A Review of Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Falcon and The Winter Soldier is the second Marvel series released on Disney+. It follows the popular series WandaVison. If you haven’t seen any of the Marvel movies, especially the Avengers Movies,
I recommend watching them. You will likely be very puzzled with no background on the Marvel Cinematic universe.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier takes place months after the events of Avengers: Endgame in which Steve Rogers retires as Captain American and gives the shield to Sam Wilson (also known as Falcon). Meanwhile, Bucky Barnes finally has a chance to live a semi- normal life.
Sam refuses Steve’s offer to become the next Captain America and instead puts the shield in a museum. But after a group of terrorists called the Flag-Smashers emerges, the U.S. government finds it necessary to elect their own candidate for the mantle of the shield. They elect a veteran named John Walker.
The show follows Sam and Bucky as they track down the Flag-Smashers while also butting heads with John Walker who is on a similar trail. In addition, we get insight on what Sam and Bucky have been up to, as well as more backstory on Sam’s personal life.
Per the usual Marvel, the series is full of action with stunning CGI effects and action sequences. I was more impressed with the inclusion of heavy real world issues weaved into some of the episodes. Racism, mental health and politics were focuses of the show and parallelled the real world today. It’s difficult to weave in issues like these, but it was very well done and didn’t seem forced at any moment.
As far as the performances, there isn’t a bland character in this series. I cannot remember the last Marvel project where I was genuinely invested and intrigued by every single character on screen. The series does a phenomenal job developing characters that are relatively unknown like Sam, Bucky and John.
Sam Wilson went from being a sidekick to being one of my favorite characters in the MCU. I wasn’t completely sold on him being a prominent hero for the next phase of movies, but after this series I am completely bought in. He is a well-spoken, humble and courageous hero that deserves the spotlight in the future.
On the contrary, John Walker as Captain America feels wrong in every way. His attitude and his actions are unfamiliar for a hero holding the shield. Wyatt Russell, son of Kurt Russel, does
a phenomenal job playing the anti-hero. His character is extremely contradictory to any Marvel hero we have seen thus far. Walker provided some of the most memorable moments and the series would not be the same without him. I hope to see Walker appear in future Marvel projects.
Bucky Barnes proved himself to be an undervalued MCU character. His story arc is further improved in the series and he will be a worthy sidekick for Sam Wilson in the future.
Although I found the finale rushed and questioned a few plot decisions, it did have a few memorable scenes. Sam Wilson has a few scenes that gave me chills. The series as a whole was extremely entertaining as it opened up the next phase of the MCU with endless possibilities and expanded on characters like Bucky and Sam. I wasn’t sure about the future of the MCU after Avengers: Endgame, but the Marvel shows revived my hope and excited me for the new heroes.