New York City. It’s post-blip time. And it’s been a while since the Avengers had to fight the most powerful terrestrial and intergalactic villains to save the world and bring people back from the mysterious Blip. Right here, where the past catches up with a retired hero who at the same time meets hope for the future, Disney+ places its new top series Hawkeye.
THE STORY
It’s six days before Christmas. The Captain America musical takes place in New York City. Of course, Clint Barton (Hawkeye) is invited and takes the opportunity to spend some time with his children in the lively Big Apple.
His mission to celebrate Christmas with the family would be simple if it weren’t for a message that suddenly confronts Clint with his past. Of course, Hawkeye wants to know what happened.
And so, he meets the 22-year-old skilled archer and his biggest fan, Kate Bishop, during his research.
With her cheek, her self-confidence, and her talent for getting into difficult situations, she annoys him, on the one hand, a lot at first. On the other hand, Kate gradually impressed him more and more.
Kate is also impressed. After all, the hero of her youth stands in front of her. It was Hawkeye who inspired her to practice martial arts and archery as a child.
Now Kate herself is multiple masters in these arts and would like to imitate her great role model. However, even a powerful young woman needs some experience and, above all, help to save the world.
And so, Hawkeye must choose between two missions. Does he prefer to celebrate Christmas with his family as he promised his daughter? Or will he protect the pretty daredevil? If so, can he help Kate to get to the bottom of the mysterious things that happened?
THE CHARACTERS
CLINT BARTON AKA HAWKEYE (JEREMY RENNER)
Even if Hawkeye first appeared in the MCU in 2011, the character is still one of the first Avengers.
Marvel’s Cinematic Universe is full of Super-Heroes, each with extraordinary superpowers and out-of-this-world backstories. But according to the man behind Hawkeye, Jeremy Renner, his character just might be the most relatable hero in the MCU.
“Clint Barton is one of the original six Avengers—and everyone aside from Clint and Natasha has super powers,” he says. “That alone establishes a kind of everyman quality. But then you throw in the fact that he has family and changes diapers all while slinging arrows. I think it redefines what a Super Hero can be.”
Read more in the Hawkeye and Jeremy Renner feature coming on next Wednesday.
KATE BISHOP (HAILEE STEINFELD)
“Hawkeye” introduces Kate Bishop to the MCU. But the character is no stranger to Clint Barton – at least in her mind. According to director Bertie, of all the Avengers, Kate was drawn to Hawkeye ever since she was a kid.
“He couldn’t fly, he couldn’t zap people, he didn’t have super strength, no, he was a real-life hero with a bow,” says Bertie. “And she could train to be just like him one day. And that’s exactly what she did.”
Kate Bishop is a smart and charming daredevil. Her cheekiness and rebellion make them mega-likable from the first minute. Kate doesn’t shy away from messing with others, even if they are much stronger than her. And it is not uncommon for her to fail with her positive naivete.
Hailee Steinfeld brings a breath of fresh air into Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU). With her role, she gives hope that her character will develop in a way that we can admire her in action on the big screen soon.
Read more about Kate Bishop and, of course, about Hailee Steinfeld in the upcoming special.
THE DIRECTORS
RHYS THOMAS (Eps 1, 2 & 6)
Perhaps, Thomas is best known for his work on “Saturday Night Live” and “Documentary Now!” For the latter, Thomas received three Emmy® nominations. Twice of them for outstanding variety sketch series, and once for directing for a variety sketch series.
Thomas directed the Netflix musical comedy special “John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch.”
Furthermore, he directed John Mulaney’s Emmy nominated stand-up special “The Comeback Kid” for the same channel.
Last but not least, he was also responsible for a lot of pilots as well as Adele’s NBC concert special “Adele: Live in New York City.”
BERT & BERTIE (Eps 3, 4 & 5)
The female writing-directing duo has an own unique style of storytelling and magical realism.
On the one side, Bert is South African born. In London, she pursued her love for telling stories. Here she won also a short film BAFTA for “Antonio’s Breakfast” and met Bertie.
She, on the other side, hails from the UK. Bertie was actually a successful screenplay writer for Sony PlayStation. In this field, she was nominated for a BAFTA.
Bert & Bertie met in 2005 and an instant, creative kinship was born. Soon after, they joined forces to write and direct their first short film ‘Phobias’. It defined their strong, collective vision that won them numerous film festival awards.
After some shorts and films such as “Dance Camp” (2015) and “Troop Zero” in 2019, Variety named them as Directors to Watch. “Troop Zero” was released in 2020 to huge critical and commercial success for Amazon Studios.
The film reunited Alison Janney and Viola Davis on the screen once more offsetting them with the one and only Jim Gaffigan.
Their wealth of creative experience and passion for all the arts ensures they remain playful while story guides their every decision.
Blurring lines between reality and fantasy, theirs is a world of beautifully dark invention, crackling with emotion and driven by affecting performances.
Of course, they were the perfect match to direct the new Disney+ series Hawkeye.
HAWKEYE – DISNEY+ & THE PICTURES
It may be a surprise that one of the oldest companies in the film industry is also one of the youngest streaming services. In any case, Disney’s goal to stand up to the big players of international streaming, and not only with the new Hawkeye series, gives us an exciting Christmas season.
Disney+ has been expanding its content range since 2019. The good thing about it is that films and series don’t disappear after a certain period. You can watch them again and again.
Thus, you will not be disappointed that you’ve missed something. No doubt, this is especially important because who watches a Disney or Marvel movie only once?
Today, the Disney+ content range is huge. In addition to the Star Wars and Marvel channels, we can find great documentaries. We also can find old film pearls from the 80s and 90s of the last century.
The quality, typically Disney, is also top. Not just in terms of content. In contrast to Netflix, we already get the finest HD and sometimes even 4K with the standard subscription. Of course, it depends on the device. Howsoever, this high resolution is also necessary to really enjoy a blockbuster series like Hawkeye.
Because for a series, this is where it really gets down to business. Hawkeye is absolutely cinematic, not just in terms of visual language. In keeping with the hero who doesn’t have superpowers, Hawkeye offers an authentic plot and real backdrops.
No cold CGI worlds. Instead, real streets, houses, and real people. So, you can delve deep into the story straight away. It’s just fun to follow it and the heroes. The backdrops are great and varied. So you hardly feel how time flies.
HAWKEYE – Conclusion
Hawkeye comes at the right moment. Not only because winter is the best time to relax in front of the TV. No, people once again discuss lockdowns in Central Europe.
Thus, some people certainly would wish for a cool hero who will rid the world of evil. Unfortunately, not every wish will come true. However, and fortunately, this hero entertains us in the best way.
Actually, it’s not the hero who inspires us without even wanting to criticize Jeremy Renner’s performance. But it is Hailee Steinfeld who captivates us from the first second.
It is impossible to resist the charm of Hailee Steinfeld. You can’t stop watching her, smiling about her, and feverishly with her when the going gets tough.
Hailee already flashed us in True Grit at the tender age of only 13 years with her authenticity, her energy, her cheekiness, her wit, her eye play, her smile…
She inspires across the board and now dominates the new Hawkeye series with her presence. Without a doubt, Hailee is one of the best actresses Hollywood has to offer. But, of course, Jeremy Renner also shows his big talent. You can see that he enjoys playing with Hailee. Both complement each other perfectly.
Even if their characters, Kate and Clint, think and act very differently in some things, they are more similar than they would initially like to admit to themselves.
And this always leads to very funny and personable verbal battles and scenes. In general, Hawkeye finds the perfect balance between action, suspense, depth, and humor.
What Black Widow, unfortunately, couldn’t handle in 134 minutes, Hawkeye already manages within the first two episodes. We don’t get to know a superhero. But we meet a real person, his family, and his values.
That gives us an authentic connection to Clint Barton and enables us to establish a closer, much more personal relationship with him.
Hawkeye manages to transform even the biggest series or action grouches into enthusiastic Marvel fans. Thus, anyone who starts watching the series will be impatiently waiting for the next episode. These now follow every week on Wednesday.
Because of the humor, the story, the authentic settings, but above all because of the two main actors Hawkeye is absolutely worth-seeing and gets 9 intergalactic points from us.
Text: Marco Kokkot
Photos: © Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
