I have to admit that I didn’t expect it at all but, against all odds, and despite the laziness that supposed me to indulge in a new Marvel brand cathodic production, I ended up devouring the first four episodes of ‘Moon Knight’ without doing no effort and enjoying —not without a good handful of buts, of course— considerably his adventures in an Egyptian key.
After three initial chapters that evolved in a constant crescendo after the extremely long 40-minute first act with which the series starts —which, for the moment, seems like it would have worked perfectly as a two-and-a-half-hour movie—, the fourth , entitled ‘La tumba’, slams his fist on the table, fully embracing the terror that it had already been suggesting and closing with an insane twist That completely changes what has been seen so far.
OJO, QUE A PARTIR DE AQUÍ HAY SPOILERS DEL CAPÍTULO 4 A MANSALVA
mummy knight
After Khonshu is captured after the spectacular climax of chapter 3—and the apparent midpoint of the story—** Steve and Layla are about to face a tremendous challenge without any divine help**. After a brief nocturnal setpiece to whet your appetite, our trio The duo of heroes make their way to Ammit’s grave on an emotionally bumpy ride.
During the journey, Layla discovers the pact between Steve and Marc, according to which the second would disappear completely from the life of the first once Khonshu disappeared. Of course, Layla doesn’t like it too well, but there’s no time for arguments because Arthur Harrow’s men are a few paces ahead They have already reached the excavation.
Once it has been underlined that there is no longer a healing suit that can serve as a last-minute deus ex-machina, half-resolving the sexual tension between Steve and Layla and giving us a ‘Me, myself and Irene’ joke —it seems like we’ve gone too long without a burst of comedy out of nowhere—, the episode takes us into Ammit’s grave to develop his next bars in a way that** reminds us of the best moments of Stephen Sommers’s ‘The Mummy’ **.
A healthy dose of riddles spiced with oral exposition and portents of things to come—including shell casings and fresh blood in less than reassuring places—leads to a passage that does not hide its belonging to the horror genre, with a commendable use of shadows and gory detail; and, for example, there is the fight between Layla and the bug in question, in which the broken bones that appear from an amputated hand are used as a stab.
Once Layla has disposed of her undead attacker, and while Steve has taken an alternate route that has led him to the lost tomb of alexander the greatHarrow enters the scene to have a conversation with the woman, suggesting that Marc was responsible for her father’s death. When the chit-chat ends—somewhat repetitive, it must be said—Layla reunites with Steve, who has managed to find the ushabti in the trachea of Magno’s mummy, but she’s not too happy…
Harrow’s words have made an impression on her, and she asks Marc for explanations, who takes control of the body again and denies having executed his late father-in-law despite having been present. The fight lasts long enough for the villains to reach Alexander the Great’s camera in another narrative resource typical of the cinema of treasure hunters and adventurous archaeologists, but, then, everything takes a 180º turn that promises a most interesting final stretch.
The dream of Antonio Resines a la Marvel
The face to face between Marc and Harrow is a dead end that ends with the most logical decision, and that involves our hero being shot twice in the chest and sinking into the water at the back of the room in a really realistic shot. beautiful on a visual level that, in addition, serves as a transition to… An adventure movie with a 4:3 aspect ratio!?
Indeed, things are about to get meta, because the film is playing on television in a pristine white room inhabited by what appear to be patients and who shout “mental institution” at the top of their lungs. In it are Layla, a certain orange fish that you may be familiar with and a Marc holding a Moon Knight action figure in his hand —and now we begin to understand the reason for the hiring of Benson and Moorhead to direct.
Who is missing from this equation? A much less threatening Harrow than usual and who seems to occupy the role of Marc’s therapistwho progressively loses his temper as he listens to the alleged psychiatrist’s reflections on fiction and reality and identifies details seen throughout his Egyptian adventure —Harrow’s cane and shoes, the place to which he is transported in the first staged episode In a frame…-.
We’re not going to deny that this dramatic twist is a little too hackneyed by now, which makes it all the more surprising that it works so effectively. The last section of the chapter may help, in which Steve and Marc manage to meet for the first time in the same reality —including a hug—, and which closes with a hilarious cliffhanger with the goddess Taweret as the protagonist: a completely random appearance, since she represents life, regeneration and rebirth.
are we before a new beginning for our heroes? We’ll find out next week.