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Nice mess: New Marvel series “Hawkeye”
Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop and Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye in “Hawkeye”. Photo: Chuck Zlotnick / Disney + / Marvel Studios / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Jeremy Renner played a minor role in the Avengers films. He is now the focus of the action-packed miniseries “Hawkeye”. At his side: Hailee Steinfeld as archer Kate Bishop.
Family-friendly Christmas films such as “Kevin – Alone at home” or “Schöne Bescherung” are an integral part of the TV program for many people during Advent. Others prefer action classics like “Die Hard”.
The Marvel Studios, which are responsible for blockbuster hits like “The Avengers” or “Black Panther”, have now produced a miniseries that should have something of both. “Hawkeye” starts on Wednesday on the Disney + streaming service.
New York in the week before Christmas
The six-part series with Hollywood star Jeremy Renner (“Mission: Impossible – Phantom Protocol”) puts the archer Clint Barton alias Hawkeye in the foreground, who in the movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is always something in the shadow of other heroes like Iron Man, Thor or Captain America stood. And she introduces Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) to the MCU. In the successful Marvel Comics, the young woman takes on the identity of Hawkeye.
“The Avengers stuff is pretty galactic, there are a lot of crazy things happening outside of Clint Barton’s world,” Renner said in an interview with the German press agency. “The world in which we see him now fits a little more with his ideals and his abilities.” That was not the only thing that attracted the 50-year-old to the miniseries. “I also thought it was great that it was set in New York on the seven days leading up to Christmas. Then I thought: All right, I’ll be there! “
“Hawkeye” is set after the events of “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), but begins with a look back at 2012 and the chaotic scenes in New York City, which is attacked by aliens (seen in the film “The Avengers”) . Little Kate, who has to cope with the death of her father, is rescued by Hawkeye. Then it is clear to her that she – like her new hero – has to learn to use a bow and arrow. Years later, she is actually a brilliant shooter.
Just before Christmas, Clint Barton is in New York with his children. When he sees on the TV news that someone in the outfit of the Avenger Ronin is roaming the streets, his vacation is over. Because the outfit is his. Inside is Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), who stole it from a secret, illegal auction. Barton tracks her down and gets into a lot of trouble with it. Soon all sorts of crooked guys will be on their heels. Clint wants to go home quickly to celebrate Christmas with his family.
A family-friendly version of Die Hard
As with the other Marvel series on Disney + – “WandaVision”, “Captain Falcon And The Winter Soldier” and “Loki” – you don’t have to be familiar with everything from the MCU and have every film ready. But the more you know, the more fun you have with the series.
So there are many indications that Barton will have to deal with Yelena Belova, the quasi-sister of his close friend Natasha alias Black Widow. In the credits of the movie “Black Widow” there was a short scene in which Yelena (Florence Pugh) is falsely told that Barton had killed Natasha. Now she wants revenge. Vera Farmiga, Alaqua Cox and Tony Dalton play other supporting roles as Jack Duquesne.
“It’s a Christmas series,” says co-producer Rhys Thomas in a dpa interview. He has directed three episodes of “Hawkeye” and calls it “a family-friendly version of” Die Hard “”. In other words: there is plenty of action and a lot of gags, but no explicit representation of violence. Christmas carols create a festive mood.
Thomas came up with one of the funniest ideas right at the start of the first episode – a Broadway musical about Captain America that Barton reluctantly watches. Delicious how Hulk, Thor and Captain America hop across the stage while singing. It cannot be ruled out that the original gag will one day become reality and that “Rogers – The Musical” will actually be shown on Broadway.
Could be a classic
Bishop actress Steinfeld, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2011 as a teenager in the western drama “True Grit” and is now also successful as a pop singer, hopes that “Hawkeye” will become a Christmas classic in the long term. “I have the feeling that it is something that the family can watch over and over again,” she says, “and that it will become part of the Christmas tradition”. Whether this is really enough depends on whether the whole series is as entertaining and fast-paced as the first two episodes suggest.
The first two episodes of the miniseries “Hawkeye” can be seen on November 24th on the Disney + streaming service. The other four episodes are released on Wednesdays.