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Moon Knight, the Disney+ miniseries is a refreshing departure from usual Marvel template

Director Mohamed Diab's six-episode-long Moon Knight covers themes of dissociative identity disorder, Egyptian mythology, love, and the eradication of evil from the world. 

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New Delhi: Bob Dylan’s Every Grain of Sand playing while a man crushes glass, places it into his shoes, and then walks away in those shoes, forms an unusual opening sequence to begin a mini-TV series.

It’s more unusual if it’s the starter for a Marvel series, representing a major deviation from their usual Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) template. But that’s precisely what director Mohamed Diab’s Moon Knight was—unusual, different, captivating.

Moon Knight is the first Marvel series to be based on a character that hasn’t yet been featured heavily on-screen.

A bevy of stars like Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, and May Calamawy play the main characters. Marvel’s decision to give Moon Knight a standalone is the right one, as the nuance of the story and character needed it.

What starts as the story of Steven Grant, the average London bloke with a sleeping disorder who works at the British Museum, slowly metamorphoses into a broad plot that covers themes of dissociative identity disorder, Egyptian mythology, love, and the eradication of evil from the world.


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Slow to the plot

The series misses the chance to build the plot in the first two episodes. Given that there were only six episodes, far too much screen-time is spent making Oscar Isaac act out Steven’s slow and mundane shifts at the museum.

One only gets a sense of the duality inherent in the protagonist’s character towards the end of the second episode when Steven transforms into the mercenary Marc Spector. And it is at the same time the viewer finally gets a clear sense of the plot.

Oscar Isaac, though, portrays the characters of Steven and Marc exquisitely. He seamlessly switches between the awkward and reticent Steven, and the confident and powerful mercenary, Marc.

After the second episode, the contours of the series become clear. The narrative turns into a riveting tale that unpacks how Steven and Marc both, but Marc predominantly, are the superhero, Moon Knight.

Both their links with the Egyptian god of the moon, Khonshu, and the plans of the antagonist Harrow, played by Ethan Hawke, to release the wrath of the Egyptian god Ammit on humans to end evil.

While this represents an ambitious, layered, and detailed script, one leaves Moon Knight feeling that it is a series which could have benefited from niftier editing and direction.


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Stunning cinematography, Inception-inspired

Gregory Middleton and Andrew Droz Palermo masterfully bring some stunning shots onto the screen.

The sequences shot in Egypt, the frames on top of the Egyptian god Tawaret’s boat, where Steven and Marc find out about their past, and inside the tomb during the season finale are nothing short of spectacular.

In scenes perhaps inspired by Christopher Nolan’s seminal film Inception, Marc and Steven keep switching between realms, dreams, and worlds as they find out the truth about their lives and personalities in the penultimate episode.

Though emotionally charged and granularly detailed, these scenes do little for the eventual plot and the season finale.

In essence, Moon Knight represents a refreshing and innovative change from the usual Marvel template. It also does well to keep the references to the larger MCU at a minimum. The post-credit scene leaves scope for another season.

However, more nuanced, detailed, creative, and unusual screenplays from Marvel are a welcome change.

(Edited by Prashant)

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New Delhi: Bob Dylan’s Every Grain of Sand playing while a man crushes glass, places it into his shoes, and then walks away in those shoes, forms an unusual opening sequence to begin a mini-TV series. It’s more unusual if it’s the starter for a...Moon Knight, the Disney+ miniseries is a refreshing departure from usual Marvel template