By Sienna Thompson, First Year, English Literature
The long-awaited Marvel series Moon Knight has finally landed on Disney+, with its first episode going out with a bang amongst die-hard Marvel fans that had been highly awaiting the Egyptian mercenary’s appearance on the big screen.
Viewers follow the timid, lonely Londoner Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) and his odd sleeping routine. Not only does he battle with Dissociative Identity Disorder, resulting in the emergence of Marc Spector, one of his DID identities, but it is through Marc that he harnesses the power of the Moon Knight.
After failing to pull an all-nighter, he is transported to an unknown location where, as we see very quickly, things take a turn for the worse for Steven. It is then that Marvel introduces what is to be assumed one of many graphic scenes in this series involving Steven popping his jaw back into place.
Following this scene, we meet Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) again, as he was first shown in the opening scene of the episode carrying out a brutal ritual involving putting smashed glass in his shoes- certainly a scene to make you squirm! At first, he appears to be seemingly fitting as the villain for this series, but after finishing this episode, his reasons will leave you conflicted.
The car chase scene was amazing and very well put together, with humour provided from the soundtrack playing ‘Wake me up before you Go Go’ by Wham!, as well as Steven’s commentary on the situation and the female truck driver. Marvel incorporated this with amazing CGI, from Steven blacking out and cutting to him waking up after Moon Knight had taken care of Harrow’s soldiers, to the destruction of many vehicles and fast-paced camera work.
Despite all this, the two most talked-about scenes of this episode must be first, the elevator scene, where Steven runs from his apartment after seeing Marc interact with his reflection in the mirror (includes amazing and eerie use of special effects), and is hunted by a giant, bird skull-headed creature that follows him the next day. This scene was one of the first times Marvel introduced a horror-like aspect to one of its productions.
Just before this scene, we see Steven find a phone in his flat where he receives a call from someone called Layla, who refers to him as ‘Marc’. ‘Why did you call me Marc?’ Steven asks, only to be hung up on and the scene of suspense follows.
The second scene is the final scene of the episode where Harrow finds Steven and sends a jackal out to hunt him if he does not hand over the scarab he possesses, which seems to be an important item so far. The jackal is designed in such a way that it felt as if I was watching a horror film.
We then get to see Moon Knight in his glory, as editing cut the earlier scenes of his appearance to create this anticipation to meet our protagonist. Despite seeing his look in the trailers released, seeing the final shot of Moon Knight’s mask excited many viewers and had lots of discussions as we await the second episode.
This may be one of Marvel’s most complex characters yet, but if you are willing to intently follow this storyline, and are a big fan of thriller, comedy and action all rolled into one, this is the show for you.
Featured Image: IMDB
Moon Knight is out every Wednesday on Disney+
