As has become increasingly common among Disney-Marvel projects, there’s plenty of culture and character at the heart of Echo—that all gets flattened by the franchise’s usual action-thriller formula. In its first two episodes watched for this review, the miniseries doesn’t develop the titular hero as much as she deserves, but it does sketch out the image of a community deeply rooted to its past, trying to forge past its unfortunate criminal connections. But these episodes end up concerning themselves far too much with more of the same types of dimly lit set pieces and hand-to-hand fights. These sequences may be cleanly shot and choreographed but they’re ultimately just as uninspired as they’ve been for a long time, upholding the status quo within this dull superhero world.
Pursued by Wilson Fisk's criminal empire, Maya's journey brings her home and she must confront her own family and legacy.
After Maya Lopez gets revenge for the death of her father, the former Tracksuit Mafia commander returns to her Native community while running from her criminal past.
It's a small detail, but it's the fact that it's small that makes it notable: Echo is Deaf, but that part of her character never becomes as big of a deal as one might expect. It's just an everyday reality for her, and the other characters adjust accordingly to her in varying degrees. You can tell which members of her community are more fluent in sign, and who are more casual but familiar enough with the language due to their history with her. It feels likes a real, lived-in example of how to do this kind of on-screen representation.
It was only a matter of time until Disney-Marvel circled back to making a Netflix-Marvel show, but not as good.
Cannes
1 nomination
Sundance
1 nomination
