Watching Hawkeye makes you realize that outside of the Netflix and Hulu installments (whose canonicity is debatable at this point), the MCU really hasn't delved into the street level heroics of the franchise all that much. Spider-Man and Ant-Man are the closest characters to that end, but their respective sequel went for bigger scale, and even then only Spider-Man: Homecoming kept the stakes relatively small. As such, Hawkeye feels like such a genuine breathe of fresh air - the rare superhero show that keeps it's stakes as small as possible, with it's tone light on it's feet while also focusing squarely on being character driven first and foremost.
Seeing as this is based on the rightfully acclaimed Matt Fraction run, this isn't a shocker. Kate Bishop is an instantly likable character, and Hailee Steinfeld absolutely nails her in a way where it's clear why she was the only one ever looked at for the role. Jeremy Renner, while noticeably in less of the first episode then you would think, is also predictably great and gives the character his trademark humanity and wit in spades - plus the depiction of his hearing loss is extremely well done and realistic in a way that's poignant and understanding. Combine that with killer action scenes (seriously, the shot work here is exceptional) and you have yet the fourth winning pilot in a row for the live action side of the MCU. They simply just do not miss - pun intended.
Review by LegionWrexBlockedParent2021-11-24T21:54:39Z
Watching Hawkeye makes you realize that outside of the Netflix and Hulu installments (whose canonicity is debatable at this point), the MCU really hasn't delved into the street level heroics of the franchise all that much. Spider-Man and Ant-Man are the closest characters to that end, but their respective sequel went for bigger scale, and even then only Spider-Man: Homecoming kept the stakes relatively small. As such, Hawkeye feels like such a genuine breathe of fresh air - the rare superhero show that keeps it's stakes as small as possible, with it's tone light on it's feet while also focusing squarely on being character driven first and foremost.
Seeing as this is based on the rightfully acclaimed Matt Fraction run, this isn't a shocker. Kate Bishop is an instantly likable character, and Hailee Steinfeld absolutely nails her in a way where it's clear why she was the only one ever looked at for the role. Jeremy Renner, while noticeably in less of the first episode then you would think, is also predictably great and gives the character his trademark humanity and wit in spades - plus the depiction of his hearing loss is extremely well done and realistic in a way that's poignant and understanding. Combine that with killer action scenes (seriously, the shot work here is exceptional) and you have yet the fourth winning pilot in a row for the live action side of the MCU. They simply just do not miss - pun intended.