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While Daredevil’s brutal hallway brawl has no equal, Hawkeye takes its latest fight scene to the next level.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Hawkeye Episode 4, “Partners, Am I Right?” which aired Wednesday on Disney+.
When it comes to fight scenes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe tends to go big. Action sequences in MCU movies often focus on spectacle, taking full advantage of the big screen to realize the epic scale of the comics, but the shift to television has altered the equation. Freed from concerns about family-friendly ratings, Daredevil and its sister shows on Netflix focused on grittier and more intense fights and reaped considerable rewards in the process. In particular, Daredevil’s one-shot “hallway scene” from Season 1, Episode 2 “Cut Man,” earned an instant reputation as the battle to top.
Marvel’s Disney+ shows have worked to keep pace, most notably with strong fight choreography in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. But it took this week’s Hawkeye to provide the first fight that can compete with the memorable “Cut Man” sequence. The final few minutes of Season 1, Episode 4, “Partners, Am I Right?” delivers one of the best MCU fights to date — a showstopping conflict that sets up what rumors are already calling a jaw-dropping Episode 5.
Daredevil’s iconic sequence had the technical flourish of a seemingly single take, coupled with the series’ signature brutality in ways that bordered on unsettling. As Matt Murdock fought his way through a seemingly endless array of thugs in search of a kidnapped little boy, the camera weaved in and out of the action, providing seeming respite from the bone-crushing blows, only to suggest far worse things taking place just outside the frame. But above all, it conveyed the enormous physical toll it took on Murdock, such that even in victory he pays a heavy price.
The scene was so strong that Daredevil tried to top it in Season 3, Episode 4, “Blindsided,” with a similar shot through a prison riot that lasted over 10 minutes. Even so, the “Cut Man” sequence outshone it, striking not only the right tone for the series and its flawed, conflicted hero but also achieving an R-rated realism that likely won’t be repeated under the more PG-13 reign of Disney. That’s given it an edge that holds up against the bigger, splashier sequences that the MCU has delivered since.
Hawkeye doesn’t try to outmatch Daredevil’s intensity, as doing so would likely compromise the light and breezy tone it’s set so far this season. But it does rely on a similar street-level setting, and beyond a few of Barton’s more exotic trick arrows, it aims for the same brand of near-realism. That’s a thin line for it to walk, especially for a sequence intended to propel the season into its third act. Rather than upping the intensity, “Partners, Am I Right?” aims instead for orchestrated chaos, carefully weighed against the characters’ various reasons for being there.
That results in a spectacular brawl that starts in Echo’s apartment and spills over into the nearby rooftop. The choreography is sparse and quick, relying on the camera movement for its energy rather than the pounding meat grinder of “Cut Man.” Four combatants represent three opposing sides, none of who is entirely certain of the others’ motives. It begins when Echo ambushes Kate inside her darkened apartment, just as Barton is attacked by an unknown assailant on the roof across the street. In the course of the ensuing two minutes, Bishop and Echo cross the distance on a grappling line, prompting a ferocious brawl pitting all three sides against each other in various combinations.
It hits hard and fast, and yet still moves the plot forward with impressive efficiency. Barton’s attacker is soon revealed to be Yelena Belova, and the emotional wound of her presence hits Barton harder than any physical blow. Add to that an elegant reversal of Natasha’s fatal plummet in Avengers: Endgame — this time with Barton deliberately allowing Bishop to fall in order to get her safely clear of the fight — and the conflict takes on stakes that weren’t present in Daredevil’s hallway brawl. That gives Hawkeye’s sequence a very different kind of power, all while staying grounded in the comparative normality of this side of the MCU.
To see Hawkeye try to match Daredevil’s fight sequences, new episodes of the series premiere Wednesdays on Disney+.
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