Echo Reviews: Rotten Tomatoes Critics Are Mixed On Marvel's Latest TV Offering
The new year has officially kicked off, which means fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are in for some new offerings. First up on the docket comes to the franchise on the television front in the form of "Echo." The series puts the focus on "Hawkeye" standout Maya "Echo" Lopez (Alaqua Cox), who returns home to Oklahoma but still has to contend with the consequences of her actions during her time in New York City. Chiefly, she has to deal with her former surrogate father, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio), aka the Kingpin, who miraculously survived their last encounter.
For more reasons than one, "Echo" has proven a highly anticipated MCU addition among fans of the entertainment juggernaut. Not only does it give the title character a chance to shine all on her own, but it also carries on the legacy of Netflix's beloved "Daredevil" series by putting Matt "Daredevil" Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Kingpin in the spotlight. However, it doesn't seem that the streaming series is receiving unanimous praise from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, where it currently has a 72% fresh critic score. Early reviews of the program have turned out to be surprisingly mixed.
Here's what critics are saying — positively and negatively — about "Echo" as it arrives on the small screen for MCU fans to see.
Some critics are satisfied with what Echo offers up
On the positive end of the spectrum, reviewers such as Cassondra Feltus of Black Girl Nerds found a lot to love while watching "Echo." "Alaqua Cox delivers another beautifully nuanced performance as Maya Lopez, a culturally rich, badass villain whose perceived disabilities are her superpowers," Feltus wrote, giving Cox plenty of credit for her acting work throughout the story. ComicBook.com's Adam Barnhardt also highlighted Cox's performance as especially stellar, noting that the show around her successfully blends intense drama and superhero action.
Chase Hutchinson of Collider found "Echo" engaging because it doesn't go out of its way to connect to the wider MCU and the ongoing Multiverse Saga. Rather, it embraces its own story and characters while only referencing what's necessary. Meanwhile, /Film's Ethan Anderton also gave the show a positive assessment, regarding it as a cross between a typical MCU production and something grittier and more adult, akin to Netflix's Marvel offerings, such as the aforementioned "Daredevil" and "The Punisher." While there could be some worry about the MCU going in a more rough, adult direction, The Verge's Charles Pulliam-Moore took "Echo" as a sign that the minds behind the franchise will know when to go all-in and when to exercise restraint.
Others feel Echo misses the mark in more ways than one
Meanwhile, those who disliked "Echo" didn't hold back with their critiques. "There's nothing compelling about the protagonist's quest or her familial frictions, all of which have been conceived in threadbare and clichéd fashion," wrote Nick Schager of The Daily Beast in his "Echo" review. Rodrigo Perez of The Playlist touched on a similar issue with the series, explaining that while it's effective in covering how violent pasts can corrupt people to their core, the narrative does little to move into the healing process. It simply opts for more violence.
Another major issue with "Echo" that critics have discussed is the series' identity and its struggle to determine how it wants to present itself. For instance, Pramit Chatterjee of Digital Mafia Talkies felt the final product showed that Marvel Studios was torn between "[allowing] their latest miniseries to be a fantastical deconstruction of the history and future of Oklahoma or if they should treat it as some more homework for their next show (or movie)." As for FlickDirect's Allison Rose, she expressed a similar sentiment when referring to the busy and overstuffed "Echo" as "another example of 'taking in more than one can chew.'"
"Echo" is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.