Above large dark circles, his eyes light up when he remarks to his boss: “Without wishing to criticize the marketing department, there is a huge blunder”, on the poster he is holding at arm’s length, announcing an exhibition on the deities of Egyptian mythology. “If you don’t stop nitpicking, I’m going to lock you in a sarcophagus, and you can explain yourself directly to the pharaoh”, she retorts.
“Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) is an apathetic failure, who during the day works in the gift shop of the British Museum”, abstract The Daily Telegraph about the protagonist of Moon Knight, broadcast on Disney+ since March 30.
A superhero who does not sleep
“Even his colleagues keep forgetting his first name. He keeps his head buried in his books, with a predilection for Egyptology – a passion that will be very useful to him given the plot, continues the British daily. It’s all about angry deities making pacts with mortals to exact their revenge.” And more particularly the god of the Moon, Khonsou (voiced by F. Murray Abraham).
But if Steven Grant’s dreams are so realistic, and if he often finds himself out of step with his perception of reality, it’s not sleepwalking, but because another personality often takes precedence: Marc Spector, a superhero on a mission for Khonsou.
These changes are not easy. “One fine morning, he wakes up in a valley in the Swiss Alps, near a village dominated by a charismatic guru, Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke)”, Explain The Hollywood Reporter. “Harrow is an acolyte of the Egyptian god Ammut, whose sense of justice [dans l’œuvre américaine] involves pronouncing ruthless sentences based not on one’s past actions, but on one’s future actions.”
The viewer, at first, barely understands what is happening to him better than Grant.
Unreleased Marvel character on screen
Because here is finally a Marvel series that does not require having seen dozens of films or previous episodes to be appreciated. The critic of Daily Telegraph go further. Confessing that he never read the comics of which Moon Knight has been adapted (and the first of which dates back to 1975), he says that’s good. “If you think the tidal wave of big-budget TV series has dulled the capabilities [de Marvel] to surprise, think again.”
For The Hollywood Reporter, reference reading of the entertainment industry, it is above all the headliner that allows a new superhero to tumble onto the screen:
“When your cast is led by Oscar Isaac, it doesn’t really matter that the general public knows anything about your protagonist’s origins or superpowers.”
Beyond the quality of the action scenes or the special effects, it is the acting of the actor that makes all the flavor of the series. Or rather the games, since Isaac actually finds himself in two roles, each of which he embodies with accuracy, continues the Telegraph, “and he is even perfectly convincing when arguing with himself (which is frequent)”. Bonus, adds the reviewer, his London accent is believable.
Boredom at the museum?
The Hollywood Reporter is surprisingly dubious about this same English accent, which does not prevent him from saluting the talent of Oscar Isaac. Even if he regrets that both Grant and Spector lack depth to allow the actor to express himself fully.
Indulging in a few puns to cite the influences of the screenplay (fromA night at the museum at Minority Report), the Hollywood magazine is not kind to the character of Moon Knight. “Unless you are versed in the mysteries of comics, difficult after four episodes [ceux que les critiques ont pu visionner] to say what he can or cannot accomplish. Her personality, when she emerges, takes on the warmth of Deadpool.”
The Hollywood Reporter nevertheless awards a good point: the creator, Jeremy Slater, and “Egyptian director Mohamed Diab have set about correcting a long history of depictions of the Middle East which, in works of the genre, overflows with clichés.” Although Egyptian scenes were filmed in Jordan, “a sincere interest evacuates any temptation of exoticism, whether in the casting, in the soundtrack or in the cultural references”.
Much more enthusiastic, Telegraph insists that Moon Knight manages not to take itself too seriously – or just enough – which is the hallmark of the best Marvels. Results, “entertainment both simple and complex. The whole works on multiple levels and rises to the height of wall vision, the most wonderful Marvel TV series to date.”