The Mosley Review: Moon Knight (Season 1)
With an established and successful brand that has gone on as long as it has, you have to be able to shake things up. Bring something new to the table that hasn't been done before in the franchise. Boldly step into a new, confusing and yet compelling direction that will leave you excited, heartbroken and by the end uplifted. Marvel has done that time and time again and this time, they swung for the fences and hit a home run. Now I am not familiar with the titular characters story, but I have used him alot Marvel's Ultimate Alliance videogame. He was always a mystery to me and this series opened up a new avenue that I would love to explore deeper. I loved that the series not only explores the ancient Egyptian lore but more importantly, the show takes a unflinching look into trauma, mental health and the realities we create for ourselves to cope. That is a huge step forward in the right direction of elevating the genre and the character arcs truly benefitted from this being a well thought out series than a rushed film.
Oscar Issac is one of the best actors in the business and as Steven Grant / Marc Spector, he was a knockout. His ability to show the immense fear and confusion of Steven and the confident and violent nature of Marc in a single performance was a master class. They constantly bicker about who can control their body at the time and it was funny, awesome and sad. We dive into the mental implications of both of them and why each exists and that was truly the highlight of the series. When they became Moon Knight / Mr. Knight, that was when all the action ramps up and although it was the cool superhero aspect, it was not the main focus. That was a brilliant choice and I loved Oscar's performance from beginning to end. May Calamawy was outstanding and strong as Marc's wife, Layla El-Faouly. From the moment she hits the screen, she handles herself with the utmost confidence and she quickly starts to unravel the mystery behind Marc / Steven. Her chemistry with Marc and Steven was excellent as we get 2 perspectives of a relationship and how she handles Marc's condition was wonderful. She has a powerful emotional connection to the entire journey and it was fantastic to see her secrets unfold. F. Murray Abraham was excellent and devious as Khonshu, the Egyptian God that gives Marc / Steven their power to become Moon Knight. I liked that from the beginning he wasn't presented as trust worthy and I loved the constant attempts of manipulation that Marc / Steven fight against. Ethan Hawke was perfect as the soft spoken, charismatic and religious zelot Arthur Harrow. I liked Arthur and his unwavering truth to his cause and that may have made him the villain of the story, but not in the traditional sense. This was the most calming performance I've ever seen from Ethan and one that I won't forget.
The score by Hesham Nazih was epic, mysterious, gothic and somber. The action and spectacle when dealing with Egyptian Gods and lore was underscored by him very well, but it is Episode 5 that features the best of Hesham's score as he takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. Visually the show is stunning and I loved in the early episodes that we got to see the build of the action and then the brutal aftermath. Like I said before, this series tackles the subject of mental health in such a powerful and authentic way that it was respectful and not just for the sack of inclusion. This was an excellent step towards a bright future of the MCU and I can't wait to see where these characters might pop up next. Do stick around for the fun end credits scene of the season finale. Let me know what you thought of the show or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
