moon knight | the m0vie blog

New Escapist Column! On “Moon Knight” and the Lack of Surprises…

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist this evening. We’re doing a series of recaps and reviews of Moon Knight, which is streaming weekly on Disney+. The final episode of the show released this week, and it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at the series.

As Moon Knight wraps up, the most surprising thing about the latest Disney+ streaming series is how completely lacking in surprise it was. The show didn’t pull any sharp last-minute twists or surprise cameos from the extended universe. Instead, it delivered exactly what it promised viewers. The result is interesting, a show that is more consistent than most of its streaming compatriots, but which ends up feeling particularly anonymous.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: escapist, moon knight, Oscar Isaac, the escapist | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On “Moon Knight” and the Limits of the Marvel Cinematic Universe…

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist this evening. We’re doing a series of recaps and reviews of Moon Knight, which is streaming weekly on Disney+. The penultimate episode of the show released this week, and it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at the series.

As Moon Knight enters its end game, the show demonstrates the limits of the ambition and experimentation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, boiling an interesting and compelling premise down to a fairly simplistic and straightforward illustration of cause and effect. There’s something rather depressing in the show’s commitment to easy answers to its central character, and it is all the more frustrating because this is a major release from a company that holds such an important and influential place in the popular consciousness. There’s no excuse for this lack of ambition.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: asylum, escapist, Marvel Cinematic Universe, mcu, moon knight, recap, the escapist | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On “Moon Knight” and the Archeology of the Self…

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist this evening. We’re doing a series of recaps and reviews of Moon Knight, which is streaming weekly on Disney+. The fourth episode of the show released this week, and it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at the series.

Last week, I discussed how the show’s homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark fell flat because it was too sterile and sexless, unwilling to let Oscar Isaac be Oscar Isaac. In contrast, this week there’s a sense in which the show’s archeology metaphor makes a great deal of sense. It’s a metaphor for Steven and Marc’s journey, constantly unearthing details of their selves and their identities, digging into mysteries and trying to reverse engineer logic or reason from the afterimage to which they wake. It’s a clever piece of thematic storytelling, getting into how characters are defined by their past, whether they know it or not.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: archeology, metaphor, moon knight, recap, symbolism, the escapist, the tomb | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On How “Moon Knight” Suffers From the Sexlessness of the MCU…

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist this evening. We’re doing a series of recaps and reviews of Moon Knight, which is streaming weekly on Disney+. The third episode of the show released this week, and it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at the series.

Moon Knight very obviously wants to evoke a particular sort of old-fashioned romantic globe-trotting adventure, like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Romancing the Stone or even The Mummy. It is arguably part of a recent attempted revival of the subgenre, including Jungle Cruise and Lost City of D. However, the show’s attempts to tap into this sort of classic odd couple romance demonstrates the limits of the weird insistent sexlessness that define so many modern blockbuster stories. Moon Knight manages the seemingly impossible, in that it makes Oscar Isaac seem sexless.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: chemistry, moon knight, moon knightcaps, Oscar Isaac, romance, sex, sexuality, Television, the escapist | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! On How “Moon Knight” Approaches Marvel’s “Villain Problem”…

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Darren

We’re thrilled to be launching a fortnightly companion piece to In the Frame at The Escapist. The video will typically launch every second Monday, and be released on the magazine’s YouTube channel. This is kinda cool, because we’re helping relaunch the magazine’s film content – so if you can throw a subscription our way, it would mean a lot.

With the release Moon Knight, it seemed like a good opportunity to talk about the show. In particular, how Moon Knight offers an interesting approach to the long-standing “villain problem” facing Marvel Studios.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: escapist, Marvel Studios, mcu, moon knight, Oscar Isaac, the escapist, villain problem, villains | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On How “Moon Knight” Offers an Interesting Solution to the MCU’s Villain Problem…

Posted on April 6, 2022 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist this evening. We’re doing a series of recaps and reviews of Moon Knight, which is streaming weekly on Disney+. The second episode of the show released this week, and it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at the series.

One of the more consistent criticisms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the idea that it suffers from a “villain problem.” While this is perhaps an over-simplification of the situation, there is some truth to the suggestion. Part of what makes Moon Knight so interesting is that the streaming series posits an interesting solution to this long-standing issue. It offers a superhero who can legitimately serve as his own worst enemy.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: disney, ethan hawke, fascism, harrow, marc spector, marvel, marvel villains, mcu, moon knight, Oscar Isaac, steven grant, villain problem | Leave a comment »

Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s Moon Knight (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Darren

This March, to celebrate the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, we’ll be taking a look at some classic and not-so-classic Avengers comic books. Check back daily for the latest updates!

One of the more endearing aspects of comic book publishing is the way that the “little guys” occasionally get a shot. There are mountains of titles published each month featuring iconic characters like Batman or Wolverine, but the major companies are occasionally willing to check chances on more quirky and unknown characters using top-tier talent. One of the big surprises of DC’s “new 52” relaunch was the decision to put superstar writer Geoff Johns on pop culture joke Aquaman.

Despite the fact that he has never quite set the world on fire, Marvel seems willing to invest in repeated attempts to launch the character of Moon Knight. Most recently, writer Warren Ellis has launched a new volume of the comic with artist Declan Shalvey. However, before the latest relaunch, Marvel tried another high-profile take on Moon Knight written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Alex Maleev, the duo responsible for one of the best-loved runs ever published on Daredevil.

The series made it to twelve issues, before Marvel cancelled it due to disappointing sales. Bendis has insisted that it was always the plan to end the series after twelve issues, but it seems strange that the series was not announced as a miniseries. Still, it’s easy to understand why Moon Knight struggled to find an audience. It’s great to have Bendis and Maleev crafting an on-going street-level comic book, but the series seems almost at war with itself, struggling with the difficulties of fitting this character in this particular role.