Skip to main content

TV Series Review: Hawkeye (2021) Disney+ *Spoiler Free*

Hawkeye Disney+ Series One Sheet.

I've already written about my new, second favorite, MCU Super Hero, Kate Bishop, but, now that I've seen the full six episodes of the Disney+ series, Hawkeye, it's time for that full review I promised.

Regular readers will know I'm not really a comic book reader in the superhero space. Everything I know about Hawkeye is based on what I've seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as played by Jeremy Renner.

When I saw the original first teaser trailer for Hawkeye, it looked fine. It had a kind of similar spy feel to it with, what I would learn to be, graphics from the  Matt Fraction, David Aja, and Javier Pulido comic book run, along the lines of Captain America, The Winter Soldier. I was glad Hawkeye was finally getting a series.

Then, when the second 'Christmas' trailer was released it brought a whole new tone of fun to the series that I was immediately excited to see it. Whoever thought to set the show at Christmas and use the '...tied up with a bow' tagline is a genius.

I really enjoyed the series as a whole. It easily became my favorite of the MCU Disney+ shows so far. Which is quite a feat given, I really like all of them a lot. Almost to the point where I'd rather  watch more series than have more MCU movies.

While Clint Barton may not be as flashy or powered as some of the other heroes, he's always been reliable, doing the job he's asked to do without ever questioning whether his capabilities are enough to be an Avenger. So much so that he doesn't see himself as a superhero. He's just doing his job.

That's kind of where he is when present day comes around in the Hawkeye series. Just a man doing a job, trying to get home to his family for Christmas.

Enter Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), a Hawkeye fan girl from as far back as the Battle of New York, and an Avenger 'wanna-be' in a 'this is my actual career goal so I'm going to learn everything about it' kind of way.

Unwittingly the two cross paths when Kate begins to suspect some really shady goings on with her mother's new boyfriend, Jack (Tony Dalton). From there things start to go south as Hawkeye tries to keep Kate safe from some pretty serious threats in the week before Christmas, where Clint had planned considerable family time for the season.

Although many viewers said this show started out slow I never found myself waiting for something to happen. I was so invested in Clint and Kate's relationship as mentor and protégé, with most of my favorite scenes being just their conversations and exchanges. Both Renner and Steinfeld play their roles so well with great character arcs for them both.

I enjoyed the humor of the show, with a particular shout out to the Track Suit Mafia as being a relatively credible threat despite being comic relief with much of their dialogue. They could easily have slipped into being useless and silly but I always felt they weren't to be messed with.

Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), also delivers a fine performance as one of the show's main antagonists. If people didn't keep saying this is her first role as a professional actor, you'd never know. Easily holds her own in some very intense moments for her character.

While it is a very dialogue driven series there are some really great action pieces as well with a highlight being the 'trick arrows' car chase seen in the trailers.

The big finale action is also a lot of fun (not really a spoiler since this is a superhero show - there's always some kind of final battle at the end).

I will say I thought the last episode was a bit of a let down for me (and only a bit, it was still fun) in that it really was trying to wrap up many different threads in a nice big bow. The thing that kicked it all off was a bit of an eyeroll moment for me (as were a couple of later moments), however most reviewers, seemed to love the last episode because it was mostly action.

Hawkeye is easily one of the top MCU Disney+ shows. Anyone who says otherwise is probably an action only fan with little appreciation for character development and great dialogue. The only MCU Disney+ series so far that I plan to binge watch, after having already seen every episode twice over.

So much fun, and a great series for the whole family.

Comments

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

Are Ion Thrusters the Future of Flying Cars? Spoiler - Probably Not But... Hover Boards... Maybe?

Undefined Technologies Ion Propulsion Drone prototype 3D concept image. You may have heard of Ion engines or, more likely, Ion thrusters. NASA uses them on their spacecraft to help maintain a craft's position or to propel them through space.  Upon hearing that you might think they're big, powerful engines, but actually they are not. They work well in the vacuum of space but, once any kind of atmosphere and gravity is involved they'd be hard pressed to launch you off the ground if you strapped four of them to your lawn chair and yelled "up, up, and away!" I am no expert on Ion thrusters - they're basically magic that science has an explanation for. If you want to know the details, The Space Techie website has a layman's explanation .  Build Your Own Ion Thruster Earth based Ion Thrusters work a bit different to their  space based cousins by Ionizing the same air that we breathe to create thrust (an effect known as Ionic-wind ).  While they sound highly soph

Book Review: Brand It Purple by Ashley Knoote-Parke

Ashley Knoote-Parke. Image: Facebook It seems almost redundant to review  Brand It Purple  given you probably won't find a hard copy edition without digging into the second hand market. The book's author and publisher, Ashley Knoote-Parke, seemingly, disappeared off the face of the Earth around about 2015. Which is a story in itself. However, the book is still a very informative guide and, while not specifically targeted at women, many may relate more to a book written by an experienced female entrepreneur. Brand It Purple is a personal marketing and branding guide released in 2009 by then, star on the rise author, Ashley Knoote-Parke, an English born, South African expatriate, who made Adelaide, South Australia her home. There she started her own publishing company releasing a photographic, coffee table book of South Australian sights, along with books showcasing female, then male, entrepreneurs. As well she published 'Brand It Purple'. I came across the b

Movie Review: Force of Nature - The Dry 2 (2024) *No Spoilers*

Eric Bana returns as Detective Aaron Falk in Force of Nature - The Dry 2 , and that's the only real connection between this and 2020's  The Dry . This is an all new mystery set in a new location. I will say, given that it's either wet or rainy, with the incoming threat of a major storm for most of the movie, the filmmakers really missed a trick in not renaming the film, The Wet. Back when I reviewed the first film I noted that I would love to see the second book made into a movie too, and here it is. This time Aaron and his detective partner, Carmen (Jacqueline Mackenzie), head into the mountains to investigate the whereabouts of a missing informant, who disappears on a workplace, team bonding retreat. All the performances in this film are easily on par with the first, though I do think some pretty outstanding actors really didn't have a lot to do here. In terms of mystery the first movie was better constructed as a who dunnit film you could play along with. Here you mo

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood  Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch

Robot Uprising Update: Robot Waiter, Fasta Pasta, South Terrace, Adelaide CBD, South Australia

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a