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The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: Holiday Cheer and Redefining Home

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This Black Friday, the best holiday deal you’re going to find is on Disney+.

Written and directed by James Gunn, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special begins as the Guardians wonder how they can help Peter Quill (Chris Pratt). As the Terran celebration known as ‘Christmas’ approaches, they notice that he’s hardly in the holiday spirit. In an effort to cheer him up, Drax and Mantis (Dave Bautista and Pom Clementieth) decide to give him the ultimate gift by bringing Quill his favourite ‘hero’: Kevin Bacon.

Fans looking for progression and character development here will likely end up disappointed as this adventure has very little to do with the larger franchise, despite claims otherwise. (However, it’s worth noting that two small bits of information are revealed that could play an important part in the upcoming Vol. 3.) Nevertheless, this is the type of entry that Disney+ is made for. Fueled by Christmas cheer, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is short, silly and an absolute party from start to finish. 

Once again, Gunn’s signature style is also very much at work here. Featuring another hot soundtrack, Holiday Special plays right into fan’s expectations with its humour and heart. (Although, it’s also worth noting that the best song may be its initial ditty about how aliens just don’t understand the holiday.) 

While he may be making the move over to DC in the future, Gunn clearly still enjoys playing with his Marvel toys. Having established and defined this group of ragtag misfits, Gunn has a love for these characters that remains evident. After two films and several other appearances (including a new Guardians ride that he directed at Walt Disney World), Gunn has ensured that we have a relationship with these characters and care about their well-being. After all, why else would we care if Peter Quill is sad on Christmas? It’s actually a tribute to Gunn’s work that fans have become so invested Quill’s trauma that from the loss of Gamora that this story would even be an interesting to fans of the MCU. 

He has cared about them. So, we still care about them.

As a result, Holiday Special is a hilarious addition to the series that, while silly and non-sensical, still somehow becomes heartwarming by its finale. While all the Guardians are involved, this is truly a story anchored and led by Drax and Mantis. Somewhere along the line, these two characters have become the soul of the team and have delightful chemistry onscreen. In Holiday Special, the duo are unleashed and let their silliest impulses run wild while never losing the heart of the characters that has made them so beloved. (Although, one must also recognize the work here by Bacon who simply leans into the holiday spirit with an almost giddy performance.)

What’s interesting about a lot of modern holiday specials is the fact that they want to talk about Christmas without actually talking about Christmas. While Quill mourns the loss of the holiday from his home planet, we aren’t really left with much knowledge as to why. Instead, to borrow a line from NBC’s now-defunct series Community, the Guardians Holiday Special seems to suggest that ‘the meaning of Christmas is that there’s meeting in Christmas’. Christmas lights stun the eyes and giving gifts to the ones you love feels important. But the love of the holiday seems to stem from a love for the holiday itself.

However, one of the clearest emotional notes of the Special is its relationship to family. Having travelled far across the galaxy at a young age, they see that Quill feels like something is missing. As Kraglin remembers Quill’s holiday failings with Yondu, he and the Guardians believe that he has lost a piece of himself without his home. Because he’s been separated from his home world, Quill has experienced great loss in his life. Whether it’s his family or Gamora, the holidays have left him feeling lost without a family.

And therein lies the secret to the holidays within this story. 

For the Guardians, to discover Christmas is to recognize the importance of being with family. While Quill may miss the decor of the holidays, what means the most to him is being with the ones that he loves. As such, this Holiday Special features no villain to be defeated (an MCU first, btw) or world to save. Instead, it simply wants to sit with holiday humour and remind fans to treasure the people around us. In doing so, the Specialrecognizes that, no matter what corner of the galaxy you’re in, it’s these people that make a home.

Although, getting Kevin Bacon as a Christmas gift doesn’t hurt either. 

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is available on Disney+ on Friday, November 25th, 2022.

Carmen – Throwing off repression

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“God isn’t evil. God is very tired, and when we are tired we make big mistakes.”

Carmen, written and directed by Valerie Buhagiar, is a story of both repression and awakening. Some people are silenced, but may have blessings to share if allowed to be heard. When things seem the darkest, it may be that something new will dawn.

In Malta, the tradition has been that when a man becomes a priest, his sister follows him to the rectory to serve as his housekeeper. Carmen (Natascha McElhone) has been doing this since she was sixteen. She has had no real life other than servitude. She is not allowed to find love, or to grow as a person.

When her brother dies, she has nowhere to go. The monsignor offers her only platitudes of a great reward in heaven. (But, of course, she must die first.) The sister of the incoming priest is pushing Carmen out so she can be in charge. She manages to sneak a key to the church, and sleeps there. When one day she is sitting in the confessional, a woman comes in and thinks it is the new priest. Carmen replies with wisdom. Others follow, celebrating the way this new priest handles things, even though he never holds mass.

When Carmen takes some of the church fixtures into the city to pawn, she meets Paulo, a handsome young man who is helpful. Carmen begins to discard her old life (symbolized by a change of clothes). Now she begins to expand her view of what her life can be. But she also is discovering that she has something to share with the world other than keeping her brother happy. She longs to ring the church bell, but that too is restricted to men.

We might be tempted to dismiss this as a relic of a tradition in an isolated situation. But it serves as a reminder of many ways that women have been silenced and oppressed through the years. And the fact that we see Carmen coming to life by doing the forbidden act of hearing confessions is a reminder that the church has culpability in that oppression. For Carmen (and in time, the community) this act exemplifies the importance of being empowered to exercise one’s gifts.

A part of her wisdom is seen in the quotation above. Given her circumstances, she might well have come to view God less than kind. She does not want others to reject God, rather she wants them to understand that perhaps God is just overwhelmed with us all. It’s easier to accept a God who may make a mistake from time to time, than for him to not care about us.

I found it interesting that each step that Carmen takes towards her awakening is preceded by a pigeon leading her someplace. The dove (a cousin to pigeons) has long been a sign of the Spirit. The Spirit, even if not the church, enable those who follow to do God’s work in new and exciting ways.

Carmen is in select theaters and on VOD.

Photos courtesy of Good Deed Entertainment.

TIFF ’22: The End of Sex

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In The End of Sex, husband Josh (Jonas Chernick, who also wrote the film) and his wife Emma (Emily Hampsire) are excited for their kids to go to sleepaway camp for a week so they can have some much needed time to themselves. But after their attempt to kickstart their marriage bed fizzles, the two find themselves lost in a sea of sexual confusion. Now, with the clock ticking before the girls come home, Josh and Emma fight to amp up their love lives but also must confront some difficult truths about their relationship in the process.

Directed by Sean Garrity, The End of Sex is a fairly fun and lighthearted comedy about marriage and midlife. While it’s not ‘uproariously funny’, the performances are solid, especially by Hampshire and Chernick. With some solid chemistry between them, one genuinely believes that this could be any married couple who have spent the last decade attempting to balance the realities of child-rearing, work and their own personal lives. 

In fact, the best part about Sex is that it’s open conversations about the ‘thing that’s hard to talk about’ are designed to feel authentic. For any parent in a long-term relationship, one can’t help but empathize with Josh and Emily as they struggle to avoid the pitfalls of divorce or marital listlessness (which is potentially worse). There’s no doubt the sexuality remains important in every marriage but Garrity also acknowledges that our expectations of it need to change.

So, no. With its wild exploits and humour, The End of Sex will not be for everyone. But neither should one assume that this isn’t a comedy that takes its conversations about sex seriously. 

The End of Sex is now playing at TIFF ’22. For screening information, click here.

The Good Boss: [Dis]Order in the Workplace

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What makes a ‘good boss’?

Having inherited a factory that produces industrial scales from his father, Blanco (Javier Bardem) believes himself to be a man of respect. Married without children of their own, Blanco tells his staff that they are his family and he wants to care for them as though they were blood. In fact, as a result of his workplace environment, Blanco is up for a local Business Excellence award. With the judges expected at any time, he works hard to keep his company running without error. Nevertheless, lives are messy and flaws begin to appear that threaten his victory.

With scathing satire, The Good Boss is an entertaining piece about the scales of justice within the workplace. Featuring some surprising twists and turns, the film may be billed as a comedy but it has a seriousness that never keeps it grounded. Directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, Boss is an examination of the necessity of a changing landscape in a culture dominated by toxic masculinity. Anchored by a solid performance by Bardem, the film disseminates male dominance in the workplace with humour yet rarely pulls its punches. As the boss himself, Bardem uses his charm to create a sympathetic figure who seems to love his staff yet loves himself more. When the opportunity for a pending award is on the table, he speaks for unity and care for one another yet, in his private life, he demonstrates a selfishness with which taints his work. 

Telling the story of the staff of an industrial scale factory, this is very much a film about the balance of justice. Although Blanco is a man with charm who seems to be loved by his employees, he rules his company with a strong fist. He preaches family yet also suggests that, sometimes, a firm hand is required. As such, he demands perfection and equality amongst his team and wants them to stabilize their personal life and professional life. (In this way, the name ‘Blanco’ takes on a deeper meaning as he wants his company to be without blemish.) 

However, as cracks begin to appear in the system, that balance appears to be disrupted. A disgruntled former employee begins to protest his dismissal. His right-hand man is struggling to hold his family together. And an attractive new intern has caught Blanco’s eye. However, these sorts of distractions leave a perceived smudge on his otherwise perfect record and he decides to intervene. 

He is a man of power and he is willing to wield it whenever and wherever is necessary. 

What’s more, Blanco is also a man who fails to see his own failings. To him, maintaining the status quo is the most important detail. However, while he believes that ‘everyone makes mistakes’, he is unable to take responsibility for his own actions and refuses to change within himself. (For instance, before he pursues his new intern, we understand that he has clearly been in a relationship with another former employee.) In this way, the image of power becomes as important as the power itself.

As such, Good Boss provides a healthy social commentary which recognizes the importance of our changing landscapes in the deeper realizations that must take place. This is not a film about vengeance but rather the truth that the world has changed and those in power must change along with it. Blanco may be likeable yet his arrogance and perceived grip on power have created at toxic work environment… even if he thinks it to be one of order. 

Because, in this world, toxicity begins to fester when one fails to believe it exists.

The Good Boss is available in theatres on Friday, August 26th, 2022.

Easter Sunday: The Funny Thing about Family

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Family isn’t always easy… but it’s often funny.

Easter Sunday tells the story of Jo Valencia (Jo Koy), a struggling comedian who is also struggling to connect with his teenage son. Obsessed with work, Jo has difficulty making time for those he cares about as he scratches and claws to get his big break. Then, as the Easter long weekend approaches, Jo must return to his family home to celebrate the holiday. But can they survive the time with their crazy family?

While it doesn’t necessarily deserve its own holiday, Easter Sunday is a sweet and funny film that reminds us that family matters. Using the long holiday weekend as a backdrop, Easter explore the importance of reconnecting with one another and the difficulties that can come to light when we gather together. (For what it’s worth, the film was originally scheduled to be released in early April before the Easter season but was delayed, presumably due to COVID.) Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, there’s a fairly positive pulse and energy throughout the film that should fill the family entertainment gap. With an absolutely wonderful cast of comedy veterans, family interactions lean into the zanier family humour that made My Big Fat Greek Wedding a success. As such, there’s a sense of levity amongst the cast that almost makes their interactions feel like genuine family.

While some of the performances and writing admittedly feel forced, the film is held together by the energy and humour of Koy. As a man caught between fatherhood and son-hood, Koy manages to balance his natural humour with heart. While he’s naturally gifted with comedic chops, his willingness to lean into the more dramatic moments is particularly noteworthy, especially in moments with his onscreen mother, Lydia Gaston. When paired together, there seems to be a genuine connection between them that undergirds their interactions with honesty and affection. 

In many ways, Easter‘s cultural edge allows it to feel more personal than many comedies. Written by Ken Cheng, what’s most interesting about the film is its recognition of the challenges facing the Filipino community in the Hollywood machine. While it shows the love within Filipino homes, Easter also leans into the opportunity to examine the struggles for recognition in pop culture. For example, although Jo feels that he represents his heritage by simply being himself, he is still asked to perform stereotypes and accents in order to find work. In these moments, Easter exposes the racial biases that the Hollywood experience and the frustration in Jo’s voice is palpable. Though, even as Hollywood’s internal biases attempt to put them in a box, Jo stands firm in his conviction of the things that matter, such as the love of his family.

Furthermore, Easter is very much a film about relationships with their parents, and accepting them in their brokenness. As a centerpiece of the film, Jo is sandwiched between generations. As the son who wishes to honour his mother, he finds himself dealing with his frustrations with her that he has carried since childhood. However, at the same time, he is also a father with a son who is disappointed in his own behavior. While he wrestles with his own role in his family, he remains oblivious to the ways in which he affects his estranged son. By reconciling with his mother, Jo gains the perspective that he needs to properly become a better father himself. The shades of perspective must be altered in order to bring the family closer together. 

Silly and heartfelt, Easter Sunday makes for a fun family feast. Anchored by the delightful combination of Koy and Gaston, there’s enough love and humour at this table setting to make you feel like you’ve enjoyed your meal… even if you’re not entirely sure you need to go back for seconds.

Easter Sunday is available in theatres on Friday, August 5th, 2022

How to Please a Woman – An intimate comedy

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“I’m not sure I know how to please a woman.”

“If you can say that, you’re a better man than most.”

How to Please a Woman, written and directed by Renée Webster, is a risqué comedy about women being given a voice in their own lives. In the process it exposes some of the unspoken societal differences between expectations of men and women. It also opens possibilities for better understanding of the meaning of intimacy.

Gina (Sally Phillips) is turning fifty. Her job is being given to a younger, more buxom woman. Her husband is dispassionate and distant. For her birthday, one of her friends hires Tom (Alexander England), a male sex worker who offers two hours of whatever Gina wants. She asks him to clear her house, which he does with his shirt off.

Alex England as TOM & Sally Phillips as GINA, How To Please A Woman – Photograph by David Dare Parker

When she finds out Tom’s day job is a moving company she knows is being liquidated, she buys the company thinking she can revitalize it by offering beefcake housecleaning as a side hustle. Women love the idea, but soon they want more than just beefcake. The business evolves into one in which “the cleaning must be effective and there must be a minimum of one orgasm.” Obviously, some training will be needed—in both aspects of the job. Also, it requires Gina to interview the women booking the service in order to understand what each wants and needs. It also makes Gina look at her own unhappiness and come to terms with her own needs and desires.

There is a certainly a reversal of roles in this story. It’s not just that the sex workers (and housecleaners) are men. It is also a recognition that women are sexual beings. Housework in the film represents the oppression that ties women to the home—even if they have another job. To have men do their expected work frees the women to enjoy other parts of their life (here, a sex life).

Ryan Johnson as ANTHONY, Josh Thomson as BEN, Alex England as TOM & Erik Thomson as STEVE, How To Please A Woman – Photograph by David Dare Parker

There is also some insight into the sexual nature of male privilege. When Gina mentions to her workers that at lease one orgasm is required, one of the men asks if his orgasm doesn’t mean at least two. But he’s told his orgasm doesn’t matter. Women have often been given that idea about their own satisfaction.

One scene that struck me as exemplifying the gender differences is when Gina is being questioned in a police station (she doesn’t have a license to operate a sex business), the male police officers have a hard time understanding the concept. But the women officers are filling the room to watch the interview—all with smiles.

It should be pointed out that prostitution is by its nature prone to abuses. This film does not address those dangers. But it does at times allow us to see the objectification that often takes place between people, especially in sexual situations. However, the story tries to move past that objectification to make a point that intimacy requires knowing what another person wants.

Hayley McElhinney as HAYLEY, Tasma Walton as MONIQUE, Sally Phillips as GINA & Caroline Brazier as SANDRA, How To Please A Woman – Photograph by David Dare Parker

It is here that Gina’s discovery of her own needs comes into play. Steve (Eric Thomson), the former owner of the company, isn’t comfortable doing the sex work. He stays around to keep things orderly. Being the same age as Gina, the two seem a natural match, except for their marriages. But they are also both essentially alone. They too will learn that listening and openness is what makes for intimacy and joy.

How to Please a Woman is in select theaters and coming soon to VOD.

Photos courtesy of Brainstorm Media,

Jerry and Marge Go Large – What is the value of money?

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“I’ve waited forty years for it to be just us, and so far, we suck at it.”

Retirement can be a challenge for people who have been busy their whole lives. It helps if you find a hobby to fill your time. Maybe that hobby turns out to be lucrative—lucrative enough to change lives. Jerry and Marge Go Large, directed by David Frankel, is a wonderfully entertaining story of such a remarkable hobby and the way it touched lives and built a community. It’s based on a true story.

Jerry Selbee (Bryan Cranston) has just retired (not happily) from a career at Kellogg’s. He lives in a small town in Michigan that is well past its prime. He’s floundering for something to do. Jerry is a wizard with numbers. One day he discovers a loophole in the state lottery that adjust the odds so that winning is more likely. After a couple of failures to score, he determines that he needs to bet really big to get a payoff. So he recruits others in the town to trust him with their money (we’re talking thousands each) and forms a corporation. It starts working, but Michigan shuts that game down. It is still being played in Massachusetts, however.

So every few weeks, when the jackpot gets large enough to trigger the loophole, he and his wife Marge (Annette Benning) do a road trip to Massachusetts to spend the day printing the thousands of lottery tickets involved, aided by a friendly and eccentric convenience store clerk (a very entertaining Rainn Wilson). The payoff is astounding. The small town is enjoying the life of new money in town. More importantly Jerry and Marge are having a great time rebuilding their relationship in a new way.

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However, soon, Tyler Evens (Uly Schlesinger), a student at Harvard, discovers the same loophole and gets money from other well-healed students in his dorm. When Tyler figures out there are two group doing this, he threatens Jerry with the idea that he would hack all his neighbors and ruin their lives. Tyler is the epitome of privilege, who wants nothing more to win at anything he’s involved in.

In some ways, this part of the story provides some dramatic tension to make it interesting, but it also opens the door for us to consider what it means to be stewards of the gifts we have.  

For Tyler this is a matter of ego. The money really doesn’t mean anything to him; his family has plenty. It’s about showing off how clever he is. And he won’t tolerate anyone who threatens his plans. The money, per se, doesn’t matter to Jerry either. He’s more interested in what he and his neighbors can do with their winnings. For them, this is a chance to rebuild their dying little town. Parks are spruced up. Downtown shops, which have been boarded up for years, are bought and rented out for €1 a year. (There is a humorous reason they do it for a euro rather than a dollar.) For the Michigan people, this windfall is all about the community. To be sure, they all get to make some personal upgrades, but more than anything else they see this as making everyone’s lives better.

Stewardship of what we have is a frequent topic in scripture. For example, Peter tells us “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” (1 Peter 4:10, NRSV). Tyler has no concept of serving others; he expects others to serve him and feed his ego. But for Jerry, Marge, and their neighbors, the gift that Jerry nurtured for them has changed their lives, not just by making them more money. It has enriched their lives as families and community. There we see “the manifold grace of God” at work.

Jerry and Marge Go Large streams on Paramount+.

Photo credit: Jake Giles Netter/Paramount++.

The Phantom of the Open – Losing with style

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“No one can say you didn’t try.”

I’m not a fan of watching or playing golf, but I am in awe of those who can play at the professional level. That’s because I’m absolutely awful at it. Craig Roberts’s The Phantom of the Open is the story of a novice who tries to play at the highest level of the golf world. Based on the true story of the man who was known as the worst golfer in the world, this film is a testament to being willing to keep at something, even when failure seems inevitable. Perhaps it’s not winning that matters, but doing your best—even if your best is nowhere near good.

Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance) is a crane operator from Barrow-in-Furness. It’s 1976 and the nationalizing of the shipyards may put his job at risk. When he learns that the British Open golf tournament has a prize of £10,000, he decides that he’ll enter and the money will take care of his family. Of course, Maurice has never played golf, so he gets some books and clubs and practices mostly on the beach, since he’s not a member of the golf club and couldn’t afford green fees if he were. (Although he does sneak on the course from time to time.)

He fills out the application for the Open, and through his ineptitude in even knowing what the questions mean, it is approved. So he heads to a qualifying round. He plays the worst round in the history of the open, shooting 121, 49 strokes over par. (This record still stands, and probably will forever.) The guardians of golf are appalled and ban him from clubs throughout Britain. But he becomes something of a folk hero when all this becomes known.

Maurice is determined that if they say it’s an open tournament, that he should be included. He continued to try to enter with names like Gerald Hoppy, Count Manfred von Hoffmenstal, and Arnold Palmtree, with elaborate disguises.

The film is more than just a humorous story of wrong-headed determination. It is also the story of a loving family that is caught up in Maurice’s obsession. It is the love story of Maurice and his wife Jean (Sally Hawkins), who stands behind him throughout his eccentric fixation, even though it will never bring them money. He also has twin sons who dream to be professional disco dancers. They follow their father’s example of letting their passion guide them. But his eldest son, who has been to college and now works in the offices of the shipyard is embarrassed by his father’s antics and tries to distance himself, which isn’t easy with a name like Flitcroft.

What makes Maurice such a hero, both to the public and to viewers is that most of us are not the greatest in the world at what we do. There are a lot more people who play golf like Maurice than like the pros. Not being good at it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it. My wife and I have taken up bridge. Sometimes we do well. Sometimes we don’t. We usually play with people at our level, but sometimes we play with people who have played for decades. We keep at it because we enjoy it, even when we make dumb mistakes.

Eventually, Maurice discovers that he has become an example and inspiration for people worldwide who will never win a tournament. Even the guardians of the game come to understand that golf is not always about winning or even playing well.  As Maurice said in an interview at one point, “For every winner of a tournament, there are 499 losers.” The lesson Maurice brings us through this story is that we need to enjoy what we do and not worry about being the best. Nearly everyone spends their lives as part of the 499. It’s not really that bad of a way to live.

The Phantom of the Open is in general release.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

Sexual Drive – Food, sex, and love

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Food and sex are among our greatest pleasures. At times, they are intimately linked, especially in films. Sexual Drive¸ from director Yoshida Kôta, is built around the connection of sensuality the two share. It is part thriller, part sex comedy, and culinary adventure.

The film is made up of three vignettes, each titled after a culinary dish. The vignettes are linked by one common character, Kurita, who visits people and tells them things (which may or may not be true) about intimate things in their lives. In “Nattu” (a fermented soy bean dish), Enatsu is worried about the absence of sex in his marriage. Kurita comes and tells Enatsu that he is having an affair with his wife, going into graphic detail about the pleasure he brings her. In “Mapo Tofu” (a spicy Chinese dish), Akane suffers from panic attacks while driving. After (maybe) hitting Kurita with the car, he tells her they were in the same class in 2nd grade where she bullied him, and that her true nature is a bit sadistic. In “Ramen with Extra Back Fat”, Ikeyama is thinking about breaking off an affair. Kurita calls him from his lover’s phone claiming to have kidnapped her, and making him follow her journey after being rejected.

In each section, food is either eaten or prepared with a certain amount of eroticism. The “Nattu” section gets a bit lewd, but over all the stories are not so much about either sex or food. They are about what it means to find pleasure in another person. That is, what it means to love.

Food has often carried a sensual power in film. Some examples that come quickly to mind are Chocolat, Tom Jones, and When Harry Met Sally. Films often show hedonism in both the kitchen and the bedroom. And it becomes easy for us to make the not very long leap to connect the two.

So it is with Sexual Drive. As Kurita makes his visits with these people, he is a mixture of sex/relationship counselor, storyteller, and torturer. He brings hard truths to the people he meets, but in those hard truths are the way for them to find a happiness that is eluding them—and the people they love.

For viewers it is a reminder of the pleasures that fill our lives, but even more that the real pleasures of life are found in the people we love and share our lives with.

Sexual Drive is available through Virtual Cinema and VOD.

Photos courtesy of Film Movement.

Moon Knight: Marvel’s Wildest Experiment… and it Works

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Once again, Marvel has proven that they aren’t the most successful franchise in history by accident. With each entry into their massive (and ever-expanding) canon, they continue to flex their influence by releasing increasingly risky characters and stories that somehow still fit their brand.

A world entirely translated by generations of television.

Multiple Spider-Men from the past 20 years of film franchises.

A giant purple titan who wields an all-powerful gauntlet.

No matter how (doctor) strange their continuity becomes, Marvel somehow manages to make it work. (Yes, there are franchises that are better than others… but the percentage of quality in their cinematic storytelling is surprisingly high, especially considering how long they’ve been doing this.)

Now, here comes what is arguably the most insane story of all: Moon Knight.

Streaming on Disney+, Moon Knight tells the story of Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift shop employee who is struggling with bizarre dreams. Every night, he fears falling asleep as he finds himself transported to exotic locations and dangerous situations. As his dreams begin to blur with reality, Steven discovers his inner mercenary (literally) as an alternate persona known as Marc Spector battles for control of his body. Fierce and ferocious, Spector is under the servitude of the Egyptian god, Khonshu, who demands that he fight on his behalf. As Steven/Marc begin to unravel their complicated relationship, so too must they defend themselves against a mysterious Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke), an acolye of the goddess Ammit.

Moon Knight is ridiculous on almost every level… but it’s also ridiculously fun

Spearheaded by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, Moon Knight is stylish and well-executed. Billed as a ‘horror comedy’, the series is a wild blend of the terrifying and goofy. Known for their work on Synchronic and She Dies Tomorrow, Moorehead and Benson have a background in psychological horror and the put those talents to work here. Flashing hallways, demonic jackals and psychological breakdowns all work together create an unsettling atmosphere of terror. However, the best example of their horror influence comes through the depiction of Khonshu. Voiced by F. Murray Abraham, Khonshu’s bird skull and long, bony physique pushes the boundaries of what Marvel has offered by creating an intimating ghostly figure that ominously follows Spector/Grant. (Note to parents, while it keeps to its PG rating, this image may intimidate younger ones so use caution.)

At the same time though, Knight is also genuinely funny. Although the series features Marvel’s trademark silliness (such as a car chase in a cupcake truck), much of the credit here falls on a stellar performance by Isaac who is absolutely erratic as the psychologically-divided hero. From the Coen Brothers to Star Wars, Isaacs has always been willing to balance his independent work with big franchises. 

But his performance in Moon Knight is truly unique.

As Marc Spector, Isaac is allow to engage his dark side. A mercenary indebted to Khonshu, Spector remains calm, collected and often brutal. However, as Steven Grant, Isaac is practically bouncing off the walls with erratic energy. Armed with a British accent and high anxiety, Grant is constantly in motion as he attempts to figure out what’s taking place around—and within—him. Together, Spector/Grant have a tension reminiscent of the Hulk & Banner as both men battle for control of the same person. When you add in the demanding demonic voice of Khonshu, Disney has invariably created an ‘Odd Throuple’ with each persona attempting to dominate the other. (In fact, the relationship between these characters echoes Sony’s recent rom-com superhero franchise Venom which features a similar silliness between Eddie Brock and his alien symbiote.)

At its heart, Moon Knight feels interested in addressing the nature of justice. Whereas Spector is more than prepared to exact vengeance and violence when called upon, Grant has a gentler approach. To Grant, violence is never the answer and there is always a better way to solve his problems. However, Spector’s strength is often required in order to defeat the baddies that go bump in the night. There is a tension between their styles that creates some interesting conversations about the definition of justice and what sorts of methods are required. (Admittedly, Knight often favours Spector’s brutality as necessary yet, as the series progresses, one gets the sense that Grant’s humility will become important to Spector’s growth.)

Held in juxtaposition to this internal battle is the villainous Harrow who believes that the sins of man require judgment. Committed to the goddess Ammit, Harrow believes that humanity can be judged for actions that they haven’t yet been committed if there is darkness in their hearts. Whether it’s an elderly woman or infants, Harrow is relentless in his belief that those who (may) create suffering should be eliminated before they have the chance to do so. 

When held up against Spector/Grant, the series creates some space for what it truly means to create a safe space for others. To Harrow, man’s sins are inevitable and therefore justifiably erased. For Grant, man cannot be blamed until the actions come to life and then invited to change. Finally, Spector argues that those who threaten peace are justifiably stopped by any means necessary. Between the three of voices, the series highlights the breadth of opinions on justice and tries to hold them all in tension together.

How Moon Knight fits in with Marvel continuity is not yet known. Set in its own space and time, Knight very much feels like a standalone series. (Although, it’s fair to say that we know that’s not the case. Nothing in Marvel ever exits on its own.) However, anchored by a phenomenal performance by Isaac, Knight manages to carve itself its own corner of the Marvel Universe. Once again, Marvel has taken an insane premise and created something infinitely watchable and engaging.

Somehow, they’ve managed to let this Knight shine.

Moon Knight begins streaming on Disney+ on Thursday, March 31st, 2022.