Written by Luke Barnes
Summary
Meet the supernatural side of the MCU
I thought this was one of the best things I have seen out of the MCU in a long time. It reminded me of why I care so much about this universe in the first place. I will admit up front that I am a big fan of the supernatural characters in the comics Blade, Ghost Rider, Moon Knight and Elsa Bloodstone has always been a particular favourite so I might be a little bias on this one. However, going against that is the idea that I went into this with a lot higher expectations than a lot of other people who might not care about the characters of Werewolf by Night, played by Gael Garcia Bernal, and Elsa Bloodstone, played by Laura Donnelly. Not only were my expectations met but vastly exceeded.
I really enjoyed seeing these horror elements interact with the MCU formula and I thought that this unlike some of the newer entries into the MCU actually felt quite fresh and new. There is an obvious inspiration from classic horror which works well here, and the use of black and white adds to both that aesthetic but also allows for more violence to be shown. I would say that in terms of gore this is probably the furthest we have ever seen the MCU go, it is not Saw, but for the MCU it might as well be there is some grizzly kills.
Bernal and Donnelly both do a terrific job and easily become beloved, again maybe I am bias. Though I can’t wait to see more of them going forward, I do have two little nit-picky complaints firstly this special does not explain Jack Russell/ Werewolf By Nights origins at all and just throws you into things, I would have added a few scenes highlighting his backstory a little more, and secondly that when the switch to colour does happen Elsa doesn’t have her trademark red hair. I know that second one is pathetically pedantic, but hey.
Overall, a magnificent first outing for Marvel’s special presentations.
Pros.
Donnelly
Bernal
Man-Thing was also really great, didn’t get to him in the review so I wanted to give him some praise here
The horror elements
The gore
Cons.
A few little nit-picky issues
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Another Millennial Reviewer 