Love or detest the present state of the MCU, one can’t deny that it has been outlined by one factor: the spectacle. It’s all the time been a component of the franchise, simply because it has been with any blockbuster sequence, however greater than most Marvel depends on main motion set items, stunning reveals, and viewers hypothesis about how issues play into their “grand plan”.
Surprise Man will not be that. The sequence, which focuses on Simon Williams’ (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) quest to be forged within the upcoming reboot of the identical title throughout the MCU. It’s much like Barry or, for many who know ball, Hacks, in being a present that explores the highs, lows, triumphs and tribulations inherent to working in Hollywood.
Sitting on the core of Surprise Man is the connection between the 2 leads: Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley). Whereas they’re each actually distinctive and three-dimensional characters, they’re additionally reflective of quite common forms of folks one meets in present enterprise. Anybody who’s labored in or across the trade is aware of a Trevor Slattery, and so they definitely know a Simon Williams.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II brings a really career-defining efficiency in Surprise Man. More than likely know the star from his blockbuster roles: Black Manta in Aquaman, Agent Smith in The Matrix Resurrections, and…effectively…you need to watch Watchmen when you haven’t already. However the function of Simon Williams permits him to deliver a a lot fuller efficiency than any of the above, permitting him to dive into the true nuances of a personality in a manner he hasn’t had the prospect to do since The Trial of the Chicago 7 again in 2020.
Simon Williams as a personality is wholly completely different from his comedian counterpart, a facet that’s key to the present’s greatest successes (and largest failure). However simply to deal with the character, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II manages to layer a lot into Surprise Man. It’s a personality outlined by his insecurities, whose each motion is outlined by how he thinks others understand him and the way he hopes to be perceived.
It’s no shock that Ben Kingsley additionally offers a surprising efficiency. The Oscar-winning actor has greater than confirmed his potential to do dramatic roles. Nevertheless, Surprise Man is the mission that really cements Trevor Slattery as the most effective characters within the MCU. It’s arduous to understate how deep Kingsley sinks into the function, performing the charming fake Mandarin smoother than another actor may dream.
In a refreshing change of tempo for the MCU, Surprise Man is precisely what it says on the tin. It’s a sequence that focuses on the connection of Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery as they attempt to land their roles within the Surprise Man reboot. There are not any eleventh hour twists in regards to the Multiverse or Celestials coming out of the bottom, and it’d be folly to attend for the present to finally flip right into a CGI-fueled laser fest.
But that additionally presents my greatest difficulty with Surprise Man. If the sequence had been made 20, even 10 years in the past, it ought to have created an unique hero for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II to play so he can go away his mark on the Marvel universe. And there’s a worry that the truth that he’s enjoying Simon Williams, an adaptation actually in title solely, will detract from how a lot he dropped at the function.
It’s additionally distinctive within the MCU of being a sequence that’s not solely good, however is begging to be continued past this primary season. It feels as if Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley introduced again an enormous gold nugget from a river. There’s extra gold to be panned, however Marvel’s hesitance to greenlight a second season of any Disney Plus present will seemingly go away Surprise Man on the backburner far longer than it deserves.
One of many essential conflicts in Surprise Man revolves across the “Doorman Coverage,” which states that no tremendous energy particular person can work on a significant movement image mission. The primary place this will likely draw folks’s minds is The Hollywood Blacklist, which was a interval in the course of the Forties-Nineteen Fifties the place studios wouldn’t rent actors with suspected communist ties or sympathies.
Nevertheless, having tremendous powers (usually) isn’t akin to political affiliation. It’s one thing innate that may’t be modified, like sexuality or gender id. The turmoil that Simon Williams grapples with all through Surprise Man bares a putting resemblance to what queer actors needed to explicitly take care of below the Hays Code, and implicitly nonetheless take care of right this moment.
No matter if one views the present by way of that lens, the way in which that Surprise Man handles the themes of insecurity, secrecy, and intimacy is nothing wanting a grasp class. The connection between Trevor Slattery and Simon Williams is without doubt one of the greatest within the MCU, and it’s sure that followers might be begging for extra of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley by the point the credit roll.
SCORE: 9.5/10