A little over a year ago, Marvel started releasing shows on Disney Plus supplementary to their movies, and recently, they have started streaming Moon Knight, a new addition to Marvel’s list of superheroes. 

This show should be on every Marvel fans’ watchlist because it is totally different from what Marvel has put out in the past, the thriller aspect keeps the viewer engaged, Oscar Issac delivers a fantastic performance, and the visuals are stunning.

Moon Knight introduces the viewers to an unassuming man named Steven Grant, played by Oscar Issac, who has a sleeping disorder where he can’t tell the difference between his dreams and reality. But Steven soon realizes that he has a whole different person beside him that inhabits his body named Marc Spector, also played by Oscar Issac. 

Marc Spector is a servant of Khonshu, the ancient Egyptian god of the moon who punishes people for their wrongdoings, making Marc the Moon Knight like the title suggests.

 For years Marc has been able to hide from Steven until Marc steals a scarab from Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke), a preacher who was going to use it to resurrect Ammit, an ancient Egyptian goddess who predetermines if souls should make it to the afterlife. If she deems you unworthy, she devours your soul. Which seems a bit extreme in my opinion.

The integration of ancient Egyptian culture in one of Marvel’s shows like this is a divergence from what fans usually expect from Marvel. It’s just refreshing to see Marvel change it up a bit with different styles and genres. Plus, I really like learning about different cultures!

Considering Moon Knight is partially a psychological thriller, some bits of the episodes are pretty creepy and others are straight-up perplexing. Out of all of the episodes, two of the most unnerving have to be the first two where Steven Grant starts freaking out when he’s wound up in bizarre situations until Steven, along with the viewers, gets context for why he’s experiencing those things. At one point when I was watching the first episode, the tension was so palpable that I actually covered my own mouth!

Many people have praised Oscar Isaac for his great performance and I would have to agree. Acting itself is already hard enough, but Moon Knight has Oscar Issac playing two characters with totally different personalities! Not only that, one of Issac’s characters has a British accent that he had to practice and master! In general, Oscar Issac does a phenomenal job portraying both Steven Grant and Marc Spector, differentiating their personalities and fleshing them out like they are real people. 

One of my favorite aspects of the show is Moon Knight’s visuals. Although the CGI was a bit janky for a scene in the first episode, the visual effects were pretty well done for the rest of the show. Notably, Moon Knight blends both ancient Egyptian culture and hieroglyphics with Marvel’s signature style expertly, creating a unique atmosphere we haven’t yet seen from Marvel before. Even after the end of each of the episodes, Moon Knight’s visuals while the credits rolls are stunning! So much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if some people have made desktop backgrounds from them!

As much as it hurts to say this, Moon Knight’s action choreography could have been better especially when it’s compared to other films and shows that Marvel has made. It felt like the action scenes wasn’t living up to their potential in terms of creatively using the surroundings and fighting styles like their other movies have in the past.  But the action scenes are still enjoyable nonetheless. 

Overall, fans of what Marvel has put out in the past would really enjoy watching Moon Knight because of its out-of-the-ordinary plot, outstanding performances, astonishing visuals, and how engaging it is. I look forward to what Marvel has in store for the character in the future.