Moon Knight Review

Preview

Based on Marvel Comics with the same-named character, Moon Knight is an American television miniseries produced by Jeremy Slater and distributed by streaming service Disney+. It is the sixth Marvel Studios-produced television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which maintains a narrative thread throughout the franchise's motion pictures.

It follows Steven Grant and Marc Spector as they become entangled in a mystery involving Egyptian deities. Marc Spector and Steven Grant are two different people with dissociative identity disorder (DID).

Mohamed Diab is in charge of casting, while Slater is the team's lead writer. Marc Spector/Moon Knight is portrayed by Oscar Isaac, and Mr. Knight is portrayed by Steven Grant. Slater was hired in November 2019 following the series' launch in August 2019. The directorial team of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead joined in January 2021 to take on the next two episodes after Diab was hired to handle the first four in October 2020.

At the time, Isaac had already been cast, and he distinguished between Spector's multiple personas by using a distinct accent. From April to October 2021, Budapest, Jordan, Slovenia, and Atlanta, Georgia, were the prominent locations for filming.

The six-episode Moon Knight series began airing on March 30 and ended on May 4 of the following year. It comes within the fourth phase of the MCU. Positive reviews were given to the show, with particular attention paid to the performances (especially those of Isaac, Calamawy, and Hawke), the darker tone compared to other MCU shows, and its depiction of DID.

Cast

The main characters of this series are as follows:

• Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector / Moon Knight, Steven Grant / Mr. Knight, and Jake Lockley
• Marc Spector is a Jewish-American mercenary who becomes the avatar for the Egyptian moon god Khonshu.
• Steven Grant is a mild-mannered British gift shop employee who becomes Mr. Knight, Grant's persona when he is Khonshu's avatar.
• Jake Lockley is a third, more ruthless alter.
• May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly / Scarlet Scarab
• Karim El Hakim and F. Murray Abraham as Khonshu
• Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow

Plot

One of the most complicated shows Disney+ has released so far is, without a doubt, Marvel's Moon Knight. The series is a very imaginative superhero-origin narrative that blends a cape-wearing crusader and Egyptian mythology to address mental health. It is based on comic books created by Dough Mench.

The Oscar Isaac-led series explores the conflicting aspects of Marc Spector/Steven Grant, a man with a dissociative identity disorder who discovers that one of his dual selves has been moonlighting as Moon Knight, a superhuman with the power to channel the energies of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu.

As Marc battles his demons and tells us?and Steven?how he came to be the vehicle by which the moon god is currently enforcing his justice on the world, a sequence of extraordinary experiences that test Marc's resolve ensue. The end credit sequence reveals that Marc's struggle for independence is still ongoing, even though the episode closes with Marc Spector finally uniting in perfect harmony and appearing free of Khonshu.

We learned Marc Spector/Steven Grant's thoughts and motivations in six episodes. In the first episode of the series, Steven learns that he is not the only person living in his head and is an Egyptian god's avatar. His main goal is to thwart Ethan Hawke's character Arthur Harrow, an ardent religious fanatic who wants to call the Egyptian goddess Ammit.

The goddess prefers to punish individuals for their upcoming misdeeds rather than for past deeds. Furthermore, it is revealed that Arthur served as Khonshu's avatar before Marc. Layla, Marc's wife (May Calamawy), is another individual aware of Marc's Moon Knight status but unaware of his Steven identity.

As the program's central character, Steven serves as our introduction to the confusing effects of dissociative personality disorder. Due to his extensive knowledge of and fascination with Egyptian culture, Steven works as a miserly employee at the British Museum in London.

One day, he intends to work as a tour guide there. But one night, out of the blue, he awakens to discover himself fleeing Harrow's hitmen in the Austrian Alps. This provides a framework for Steven and Marc as they contend with one another for control of their bodies while assisting Khonshu.

Steven and the spectator quickly realize that Khonshu isn't a reasonable person in this situation, despite the need of his plot to stop Arthur. Even worse, Khonshu threatens Marc with a takeover of Layla if he fails his objective, causing a tight connection between the two.

The penultimate episode makes it evident that Marc constructed the Steven persona to deal with his physically abusive mother, who blamed him for losing her second child. This is crucial because it helps us comprehend the potential motivations behind why Marc would have unintentionally produced a third alter.

The climax episode of Moon Knight lived up to its promise of being jam-packed with resolutions to the main character and plot arcs. By enabling Taweret to utilize her as an avatar in the finale, Layla's path from being Marc's deputy to being in charge of herself concludes. Layla acquired her superpowers by using her newfound agility and talents to fight Harrow and his soldiers, complete with gold wings reminiscent of Wonder Woman.

Of course, even Layla's combined power, once known as the Scarlet Scarab, and Moon Knight were insufficient to destroy Harrow.

While Ammit and Khonshu are engaged in combat reminiscent of a Kaiju encounter adjacent to the pyramids, Khonshu appears to be having as much difficulty as Moon Knight. Even though it wasn't explicitly presented to us, the day was saved by Jake Lockley, Marc's third alter. We are still determining where this leaves Marc and Layla.

A fantastic new moniker, Scarlet Scarab, a fictional Egyptian superhero, is also a part of Layla's new boosted skill set. She isn't referred to by this moniker in the series, but there is a cute instance where a little youngster inquires if she is an Egyptian hero, to which she responds in the affirmative. Additionally, the scarab that is a component of her outfit indicates that she is a gender-flipped superhero.

Jake Lockley, Marc's third alter ego, was revealed startlingly, despite fans waiting impatiently for his arrival. After losing to Moon Knight, Harrow is seen in the show's closing credits getting treated at a mental hospital.

However, he is shortly led into a limo by a guy with a flat cap. There, Harrow discovers that Khonshu is still using Marc as a conduit to command people to do his bidding and, surprisingly, that he is still driving under the influence of a third, hidden alter, Jake Lockley.

Because Jake is only a taxi driver in the comics and Marc is the real mercenary, this version of Marc appears much more brutal than Marc Spector. Jake appears in the Disney+ series when Marc is forced to commit a violent deed that starkly contrasts Steven's beliefs and excellent ethics. In a manner, he is Steven's exact opposite and embodies all that is negative about Marc, just as Steven does.

This explains why Jake nearly seemed to enjoy murdering Harrow, but Marc chose not to do so after capturing him. Spanish is spoken by the character in the Moon Knight movie, which is a charming touch that connects to Oscar Isaac's Guatemalan origin. Since Marc is ignorant of Jake Lockley's existence, Khonshu informs Harrow that Marc is genuinely concerned but unaware of it.

Fans have speculated that Jake might arrive soon since the series first provided clues. In episode five, Marc creates Steven to classify his suffering and find calm in a home where he was continually mistreated. That reasoning suggests Jake may solve Marc's rage at the world. In contrast to the other two changes, he has shown up while under extreme pressure and has hidden himself from himself entirely.

As a result, when Steven foolishly requests that he and Marc are freed from the god, Khonshu is pleased to let them go.&

Since he is aware that at the end of the day, one Marc will still be available to him, it's crucial to remember that Layla has now seen Jake Lockley, who is currently our sole living witness to Lockley. Given that Marc has Moon Knight and Steven has Mr. Knight, Jake will likely get his outfit and abilities. It is, therefore, doubtful that she failed to see his metamorphosis into Lockley as they battled Harrow and his thugs.

With all these discoveries, it would be immoral for Marvel to stop the Marc plot midway through and instead explain Jake's appearance and how Marc Steven would handle this turn of events. They should also explore Layla's burgeoning heroic career.

Review

'Moon Knight' continues to push the frontiers of superhero storylines on film in a way that hasn't been done before in the MCU. This depiction of the hooded billionaire vigilante, frequently linked to Batman in the comics, didn't resemble Bruce Wayne. In "Moon Knight," which reimagined the character via careful storytelling, virtually few hero or villain origin cliches were included.

Instead. by focusing on Steven Grant's (Oscar Isaac) dissociative identity disorder (DID), the show's viewpoint was frequently surprising while providing insights into the frequently misunderstood mental disease. The program typically included drama, action, thriller, and horror, much like his many identities.

It took a lot of work to adapt Moon Knight. Moon Knight's background is rife with characteristics that go against contemporary views, just like many pulp-era heroes ? after all, he made his debut in a comic book called Werewolf by Night. The story's premise?a white mercenary endowed with the abilities of an Egyptian moon god?is a classic example of Orientalism; later tales that revealed the character had dissociative identity disorder gave rise to comics that, while occasionally sensitive for the time, had to be updated to reflect modern understandings of mental health.

And that's all before you have to deal with how complicated most comic book continuity is. It is mind-boggling to consider how all that might be condensed into six quick episodes of engaging television. However, despite being unsteady throughout, Moon Knight mostly succeeded.

As a result, the series comes out hurriedly, and more time would have been helpful. "Gods and Monsters," the season finale, concludes suddenly with significant status quo changes. May Calamawy's Layla El-Faouly transforms into the superhuman Scarlet Scarab, and viewers get to meet Jake Lockley, the third character who shares a brain with Marc Spector and Steven Grant (both played by Oscar Isaac), who has been hinted at throughout the whole series.

This leaves Moon Knight with many unanswered issues, which is unexpected for a miniseries-style program with no obvious continuation.

Nobody was surprised, though, when Oscar Isaac emerged as the show's genuine star. Isaac was mesmerizing in this starring role, showcasing his incredible range and depth. Although his talent as an actor was already well known, this will probably be the role that most remember him for.

Isaac is the main factor that makes Marc/Steven worth caring about as we briefly tour his inner workings while he seamlessly switches between personalities. Specifically, when two of Oscar Isaac's egos clashed, he constantly delivered stunning performances.

Awards are due to him for his accomplishments, and they will be well-deserved. Oscar Isaac's performance brought the emotional spectrum to life by portraying many characters, each coping with a different facet of their pain.

As we descended into the history of the superhero, our research into DID (dissociative identity disorder) took some rather sinister twists. The path of "Moon Knight" was a terrifying and sad whirlwind.

'Moon Knight' turned the switch as soon as it started to depend heavily on clich�s since it is delightfully eccentric while continually developing its multifaceted characters to keep us intrigued even in quieter times. The show took many chances, and most of them were successful.

Moon Knight, the superhero, has a strong chance of becoming a favorite among viewers because of its surprising plot and excellent acting. 'Moon Knight' continuously distinguished itself from previous MCU efforts by delivering a self-contained yet engaging tale, and it also produced two strong characters who will undoubtedly add to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or possibly the Multiverse).

Its unconventional storyline (by MCU standards) and outstanding acting quickly propelled the series into the Top 3 MCU programs ever produced.

Final Verdict

"Moon Knight" was Marvel's first effort at a genuine origin tale for Disney+ after four series involving characters from the "Avengers" film franchise. Even with Oscar Isaac's heroic two personalities in the lead character, the program felt like a creative miscalculation amid its ambition and artistic flare.

In the end, "Moon Knight's" unclear narrative seemed to waste its main advantages, including Isaac's presence and the character's stylish appearance (a costume that was employed much too little) as well as his added genre credentials from the "Star Wars" sequels.

Four episodes in, Moon Knight is a gloriously wacky event that captures the same joyful glee infused in Hawkeye and Loki. It introduces a new lead character in a Marvel TV series during this new MCU-integrated era. In addition to making Egyptian gods canon, writer Jeremy Slater (Fantastic Four, The Umbrella Academy) has created something that seems different from any aspect of the MCU explored so far. He accomplished this by focusing on the more quirky aspects of a largely unknown man.

The main story is occasionally less interesting than the eccentric character's work, so things sometimes could be better. However, because of Isaac Steven Grant's creative creation and a plot that deftly balances the main character's humanity with his bravery, Marvel's newest entry aims high and generally succeeds.

The sixth and last episode brought the story to a messy conclusion by attempting to stop the goddess Ammit from continuing her plan to "purify the souls of Cairo, and then the world." The creators concluded by adding Jake Lockley, a third character based on the comics, in the typical credit sequence.

While the show's villain (Ethan Hawke) appeared doomed, the resolution?which provided Khonshu with the heir?opened the door for more adventures Marvel should choose in future projects.