Hawkeye Is Getting A Strong Early Response From Critics

The introduction of Disney+ as a release model for Marvel Studios has completely revolutionized the way the world's most popular comic book movie studio interacts with its fans. Whereas comic book movie fans used to be accustomed to only a handful of film releases per year, now fans can expect to watch a plethora of films and television series annually. Marvel first stepped into the streaming age with "WandaVision," "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," "Loki," and "What If...?." With four new shows already released in one year, original plans at Marvel called for the release of another two before 2022. 

While "Ms. Marvel" was recently delayed, "Hawkeye" is still scheduled to release its first two episodes on November 24. With that date now officially less than two weeks away, writers and reviewers all over the world have already received their first looks at the series, and many of them are letting people know just what they think about the new series.

While it doesn't look like the full review embargo for the Marvel series has broken yet, social media reactions are pouring in and most of them are very positive, with only a handful of outliers. In one tweet, Scott Menzel of We Live Entertainment called "Hawkeye" his "favorite of all the Marvel Studios series released thus far." Menzel's tweet also emphasized how much he loved the banter between Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld). In another tweet, ScreenRant's Britt Rivera commented that Steinfeld "embodies Kate's humor, drive, & energy so well & I love every scene with her and Renner."

Other positive comments about the series pointed to its ability to tell a smaller story, following the universe-altering narratives told in projects like "Loki" and "Avengers: Endgame." @AriRELK, a writer for Discussing Film, called the new series "a refreshing break from the grand-scale cosmic (and multiversal) madness we've seen from the MCU recently." In another tweet, Brian Davids of The Hollywood Reporter opined, "If you're a fan of street-level stakes in the MCU like I am, then #Hawkeye is right in your wheelhouse."

More than a few reactions also gave some love to a canine character named Lucky the Pizza Dog. One tweet from Eric Goldman of Fandom referred to the dog as "a very good boy," and Menzel also called the dog "the best."

Of course, while most of the reviews have been positive so far, there are also a handful of outliers. Eric Italiano, a senior writer at Bro Bible, tweeted, "Maybe it's because I'm not in the Christmas spirit yet, but the early episodes of #Hawkeye don't really do it for me." He also added that he believed the first two episodes felt "cobbled together and undercooked." Italiano's review was one of the more negative responses but he wasn't alone. Mixed reviews came from a number of others. 

Ethan Anderton of /Film called the series "solid," but also said that the first two episodes don't have a plot that "demands attention." In a tweet thread, Anderton also noted that "certain elements feel a bit too silly or superfluous, and the lingering, presumed villain feels cartoonish." However, he praised Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld's on-screen dynamic, writing, "These two make a great team, and it's their ongoing relationship that will be the heart of the series."

Another somewhat-mixed review came from Germain Lussier, who said that he "really enjoyed" the series, but also noted that he is "not 100% sold on the story yet."