By Rob LoAlbo

Alright, at ease. With this being our fourth live action Disney+ Marvel series, you know the drill.

In this post-WandaVision, Falcon/Winter Soldier, Loki world, we know where this is going, which about summed up our collective attitudes when we heard that Hawkeye was getting his own show. He’s the least interesting of the bunch, with a total lack of superpowers, and comes in as the 6th wheel of the Avengers, someone whom no one was choosing to dress up as for Halloween in 2012.

*Full disclosure: my son dressed up as Hawkeye for Halloween in 2012.*

As Kate mentions to Clint: “Your problem is branding…You’re whole thing is that you’re low-key. It’s a very hard brand to sell,” which I’m pretty sure is a conversation from the studio exec’s room that accidentally made its way into the script.

Problematically, he lacks an interesting tragic backstory in becoming Hawkeye. Clint has always been the reliable one, the soldier who rises to the task when villainy takes the world by storm, armed with arrows that fire only as rapidly as he can grab them. Not a killer skillset, but no slouch either. He’s the doting husband, the loving father, the friend we could all use; he’s not the stuff of high drama. (Sure, he killed lots of people as Ronin, but that was, like, a tacked on 30-second montage in Endgame that never really held any weight or resonance.)

Yet that type of character is firmly rooted in actor Jeremy Renner’s wheelhouse. He’s a solid actor, if not always a dynamic lead. Hollywood tried him as a sole action hero (farewell, Bourne Legacy, we hardly knew ye), but Renner works better in either an ensemble (The Town, American Hustle, Hurt Locker) or paired up with a foil (Arrival, Wind River).

So when a Hawkeye movie was pitched years ago, it floundered in development hell, probably for those reasons. No one cared about archer dad, but when trailers started to roll for the show no one was asking for, the gimmick revealed itself and our interest spiked. Pitched as a holiday buddy comedy (which reminds me of my favorite Iron Man 3), it places Clint Barton in a high concept screenplay—modest. aging superhero must get back to family before Christmas as hijinks ensue—pairing him with a star (Hailee Steinfeld) who’s charisma lights up the screen enough for both of them. As wannabe Hawkeye, her Kate Bishop character is just the foil Renner/Barton needs, and I’m happy to say that even though the series isn’t riveting us like the previous shows, it’s an enjoyable diversion, a palate cleanser that goes down like holiday comfort food.

Full spoilers for episode 1 and 2!

Framing the series with Kate Bishop’s coming-of-age story, we open in 2012 when the New York invasion takes her father as collateral from his palatial New York apartment. Budding archer Kate spies a spry Hawkeye twisting in the wind, and he’s just the inspiration she needs to get through this tragedy.

At this point, and it’s unclear what future episode openers will look like, we get a fantastic cartoon montage of Kate growing up and training in archery, fencing, karate, etc., which saves us time in having to see these things, but I find it ironic that for a show called Hawkeye, he is NOWHERE IN THE OPENING MONTAGE.

Despite the trophies, medals, podium stands, Kate is not as innocent as she seems, as she accidentally destroys her school’s bell tower in a dare. She’s talented and edgy! And sassy (No red dress for her!) And vulnerable!—she’s way less clever than she thinks she is. (“That’s what the kids are like nowadays, right?” - said every Disney exec ever.)

When Hawkeye finally enters (at twelve minutes in), he’s clearly uncomfortable with his role as savior to the city. He’s no hero: he’s just an aging regular guy with wife, kids, and hearing loss. He winces with pain and embarrassment while watching Broadway’s “Rogers: The Musical,” forced to see his life recreated in song. (The opening number “Save the City” is a silly, ridiculous blast, with a chorus that includes Cap belting out “I could do this allllllll daaaaaay!” Makes one wonder who would pay good money to see this Rogers and Hammerstein swill.)

Actual lyrics: *"I've got to get the Tesseract! The battle's just begun. We'll conquer the Chitauri. Then get Shawarma when we're done!”*

(Full disclosure again: So, just maybe I forked over a lot of money back in 2013 to attend the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” with a singing Green Goblin, and I even paid extra for the balcony set of seats where Spider-Man swings to, just to make a four-year old feel extra special.)

Clint just wants to be a regular guy, so he spurns autographs, tries to blend into the crowd, and even gets uncomfortable when his waiter won’t let him pay the check. He never asked for fame: he just wants his Natasha back.

It’s these smaller moments where Renner really gets to shine, liek playing tourist around NYC, turning off his hearing aid to drown out the noise, or promising the “best Christmas ever” to his Chinese food scarfing kids. It’s refreshing to see Hawkeye being like the rest of us, as Renner’s relatable quality might be his best.

From here on out, it’s all a little unclear as to how the rest all fits together. What we do know:

Kate Bishop’s mom (Vera Farmiga) is marrying evil boyfriend Jack (we know he’s evil because he can sword fight and twirl his mustache at the same time - which means he’s either DEFINITELY the bad guy or DEFINITELY NOT the bad guy. Your pick.)
Jack and Uncle Armand do not get along, and Armand’s death via sword seems oddly suspicious and specific.
Armand and Eleanor do not get along, as Eleanor seems to be hiding something, which again would explain how she can afford that apartment AND the repairs.
There are secret underground auctions for the super rich where you can buy superhero artifacts and dinosaur heads. (If this is what they are salvaging from superhero wreckage, clearly Adrian Toomes is doing it wrong.)
Eastern European terrorists known as the Tracksuit Mafia want an Avengers watch. (Don’t we all - Black Friday stock was sold out.)
Lucky the one-eyed pizza dog apparently knows how to spot who’s good and bite who’s bad.

To be able to sum it up in a list is both relieving and problematic. I love that it’s all very low-stakes, whereas all three previous series dealt with very heavy-handed themes—grief, patriotism, guilt, glorious purpose—and this series seems to be breezily devoid of thematic elements. It’s still early, but given that a decent chunk of the second episode is spent on a pointless LARP quest for the temporary McGuffin Ronin suit, I’m thinking that we’re just here for the appetizers. The main course can be left to the thematically meatier films and shows. (Yo, Eternals! Time to mope!)

Yet, it’s flaws also seem to be glaring at this point. Where the other shows didn’t reveal them until later on in the run, this one shows immediate red flags. As one of the most cinematic of the Disney+ shows, it feels and looks like a movie, but the pacing is inconsistent. Tonally, it’s all over the place. Sometimes screwball, it needs to either lean in and commit or abandon it. The jokes work, but they seem to disappear for stretches, something which I attribute solely to the editing. Moments and scenes run too long, actions don’t connect between shots, and fight scenes are awkward. For a show that only runs six episodes, I wish they would cut the fat, tighten up, and get going already.

Also, convenience rules the roost, aka sloppy screenwriting. A tuxedo suit looks just like the staff’s work uniforms, conversations are overheard at just the right time, characters Deus ex Machina ad infinitum, and always right where the plot is unfolding. The screenwriters don’t seem to trust the audience. Hey look! Monogrammed butterscotch! Remember that for later… Listen up: Kate’s mom owns a security company. That knowledge should come in handy! Clint knows sign language? If only that knowledge could be useful with some sort of deaf kingpin-ish head of a suited organization!

But a lot of the show is good news, as the two leads produce a solid setup. Once Spunky Brewster and Grumpy Old Man find their bantering pace, they play great off of each other. My hope is that we get more of them together and fewer solo sidequests. They’re an engaging pair, which is at the heart of good screwball comedy: find the chemistry, create a conflict, let the duo bounce off of each other in solving it while the plot endlessly complicates itself.

Even Marvel and Disney seem to understand our worries and hesitation: they dropped two episodes at once, knowing we would need that much to be hooked. And although the hook isn’t firmly in our cheeks just yet, it’s enough to get us to the next episode with Echo, the latest addition to the MCU with her own upcoming series.

Seriously, Marvel and Disney really know how to keep that MCU engine rolling.

Next week: Release the full Rogers: The Musical cut!
Star City Rating: 3.5 of 5

“Hawkeye” Episodes 1 and 2 Recap and Review - Christmas Charm vs. Tracksuit Smarm

“Hawkeye” Episode 3 Recap and Review - The Dual Lives of Dragons and Disney

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