Hawkeye Review

*I know nothing of the content of the original comic book that Hawkeye is based on. This review is strictly based on the television series.

After a long-running movie or television series has run its course, it is not surprising if fans need a break. If the narrative is to continue, it is important that the writer(s) and creative teams find new plots that they might not have considered before.

Earlier this week, the MCU/DisneyPlus, Hawkeye premiered. In the opening scene, young Kate Bishop (Clara Stack) is witness to the destruction of New York City during the first Avengers movie. Losing both her home and her beloved father, Derek (Brian d’Arcy James) will forever change her life. We then flash forward to the college-age Kate (Hailee Steinfeld). She returns for winter break after accidentally destroying a building on campus and is unhappy that her mother Eleanor (Vera Farmiga) is engaged to Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton).

Meanwhile, Hawkeye/Clint Black (Jeremy Renner) is in the city with his kids to enjoy the Christmas season. He hopes that his only interaction with his superhero past is a dreadful musical adaptation. It’s supposed to be an ordinary family vacation. But fate, his past, and Kate Bishop force him to pick up his bow and arrow once more.

So far, only the first two episodes have been released. What I have seen so far, I like. There is a nice balance of action and comedy. Clint’s reluctance to become Hawkeye again is the yin to the yang of Kate’s eagerness to show that she can be as badass as he is. The emotional hook is not the physical aspect of the story, but how both Kate and Clint have to deal with the issues in their personal lives.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Hawkeye is available for streaming on DisneyPlus.

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What Took So Long For the Black Widow Movie to be Made?

For the last ten years, movie fans have come to expect a new Avengers film every year or so. All of the major male heroes (with the exception of Hawkeye) have had at least one stand-alone film over the course of those ten years.

For most of the franchise, Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) was the only woman on the team. Up until very recently, she was also without a stand-alone film of her own. The trailer was released earlier this week for Black Widow.

The movie looks fantastic. The supporting cast (Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, David Harbour) looks equally fantastic. But I have to question why it took so long for Marvel to greenlight a Black Widow film?

It feels like an afterthought. Its as if Marvel is trying to stretch the franchise as far as it can go instead of following the natural narrative. This film feels like it is akin to a child giving in to the pressure from their parents to eat their vegetables. I wish it was not this way, but this is the reality that we live. Women still have to fight for the opportunities that come naturally to men.

This movie is on my must-see list for 2020. But being that it will not be released for another 6 months, we can only speculate about this film. My hope is that it does well and finally breaks the glass ceiling on female superhero films once and for all.

Not Funny And Not Acceptable

In making their rounds with the various media outlets to promote their new movie The Avengers: Age Of Ultron, actors Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner have made rather unpleasant comments about co star  Scarlett Johannson’s character, the Black Widow.

They quickly apologized, stating the following:

“We answered in a very juvenile and offensive way that rightfully angered some fans. I regret it and sincerely apologize”- Chris Evans

“I am sorry that this tasteless joke about a fictional character offended anyone,” he said. “It was not meant to be serious in any way. Just poking fun during an exhausting and tedious press tour”.- Jeremy Renner

I will give them that they maybe exhausted. Answering the same questions asked by different reporters for days on end sounds like it becomes tedious quickly.

But that is still no excuse.

The other issue within this article is the double standard. Why are we so quick to attach a love interest to a female character, but not to a male character?  No one would think to ask if Thor or Iron Man would hook up with Maria Hill and the implications of such a hookup, if it was within the plot of the film.   As I have seen and enjoyed this franchise so far, Black Widow is just part of the team. The fact that she happens to be a female does not make the audience or the other characters question her role in the film.

And even if Black Widow was to become involved romantically with one of her teammates, that should not be a barrier to her ability to defend the world from the villain.

It is not funny and not acceptable.

The Age Of Ultron is in theaters on May 1st.