventure angle, which I love.

At its best, Moon Knight does feel like a modern Indiana Jones, which is a huge compliment. Actually, Oscar Isaac feels like the Harrison Ford of a new generation in many ways. Both also played charming and heroic “good guys” in Star Wars, so they even have that in common.

Finally, Moon Knight also has a very interesting villain. Ethan Hawke (The Black Phone) plays that particular character, and makes sure he doesn’t come across as the stereotypical “bad guy”. He’s the person who asks “Would you have killed Hitler when he was a baby if you knew what he’d grow up to do?” and answer a resounding “Yes!” himself.

We’ve seen this thought process worked through by various characters in many iconic movies. Perhaps most notably, in the Terminator movies. Whether it’s terminators trying to kill Sarah Connor or Sarah Connor trying to kill the man who invents the terminators.

And, to avoid spoilers, that’s all I’ll say about that!

Watch Moon Knight on Disney+

Jeremy Slater is the head writer of Moon Knight and he is also an executive producer alongside star, Oscar Isaac, among many others. Of course, the creator of the comic book character is Doug Moench, so I also have to mention him. Head writer Jeremy Slater is someone who also created The Exorcist series and The Umbrella Academy, and wrote the Death Note (2017) screenplay.

The main reason I have great expectations for those final episodes of Moon Knight is the fact that Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead are directors on this Marvel series. Along with Egyptian director, Mohamed Diab, which is very appropriate since much of the story plays out in Egypt. They each direct three episodes.

Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead is a filmmaker-duo that I am a very big fan of. They deliver amazing stories that utilize sci-fi and adventure in perfect combination. Often with added dread and horror in new and imaginative ways that stick with you long after the end credits.

You may know Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead movies like The Endless or Synchronic (2019). Also, they directed an episode of The Twilight Zone, Loki, and the Netflix series Archive 81. If you’re not familiar with their work, you have several movies to look forward to. In the meantime, you can enjoy this new Marvel series on Disney+ which will, hopefully, all make sense in the end.

MOON KNIGHT will air weekly on Disney+ beginning March 30, 2022.
The final episode airs on May 4, 2022. Yes, as in “May the 4th be with you!”.

Details

Directors: Mohamed Diab, Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead
Writer: Jeremy Slater
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, May Calamawy, F. Murray Abraham, Gaspard Ulliel, Lucy Thackeray