Hawkeye (2021) Review

 

Hawkeye (2021)

Hawkeye follows Clint Barton and his newly minted partner, archer Kate Bishop, who, after catching the attention of the Track Suit Mafia, must race to uncover a conspiracy involving Kate’s mom, so that Clint can make it home for Christmas. 

Based largely on the comic run by Matt Fraction and David Aja, Hawkeye finally gives us our first solo project for Clint Barton, while finally introducing us to his partner Kate Bishop, in our first Christmas special since 2013’s Iron Man 3. While the cosmic craziness of the unfolding multiverse is certainly amazing, I like how with this series, we take a step back and put an emphasis on more of the powerless, street-level heroes like Clint and Kate, as it provides for a grittier, more human response to the dangers being a hero possesses, while allowing us to easily connect with their struggle along the way. And of course, basing it on arguably Hawkey’s best comic run, while also shooting for a cheery Christmas setting, we’re left with one of the most fun Marvel shows this year, as the two face off against the “Bro” heavy Tracksuit Mafia, Maya Lopez aka Echo, Yelena Belova, and the long awaited return of Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. 

Now, while the villains were certainly lacking in any development, what with Echo posing zero threat and only really be introduced for the sake of her upcoming show and Fisk’s involvement being hidden until virtually the last episode (a trope I’m becoming to strongly dislike with these shows), while also easily getting taken down like a chump and 'killed' offscreen, the characterization Clint was finally given was refreshing. Much of this series sees him dealing with the consequences of his dark past as the Ronin, as well as the death of Nat; so seeing him put in a vulnerable place while also doing double duty as a mentor for Kate was extremely refreshing, as we don’t often get too many human problems for heroes as the Marvel universe expands. 

We get an exciting cast as well, starring Aleks Paunovic, Vincent D’Onofrio, Linda Cardellini, Vera Farmiga, Tony Dalton, Fra Free, Alaqua Cox, Florence Pugh, Jeremy Renner, and Hailee Steinfeld. I couldn’t have dreamed up a better casting for Kate Bishop than Steinfeld, and so seeing her pull it off with such humor and humility was wonderful. Her chemistry for Renner is also what really sold me on this show, with the two working so, so well together, as they should. 

Hawkeye, directed by Bert and Bertie, is a refreshingly human jump over to the street-level side of Marvel, sweetly passing the Hawkeye mantle to Kate Bishop, while giving us a super fun Christmas adventure her and Clint, even if it did falter a bit on the villainous side. 

8.2/10