Moon Knight (2022) | Series Review

 27/June/2022. Watched. 

 My rating: 7.8/10. 

 A few years ago I began reading the Moon Knight comics because the premise promised a character study of a troubled individual with multiple personality disorder and superpowers. With costume which reminds you of Bat-Man, the character couldn't have been further from the Dark Knight. But, as it turned out, I couldn't get past the first issue. It was too pulpy and convoluted for my liking and the artwork was not very good to look at to say the least. But after watching this adaptation, I feel like picking up the Warren Ellis' Moon Knight even though I've outgrown the Marvel comics. 

 Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke make this show work. Oscar with his double (triple, technically) role as the British nerd Steven, a timid man who fears his own shadow and Marc, an American mercenary slash badass. And to make things even more awkward, both the personalities are in love with the same girl, Layla, played by May Calamway, the awkward part being that Marc is married to Layla. 

 Ethan Hawke has always been one of my favorites, whether it be Linklater's Tape (2001), the Before Trilogy, Boyhood (2014) or The Dead Poets' Society (1989), I'm yet to see him deliver anything less than perfection. And I think he is pretty good as the cult-leader villain here, even though the writing doesn't really hit the mark most of the time. 

 The writing in general doesn't feel like the show's strength. The ancient Egyptian civilization and their mythology have always been my favorite to read about, probably because of the massive, insanely intricate structures that they built. And also because of the Library of Alexandria which unfortunately went up in flames. But unfortunately the show doesn't really take full advantage of the mythology, the way Assassin's Creed: Origins did. 

 The real star of this whole production has to be the soundtrack. The score feels fresh and is actually a bit memorable and is clearly the best original score Marvel has come up with in years. And the Egyptian pop songs with their Arabic rap gives the atmosphere an incredibly distinct personality. The clear standout for me was El Malouk by Ahmed Saad. I also found out that the show also utilized underground music of Egypt which is banned in their country because freedom of expression isn't free everywhere. And Disney must be praised for putting the repressed at the front and centre and refusing to portray the culture in a stereotypical manner.

 The costumes of the show also look terrific, whether it be the Deadpool-esque Mr Knight costume or Layla's outfit in the climax. May Calamway really made me interested in her character by the end of it; would definitely like to see her return. Both of the leads should return in a feature film. 

 What I didn't enjoy about this show was how it kept skipping over the action scenes and how there was very little Moon Knight present in a show which has him as it's title. I was expecting Jake Lockley to appear and deliver his fight scenes in the most gruesome way but it never happened. Instead he appeared at the end and that was it. It felt like the whole story was a build up to a let down. 

 Moon Knight is an enjoyable show to watch because of it's eccentric editing and loony lead performance. Lets see when this character will return.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) | Review

26/June/2022. Watched. 

 My rating: 6/10. 

 Every MCU project since Endgame, except for No Way Home, has left me at best feeling underwhelmed and at worst frustrated. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is not an exception.

 Look, we've all heard how terrible the Marvel template is. How creativity goes to drown herself in Kevin Feigi's well of restraint. And when I first heard that Sam Raimi was returning to direct a superhero film, I was disappointed. Not only because I find myself experiencing extreme superhero fatigue, but also because I knew that Raimi would barely be visible in the film, coming to the surface at regular but brief intervals. And that's exactly what it is.

 Consider the action scenes in the original Spider-Man films. The times square battle, the tram full of kids and Mary Jane falling towards their death, the train full of civilians men, women and children rolling towards the sea, even the bystanders are endangered during a car chase. There were stakes. They made us care and flinch and thrilled when the hero saved the day. It felt real, in it's own fantastical way. 

 But now when you look at the fight scenes in DSITMOM (terrible title for a movie by the way), which are choreographed way before a director is even hired, they feel hollow. In spite of their millions of dollars worth of VFX, they end up feeling lifeless. Why is that? Its because we know nothing bad of actual consequence is going to happen to this world that we're seeing. Because we have been seeing this same world for the last fourteen years. Things only seem to be getting better for this world, if not for the bigger monsters. For narrative to have some weight, the characters and the world needs to worsen as it progresses, not flourish. 

 Take a look at Spider-Man 2 (2004), for instance. Directed by none other than Raimi himself, and written by Alvin Sergeant, its a masterclass at how chasing your protagonist up a tree and throwing rocks at them makes the audience root for them even more. The worse the situations they find themselves in, the more interesting the story as a whole gets. But the fact that the MCU films are rather lucrative intellectual properties first and foremost, they come with a ceiling to which the tension can escalate. They can't risk to gut their cash cow. And all the more power to them for it. But don't expect me to stay around for that. 

 The cast is alright. I don't understand what am I supposed to admire in these big budget movies nowadays when it comes to acting. We've seen a lot of Benedict Cumberbatch in this past decade; Sherlock, The Imitation Game, The Power of the Dog and the hundred different MCU titles; hence we know, you know, exactly what you'll be getting when going into this, so I needn't talk about any of it. 

 Elizabeth Olsen steers her performance into a more unhinged territory and finally becomes a complete villain (which she had already became in WandaVision but the writers refused to treat her as one at the end). And I liked her character the best in this, as she finally gets to complete her arc and finish her story. I hope that they don't bring her back - which they will sooner or later - because it was a pretty good ending for her character. 

 This paragraph will contain spoilers, so skip if you haven't seen it yet. I smiled once in this entire affair and that was when Hayley Atwell and Jim, James, Jimothy from The Office (John Krasinski) showed up as Captain Carter and Reed Richards respectively. I love both the actors, their scenes were short but nice. Their scenes weren't written very well though, the totality of my enjoyment came from their mere presence on the screen. Also, Sir Patrick Stewart also reprised his role as Charles Xavier. He rolls in the frame with a rendition of X-Men animated series' theme playing in the background, but was it worth it? Logan was a perfect send off for the character, we didn't need to see him again. But alright. And the Bruce Campbell cameo could've been so much better; his post credit scene was fun though. Man... he has gotten old.

 There were many callbacks to the Holy Trilogy, with the way the shots were composed, the dialogues were written and the music was composed. Danny Elfman's new score for this film sounds eerily similar to how his score sounded for the Spider-Man movies. Which makes it forgettable for me, by reminding me of the other movies. Its good though. The cheesy piano bangs were fun. Plus, the ending for Wanda is exactly the same as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2. There you go.

 Another thing which bugs me is that these films feel agenda-driven. Almost qualifying as woke-propaganda. For example, during a scene in a church, in a single frame you can see people of all races and religions sitting and smiling as the wedding proceeds. Now, I'm not saying that it can't or doesn't happen. What I'm saying is that it feels forced, pandering and it makes me cringe. And guess what, when you travel to an alternate New York City, its an envirmentalist utopia. I'm all for environmentalism, but when you put social messages in such a blunt manner where it doesn't belong, it feels odd. 

 I wonder if Raimi decides to make his Spider-Man 4, would it really be "his" Spider-Man 4? Or would the studios dictate it's fate? I doubt if it would have that same cinematic feeling. Sam Raimi will always have a special place in our hearts for my generation, but perhaps his best work is behind him. I hope he proves me wrong.