No eye for visuals

When Marvel announced their line-up of Disney+ original shows, everyone rejoiced with excitement for WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TFATWS) and Loki. Yet, a show that went slightly under the radar was Hawkeye, and no one seemed all that eager for its release.

The first two episodes came out last week, and it’s difficult to pinpoint why it wasn’t hyped up in the way that its already-released counterparts were.

The first episode introduces us to all the characters; we see our new protagonist, Kate Bishop (played by Hailee Steinfeld); dropping in on her as she destroys a clock tower using her bow and arrow.

As well as this, we meet her parents, her cliché rich uncle, and Clint Barton (played by Jeremy Renner), her new partner.

Episode two throws some conflict into the mix; the Track-Suit Mafia (Yes that’s their actual name, and no, I don’t think I need to describe their appearance) is now chasing Bishop and Barton around New York, for reasons which are yet to be revealed.

That’s pretty much it so far, give or take a few soppy family moments and the mandatory references to ‘The Blip’ from 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, a storyline that just about every subsequent Marvel movie has revolved around.

Saying that, the story is by no means bad; it gives Barton (who operates under the alias Hawkeye), a character who has been in the background until now, a bit more substance.

The Marvel Studios Disney+ shows were created with the intention of giving the characters who didn’t get their own eponymous movies, some time to shine, and there’s no denying that they’ve absolutely achieved this.

Acting is also good; Hailee Steinfeld being the standout here, considering this is her first time in any sort of superhero role.

The visuals, however, somewhat let the show down; Marvel movies are built around their heavy use of CGI, something which has been criticized over the past decade, especially when you can see what can be achieved with little CGI in movies such as The Dark Knight.

I though this same quality of CGI would be a given across all the Disney+ shows. Hawkeye, though, fails to meet this standard, and with a staggering budget of $25 Million per episode, I don’t see why they couldn’t have tried just a little bit harder.

Overall, Hawkeye is a great family show for Marvel fans of all ages, if you can see past the disappointing visuals, that is.

• Hawkeye is now streaming on Disney+, with new episodes every Wednesday until December 22.

by Jack Baxter