The following article contains spoilers for Hawkeye.
Fast-paced action, impressive CGI, and the lingering nostalgia of mixing those two with some of the world’s most recognized fictional characters have made the MCU the media juggernaut that it is. Nevertheless, in recent times Marvel Studios has been embracing a refreshing down-to-earth approach in its action sequences and Hawkeye is the full proof of that.
Throughout its long history, the biggest showcase of this style of action was usually the Captain America franchise since Steve Rogers, despite his super-soldier abilities, could not fly or shoot powerful energy beams like some of his peers. However, more recently his friends Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes picked up on that trend during The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings took things even one step further with its Hong Kong cinema inspirations.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s highway fight scene is one of the best battle sequences the MCU has to offer, so it’s no wonder then that Hawkeye’s car chase scene stands out for many of the same reasons, albeit with a slightly more comedic tone quite fitting for Disney Plus’ holiday Marvel series. Up until that point, Hawkeye’s action scenes were probably hitting well under par, with most of them being used to highlight the contrast in skills between the seasoned Clint Barton and day one superhero Kate Bishop.
In all honesty, this made perfect sense because Kate should be clumsy in her new role and Clint just isn’t really Hawkeye without his trusty bow and arrows. Episode three, “Echoes”, throws this premise out the window once Clint gets his bow back so that the duo can make a run for it and escape the Tracksuit Mafia’s hideout as Hawkeye starts landing every single arrow exactly where he wants it.
From then on, just like The Winter Soldier’s highway scene, once that red ‘72 Dodge Challenger appears it marks the beginning of one of the episode’s -and so far the series’- best sequences. Hawkeye’s car chase scene starts off with a one-take style that makes the viewer feel like they’re sitting on the back of the car while Clint and Kate take care of things, all in a way that’s very reminiscent of many legendary action movies.
Park Chan-wook’s Korean masterpiece, Oldboy, and its epic hallway fight is one example of this, but even Marvel has some background of this kind thanks to Netflix’s Daredevil which features plenty of raw hand-to-hand combat and which Hawkeye clearly loves paying certain nods to. Even then, Hawkeye’s car chase scene is perfectly adapted to Clint and Kate because it’s used to move forward the relationship between these two characters in a way that’s very organic and natural.
From the moment Kate meets her hero she wants to learn how to use trick arrows, this is her chance. Conversely, Clint’s hearing disability is deployed perfectly across the entire scene because throughout it the audience gets to see a slightly weakened Avenger having to rely on his new partner and fall back on an unconventional form of communication that’s perfectly tailored to fit the action taking place.
Hawkeye’s car chase is simply brilliant from beginning to end, the warehouse setup, the carjacking, the camera panning, the back and forth dialogue between a near-deaf Clint and Kate, all the different trick arrows Marvel fans have never seen before, the shootout at the bridge, and even the totaled red Dodge Challenger. The fact that the car is in itself a Hawkeye comic book easter egg is simply priceless.
It’s obvious a lot of CGI and special effects are still used in Hawkeye’s more grounded action, such was the case for Shang-Chi, but using these tools to portray what is, in essence, a more “believable” MCU more akin to traditional action films is a welcome change after something like Ikaris’ Superman-like powers in Eternals.
The final moments of the scene include an Ant-Man easter egg and even proper payoff for the plunger arrow Kate laughs off just a few minutes ago, and yet, the best moment might just be the one that follows once the duo enters New York’s subway. After the impressive showcase of driving and archery skills fans have just been treated to, Hawkeye recognizes Kate Bishop as someone worth fighting alongside, almost a Young Avenger maybe.
Hawkeye is far from a perfect show, yet it does bring a lot to the table by giving Clint Barton a prime showcase where he can flaunt his skills and prove he’s just as cool of an Avenger as the rest of his friends. Black Widow failed to do the same for Natasha in many ways, however, she would be happy to know her good friend is not only kicking some serious over on Disney Plus but also getting to spend some quality time with his family too, or at least he’s heading that way.