The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Review!

Alright! Today I'm reviewing the second Marvel Disney+ show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which picks up after Steve Rogers retires from being Captain America and passes the shield to Sam Wilson. This is the second of six (!) Marvel shows coming out this year, alongside WandaVision, Loki, What If...?, Hawkeye, and Ms. Marvel. 

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier features a returning cast of MCU characters like Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Shocking, I know). Also returning are characters like Zemo, Sharon Carter, War Machine, Ayo, and Batroc the Leaper, half of those you probably recognized. 

Now, the intention of these Disney+ shows was to tell stories that couldn't be told as movies. I don't get that impression from Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This was more or less a six-hour movie. Sure, the pacing is fine and it certainly does entertain for that time, but I do believe this story could've been condensed into an amazing movie. 

Some stuff I really liked about the show was how good the action was. Most Marvel projects are just ineffective punching and lasers (Ant-Man comes to mind), so to have something more along the lines of Captain America: The Winter Soldier was great. This is the type of action that keeps you thoroughly entertained without questioning the CGI. Sure, it's not the fast-paced and expertly choreographed action we'll get from Shang-Chi, but it's certainly above-average for the MCU, more in-line with a typical spy thriller or James Bond flick. It’s almost “real” cinema.

Looking forward to this guy and Patriot whenever they show up again.

I also want to applaud the series for actually tackling something bigger than itself, for having a thematic weight that is, unfortunately, terribly relevant. And it was done excellently! When I first heard the series would deal with the prejudice that would come with a black man being Captain America, I rolled my eyes. I thought it would be on the nose and unnecessary. But then something happened that gave me a 180 on it: 

Reports happened that WB was making a new Superman movie with a black man. That set the internet on fire. Why couldn't a black guy be Superman? I dunno, but the internet sure did seem mad about it. And then I thought about the type of backlash that happened because a fictional character was going to be black. In the MCU, these characters are real and Captain America has been a blonde hair and blue eyes icon since the 40s. Yeah, there would be resistance, and I loved how the show put it: "Every time I pick this thing up, I know there are millions of people out there who are going to hate me for it." I loved it. 

And then to have a black man flying around as Captain America the same week that George Chauvin was convicted? They couldn't have asked for better timing.

And, sure, the finale was admittedly on the nose about it, but I really appreciated it. Nice to see an actual thematic message from a Marvel production (Even if it’s just racism=bad). The obvious metaphor between Isaiah Bradley's history being erased ("But they been doin' that for about 500 years!") and the history of slavery was... it was good. I'm happy they went in that direction. 

Upon reflection though, did they forget that Rhodey literally became the Iron Patriot in Iron Man 3? This whole "black dude wouldn't fly as a symbol of America" plot was already disproven 

The other key theme of the show was, in my eyes, about terrorism and radical groups. I really liked the "I agree with your fight, I just can't get with the way you're fighting it" sentiment. But the overall message fell flat for me. As much as the show tried to make the villains sympathetic, they never really connected. For the most part, they came off as overly-woke Gen-Z activists who would be more suited to canceling celebrities on social media. 

The finale had a big speech about how they weren't really terrorists, just people fighting for a cause, and that we shouldn't label them. But at the same time, the Flag Smashers blew up a building for political gain, which is the literal definition of terrorism. They were definitely terrorists, no matter how sympathetically they were portrayed. And that fell flat for me.

This entire speech felt like it was ripped straight out of a cartoon.

Another thing that fell flat for me was the aforementioned ending speech. Sam gives a big talk for, like, five minutes about how the senators need to do better, and while parts of the speech were excellent, at some points it went on for too long. The ending speech was definitely clunky, even if telling people to do better with no real idea on how to do so was very Captain America-y. I also wasn't entirely sure why these senators mattered so much. The GRC vote thread isn't put into the series until, like, episode five, so any anger built up towards these relatively new characters came off as overblown. 

And, disclaimer, back before this whole mess, this series was supposed to come out last August and (Allegedly) focus on a weaponized virus. Apparently, racial identity was the most relevant Marvel was willing to go, which is why the whole "Super Soldier serum" thread is here. It was a cover-up for unequal vaccination distribution for refugees. It worked fine for what it was, but the virus would've been better. 

Boo this character.

Basically, the themes were great when they weren't on the nose. When they were, they were terrible. When the show made me feel sympathetic for Karli Morgenthau or connect the dots between the "erasing our history" it felt a lot better than Sam explicitly saying he gets where she's coming from. 

Actually, "Show, don't tell" is a major part of where this series fails. With six hours we easily could have had a flashback to Isaiah Bradley fighting, or the Wilson boat being important, or a flashback to the blip, but no. Everything is talked about, and it did become hard to follow at times.  

And now that I've gone over most of my complaints, I might as well do the nitty-gritty ones:

• The first episode was directed in extreme, extreme close-ups. That was a really bad choice. 
• The show could have used a better score - only the last episode stood out. 
• Episodes 1 and 2 were pretty boring in all honesty. The show only started to pick up steam when they brought in Zemo.
• Where were the Avengers? Are all of these Disney+ shows going to feel like Phase 2, where every threat merits an extra character? The show had War Machine, why didn't he help out in the finale? Terrorists were attacking senators! And where was Doctor Strange in WandaVision? (Apparently, Spider-Man was talked about but ultimately nixed).
• Was the Powerbroker supposed to be a twist? Because it wasn't. It really, really wasn't. 

Now for some things I really liked about the series.

The cinematography was far better than typical MCU fare, which is, admittedly, not a huge compliment. It just means it was on par with a competently shot movie. The place where it became most notable and actually enhanced the show was in Madripoor. 

Madripoor was awesome. Like, I love it when a show has a vibe and I can picture myself living there and chilling with the characters (Something Avatar did excellently). I'm happy to report that Madripoor gave me that vibe. I also really appreciate the subtle X-Men reference (Madripoor is most often associated with them).

Something else I really, really liked was that the Dora Milaje showed up. That made me happy, the interconnectivity. Also, are they the new Tony Stark? Any expenses, costumes, and hospital bills given to Wakanda? 

And delving a bit deeper into the costumes, this show had such excellent costume design. Bucky's new suit, the U.S. Agent suit, Battlestar, Falcon, and even the new Captain America costume! They all looked spectacular! My favorite was Zemo's, even though it didn't serve any purpose in the show. He just put it on for... the fans. 

Let's give it up for the Disney+ shows. The Scarlet Witch costume, White Vision, classic Quicksilver, Zemo, Falcon, Captain America, Hawkeye, Kate Bishop, and Ms. Marvel costumes are all amazing. It makes me really look forward to however they choose to do Fantastic Four, Wolverine, Doctor Doom, and Moon Knight costumes. I can't wait for more. 

Words cannot express my disappointment that the fan theory about Zemo choosing a purple mask was to remind the Avengers of their greatest failure, Thanos, wasn't true. 

Like all TV shows, it's an excellent idea to have a breakout character - be they the Fonz, Ron Swanson, or Grogu. Here, we get two - John Walker and Helmut Zemo.  Every time they came on the screen I was captivated. Their stories and performances were just so much interesting than whatever "terrorism-not-terrorism” stuff was going on. 

U.S. Agent specifically. Wyatt Russell's performance was top-notch. The disgraced Captain America that breaks under the pressure was so, so much cooler than Sam Wilson trying to be Captain America. Apparently failing at something is more interesting than aspiring. 

And Zemo was so thoroughly entertaining I don't even mind that everything about him in this show more or less contradicts what we learned in Civil War - there he was just a regular everyman, here he's a flashy Baron. He even admits that Steve Rogers was a cool dude! His entire motivation is that super soldier are bad, but he openly admits one is good? 

This scene at the end was one of my favorites of the show. 

I thought Sebastian Stan did a great job here. He has some pretty good moments in the show. If anything, this just convinced me that he is perfect for playing Luke Skywalker. He looks... exactly like Mark Hamill. Interestingly enough, this does make Falcon the least interesting character in the show, which is something the main character should never be.

I'm also going to give a round of applause to this series for the action. Sure, it's no Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but the choreography is tight and brutal. I always love it when I can feel the impact of every blow, and F&TWS provided that.

I really liked how violent John Walker was. His character was amazing.

Perhaps the thing I liked most about the show, especially in relation to WandaVision, is that it actually ended. All the major plot threads are resolved. With WandaVision, it felt like it could've used another episode or two. Where did White Vision go? What happens to the townspeople? Monica? Anyone? 

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier actually followed through. Instead of leaving what would happen for a Doctor Strange 2, we got teases for what would happen instead. John Walker is being recruited for the Thunderbolts, Zemo is in prison, and Falcon became Captain America. I don't need to see an upcoming movie to appreciate the show, it's self-contained. 

And that's basically everything I wanted to talk about. I liked the show, had some criticisms, and I'm excited to see more of Captain America and The Winter Soldier in Captain America 4. 

Overall, I give The Falcon and the Winter Soldier an 8/10. "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier overcomes its faults with fast-paced action, excellent costume design, and some incredibly interesting characters."

I love this gif so much...