Moon Knight Review

By Vibhas S.

May 27, 2022

Moon Knight Rating: 8/10

Marvel pushed the boundaries with the most recent addition to their renowned collection: Moon Knight, a series streaming on Disney+. Moon Knight is a story about a conflicted man who struggles with Dissociative identity disorder. This disorder plays as sort of a strength and weakness at times for the superhero, Moon Knight, who is an American mercenary named Mark. Mark’s power comes from the Egyptian god of the moon: Konshu. His disorder causes him to have multiple personalities, the other being a wimpy British museum gift shop cashier, Steven. Marvel has been taking an unusual approach to the majority of their shows in that they have mostly been six 40-60 minute episodes, playing out as if they are drawn out films. For Moon Knight, an origin story, this format plays really well because the audience gets to go in depth in Mark’s life and learn about his motivations and previous struggles that caused him to take on the mantle as the Moon Knight. 

The star studded cast exceeded the high bar that was set. Oscar Isaac had natural chemistry with every cast member. His performance was especially fantastic because of Mark’s multiple personalities, and his ability to act with his other personalities. Steven, Mark’s other personality, has very different body language and facial tones that were impressively consistent throughout the series. May Calamawy’s Layla El-Faouly is entertaining because of her chemistry with Isaac. The two never steal each other’s thunder nor impede each other from making an impact in the story. Ethan Hawke plays a menacing villain named Arthur Harrow. Hawke’s Harrow is a cult leader who serves an Egyptian god called Ammit. Harrow’s goal is to, in his and Ammit’s eyes, better the world by eliminating humans who may do wrong in the future. Harrow wields the Staff of Ammit which he uses to “judge” people and determine if they are worthy of staying alive. Harrow, while not physically intimidating, posed a great threat to the entire world because of the cult following he garnered by keeping those who he and Ammit found to be “worthy” of staying alive. The way Ethan Hawke played this cult leader left a sense of uneasiness that is very difficult to achieve from the audience. 

The episode pacing is one of the few issues that I found with this otherwise fantastic show. This show could have worked really well as a two and a half hour film, because some of the scenes in episodes 3-5 seem drawn out or unnecessary. The small pacing issue won’t stop anyone from enjoying the show. 

Lastly, the music in the show was another outstanding element, as a student said, “Moon Knight soundtrack next level.” A lot of the show takes place in the beautiful country of Egypt in which the composer, Hesham Nazih, does a great job immersing the audience into the beautiful surroundings of the country. 

Overall, I would give this show an 8/10, and will recommend it to anyone who likes a good coming of age story.