Hawkeye

The films from the Marvel stable are quite watchable if you turn a blind eye, but the expansion of its universe into series is one screw-up after another, with no exceptions. And I've never seen Jeremy Renner so bored, really. He must have breathed a deep sigh of relief when the shooting ended. (2022.03.31)

An insightful and, most importantly, lighthearted Christmas superhero story where neither the Earth nor the universe is in danger of extinction and it's "just" about one criminal plot and one man getting home for the holidays. In Joss Whedon's Avengers, Hawkeye was the least interesting character, and I was sorry because Jeremy Renner is a likeable guy. But the Russo brothers afforded him a number of opportunities in subsequent films, which he has taken advantage of, and this series definitely makes him a really great character. The fact that Hailee Steinfeld is as important to his story as he is doesn't bother me at all, because she's simply a hit too. (2024.01.07)

Pathetically mediocre Marvel projects on Disney+ just keep on coming. Hawkeye had the potential to be an awesome show - excellent pair of leads, MCU setting, and an atmosphere that automatically makes you think of Die Hard. You'd think nothing could go wrong here, but sadly that's not the case. The series looks awfully cheap, the fights and action scenes in general are downright terrifying, and the bad guys and most of the supporting characters are totally bland. Even the pace of the narrative itself is unnecessarily fast. By the time the story gets going, it's actually all coming to an end. I really wanted to enjoy the series, but it was difficult. Not to criticize too much, it wasn't a disaster like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't bored most of the time with all six episodes. Finally, let me just say that I've hated Florence Pugh's "Russian" accent since the first Black Widow trailer, and I literally had to suffer through it in the film. Here, it's to be continued. Enough is enough, please, I can't take it anymore. (2021.12.22)

Happy Holidays! A lightweight, enjoyable snack, nicely following up on and complementing events at Marvel. Renner is excellent and passes the baton on to a thrilled Hailey Steinfeld. Bishop has the balls to be in the Avengers, but it remains to be seen who else Feige will cast in the movies. It’s good to see Yelena and Wilson here and their appearances are meant to be the high points of the series. But it turns out that the real high point is the chase through the streets of New York with the souped-up darts. The series is worth watching for this alone. We're all gonna die. (2021.12.22)

Christmas popcorn from Marvel with two diametrically opposed halves. While the first 2 or 3 episodes are almost pure candy for small, young and simple viewers, where the cute little dog has to have only one eye and the black policewoman has to be a lesbian and say it out loud with nonchalant elegance in order to make everything as politically friendly and correct as possible, from the middle onwards the pace picks up and the story builds up solidly. Hawkeye ultimately deepens the Marvel universe pretty cleverly, revealing cards that we haven't quite got to see in the big movies or the series spin-offs. And with the arrival of Florence Pugh, everything jumps up another level. Four stars, but just barely. (2022.01.22)