The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (2021) - SPOILER-FREE Review
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Created by: Malcolm Spellman
Directed by: Kari Skogland
Written by: Malcolm Spellman, Michael Kastelein, Derek Kolstad, Dalan Musson, Josef Sawyer
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Emily VanCamp, Daniel Brühl
Synopsis: Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Sam Wilson / The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities - and their patience.
After the end of Phase Three, I genuinely didn't know what Marvel was planning to do. Disney+ offered the possibility of adding TV shows to the popular MCU, which is an incredibly challenging and risky move. If making a successful cinematic universe with over twenty films is already a miracle in itself, introducing television into the mix and actually succeed is not only groundbreaking but also a mind-blowing achievement by Kevin Feige and co. WandaVision arrived and surpassed all expectations. For the duration of the series, there was close to zero conversation about anything else besides this show. From countless (absurdly wrong) fan theories to the overwhelmingly positive reaction to each episode, any follow-up series would struggle to maintain this level of excitement.
I feel like I'm one of the very few viewers who approach these shows with moderate, realistic expectations of what they intend to deliver. Most of the main heroes from the Infinity Saga are either gone or ready to pass the mantle to new, younger blood. So, it's only logical that the primary goal of these series ends up being to further develop the secondary characters - aka sidekicks - from the past 10+ years, making them as compelling and interesting as the superheroes everyone loved so much. Next time the Avengers assemble, Marvel fans should feel as hyped and excited with Sam as Captain America and Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) as the most powerful of them all… which might be an impossible task.
With that said, let me dive into The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Contrary to WandaVision, it was plainly obvious that this series wouldn't have as much online talk and overall enthusiasm. Going from a show full of magic, mystery, and crazy theories to a much more grounded, slower, political narrative will always feel disappointing and underwhelming for viewers who don't mentally prepare for the drastic change in tone, pacing, and story. On one hand, I'm happy that I was able to keep my hype down since Malcolm Spellman (Empire) and Kari Skogland (The Handmaid's Tale) deliver precisely what was expected from the show: a character-driven series, where the audience gets to know more about Sam and Bucky with a few action sequences in the middle. Simple as that.
Honestly, this is all I needed to consider the series a success. Following Sam and his family trying to solve real-life problems that normal people struggle to deal with daily. Watching Bucky attempting to make amends with people he's wronged. Action-driven fans will feel frustrated about this, but I genuinely love that I got to see more Sam and Bucky than The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Anthony Mackie (The Woman in the Window) and Sebastian Stan (The Devil All the Time) boast palpable chemistry that elevates every single interaction between their characters, which may be the best moments of the entire show. Sam helping Bucky deal with his past while the latter puts in some work for the former's family feels utterly wholesome.
In fact, one of the best aspects of the series is its dialogues. Exceptional job from every screenwriter involved. Mackie proves that he has more than enough talent to be the next Cap by tackling massive, important speeches that would make Chris Evans (Avengers: Infinity War) proud. The "Black Captain America" storyline was highly expected, and I was scared that they would make it feel forced instead of something that viewers could interpret as a natural theme that needed to be discussed. All I have to say is that this particular narrative is by far the best storytelling element of the whole series. Just perfect build-up, development, and closure. I have nothing negative to write about it.
On the other hand, the remaining storylines have some issues, namely the Flag Smashers, led by Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman). Both the actress and character have compelling attributes, but their arc reaches a point where it starts to get quite frustrating. I can't put my finger on the exact moment it stopped working for me, but her understandable yet divisive motivations didn't fully reach their potential. A "terrorist" group that unfortunately will fall into the MCU's abyss of forgettable people. Bucky's arc also leaves an unavoidably underwhelming feeling in the viewers, even though I can't consider it an impactful problem. Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) is entirely unnecessary, being an irrelevant addition to the show, despite having one of the best action scenes.
However, Zemo (Daniel Brühl) exceeded all my expectations. I didn't know if bringing him back would work, but once again, the writing team offered him a golden opportunity to be viewed as one of the most captivating "villains" currently alive in the cinematic universe. Brühl steals every single scene he's in, delivering the most memorable performance of the show. Wyatt Russell (Overlord) also portrays John Walker, a born-to-be-hated character in the MCU, which the actor does superbly. Walker is vital to demonstrate why being Captain America is more than just being a good soldier or a "nice guy", featuring in one of the best subplots of the show.
Technically, I appreciate the apparent lack of heavy CGI. Just like the story, the visuals feel more attached to our grounded reality than to a massive superhero extravaganza. A couple of riveting action sequences in the pilot established a high level of quality that I don't believe was ever really matched again throughout the show, despite still holding some excellent stunt work. I wish the balance between the dramatic storylines and the entertainment bits was better controlled since I couldn't help but find a few pacing issues across almost every episode.
Final Thoughts
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is definitely a less enthusiastic, slower, more grounded series than its magical predecessor, but it accomplishes the main mission of bringing the audience closer to Sam and Bucky. The character-driven show features exceptional dialogues and terrific performances from its leads, but the supporting cast steals the spotlight on several occasions, especially Daniel Brühl. The "Black Captain America" narrative and the subplot involving John Walker and a deep exploration of Cap's mantle are undoubtedly the most compelling, well-developed arcs of the whole series, though I appreciated every second spent with Sam dealing with his family issues and Bucky with his amends. However, the Morgenthau-led Flag Smashers fail to become more than just misunderstood, annoying antagonists, while Sharon Carter just feels like a completely out-of-place, unnecessary marketing strategy. Kari Skogland tries to keep every episode at a high level of quality, ultimately struggling with pacing issues and balance of storylines. In the end, she succeeds in leaving the viewers more emotionally attached to the (new) main heroes.
