Moon Knight

“Moon Knight” is vaguely different, has no real connections to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and will be hailed by many as a deeply original chapter in the MCU. But when you look outside that limited worldview and recognize all the aforementioned touchstones it’s drawing from, “Moon Knight” is initially thought-provoking, but hardly the game changer that many devout fanboys will likely declare it.

The resulting Disney+ series starts well enough but becomes messier and more convoluted with each hour, leaving interest waning when it should be waxing.

As a drama, it’s built entirely around the Isaac vs. Isaac cage match, which supplies fair to middling action and sentiment and consistently satisfying laughs. It’s characteristic of the Marvel Disney+ shows that the ability of the performers exceeds the inventiveness of the crew. ... Jeremy Slater (“The Umbrella Academy”), the show’s creator, and its director, Mohamed Diab (the Egyptian features “Cairo 678” and “Clash”), are only fitfully successful at combining psychological drama, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” desert adventure and superhero origin story.

Few viewers unversed in the comic lore will be able to tell you after four episodes what he can or can’t do, and his personality, when it’s exhibited at all, is reheated Deadpool. ... Disappointingly, neither Steve nor Marc is presented as especially nuanced, rendering the contrast between them solely a product of Isaac’s interpretation instead of writing.

“Moon Knight’s” misunderstanding of what makes for a good hero/villain dynamic is only doubly irritating given the great actors kept from bringing them to life.

The first three quarters of this six-episode season is a vague story that takes a long time to go nowhere. There's not enough character for a character study and not a clear enough plot for a satisfying thriller.