Where to find it: Disney+
Length: Six 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: The guy from the movies tries to protect a young woman and stop a threat in time for Christmas with his family
Recommendation rating: 3/5
What I like about it: Hailee Steinfeld, the dynamic between the Hawkeyes, fun and followable action, the deaf stuff
What I don’t like about it: never quite delivers on its themes, these MCU things never have real stakes
Review:
The switch from movies to TV is working out very well for Disney’s Marvel project, they’re much more diverse in tone than the films, generally less dark and more fun and this is a good example of that. Partially adapted from the Matt Fraction/David Aja comic book that was the hottest thing in comics ten years ago, this series finds Clint Barton reluctantly mentoring Kate Bishop, a young and impetuous archer, as they have silly battles with the velour-tracksuited Russian mafia. In this adaptation, Clint is dragged into the situation even though he would rather be home celebrating Christmas with his family, while Kate seems to be enjoying the adventure. Impulsive youth vs. responsible adulthood is a definite theme here – “What are you, 18?” “I’m 22!” “There’s no difference.” – but it never really pays it off by having Clint tell off Kate and she really deserves it in this one, but they just play the dynamic for laughs. It’s fun but it seemed like it was going to be better around episode 3
Content notes (may contain spoilers): general superhero fighting and peril