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The Louisiana hero finally gets his shine, this time with an eye-catching suit and a cool, ‘Civil War’-inspired soundtrack…
All of the episodes of ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ are out now on Disney Plus, and now it’s time to talk about Marvel’s latest installation that is injected with maturity and debatable geopolitical issues and the systemic racism that is still an issue lying in the foreground of American politics.
The mini tv-series is directed by Kari Skogland and stars Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, reprising their roles as fan favorites the Falcon and the Winter Soldier respectively, along with an underrated cast of Daniel Bruhl, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman and others. The series picks up where Avengers: Endgame had left us- the blue-eyed, blonde-haired Steve Rogers returning to the 1940s to spend his life with his love, leaving behind the symbolic shield to his handpicked successor, Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon. Things seem to go well for Falcon, a lone ranger now flying solo after giving up the shield which he perceives to be “someone else’s”. But when one of the universe’s (or should I say, multiverse’s) greatest heroes is away and is about to be replaced by a veteran soldier who is nothing but a puppet of the government, all the while violent super soldiers try to cause a massive upheaval to get their moto across, two of the most incompatible yet heroic Avengers must step up their game and get together in a buddy-cop styled adventure across the globe to save the world.
I must say the plot works really well for me. Themes and reference to issues in our society are the building blocks for the story, accompanied by your average Marvel-esque action sequences (which by the way, are absolutely eye-catching) and buddy-cop humor coming from two of the most beloved characters from the MCU. Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes have AMAZING chemistry in this series and it is their chemistry that really stood off among many other things for me. Mackie and Stan are both highly compatible on screen, with the former getting more importance as the series moves on and the latter being a consolidation to his beliefs. We get a lot of backstory about each of them- with Barnes getting the more poignant, self-discovering storyline and Wilson getting a backstory that represents the problem many African Americans face- racism. Wilson’s family are victims of racism at many times, so is another major character -no spoilers- who could’ve achieved greatness like Steve Rogers did but couldn’t because of his skin color, and this strive to remain a constant balance between his career as a superhero and his devotion to his family as a brother and uncle makes Wilson the central focus of this show. The struggle of a black man who stands for the society that mocks him for his skin color is shown beautifully in this show, and so are the issues that millions of African Americans go through in the so-called ‘Land of opportunities’ which makes the show heartfelt and thoroughly relatable at times. Though quite banal at times, I didn’t mind watching Wilson’s family dynamics surrounding his sister, her children and a boat Wilson’s mother and father left for them. Barnes’ story on the other hand is even more heart-wrenching- he is no longer the blood thirsty assassin nicknamed the Winter Soldier, rather someone willing and striving to fit into a society surrounding people who once feared him. Growing up in such a condition is extremely difficult and can push you off the limits and make you point at yourself for being who you are- this idea was beautifully captured by the character of Barnes, kudos to Stan and the script writers for getting that point across. Towards the end of the series, though, there was an extremely heartfelt scene where Bucky makes a confession and it abruptly drops where it should’ve started and that kind of irked me a little.
There’s plenty of surprises for the fans in this series with unexpected returns from many characters- Baron Zemo and Sharon Carter just to name a few. Yes, you might’ve guessed it from that shot in the trailer- Zemo returns and he is by far one of my favorite aspects of the entire show. Every time he is on-screen, you are left at the edge of seat, guessing what other mischief this notorious man could do. He is amazing in this show and his character gains a lot of depth too, though some scenes with him are abruptly cut off and his backstory leaves behind many questions left unanswered. Sharon Carter returns after where we left her off in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and she is now quite an influential dealer in the underworlds, which again is left unexplained as to what motivated her into getting into this line of profession and there is a reveal towards the end of them show that leaves us with even more questions. Her character undergoes the least development in the entire show, and the show wants us to discern that she is indeed an important character but I just can’t do that because I didn’t really buy into her character. Speaking of surprise appearances, Wyatt Russell plays John Walker/ Captain America in this show. Yes, no spoilers because you might’ve watched Marvel’s latest trailer for the show, but WE HAVE A NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA. Walker is crowned as the new Captain America earlier in the show, and though the reveal was absolutely rushed and repugnant, Walker’s growth and character development and especially Russell’s phenomenal performance made a despicable character rather enjoyable. The main problem comes around in the final episode- Walker is made to look like he has been inspired by Wilson and will change for the better, but in the subsequent scene he appears in his evil costume and vows to fulfil his obligations to a rogue character. It’s as if the scriptwriters wanted to take his character in a particular direction but then they immediately take a turn so as to stay true to the comic books, which eventually makes his motivations rather baffling and unclear. But anyways I had a blast watching Walker on screen, and I can’t wait to see what Marvel does with his character in the future projects. Another character I enjoyed watching was Karli Morgenthau. She is the juvenile delinquent leader of the Flag Smashers, a group of people who believe the entire world is one large population and there shouldn't be any borders since there are 'no real countries'.
Hence when the government tries to relocate the people who disappeared during the 'blip', Morgenthau and the Flag Smashers present themselves as an obstacle to the scheme.
The best part of ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ was the confusion created deliberately by the story. You have these two Avengers, and then you don’t know who the real enemy is. At times it seems John Walker is the ultimate villain, and at times it seems Karli Morgenthau is the main troublemaker. Just when you think Wilson resonates with Morgenthau’s character and that Walker is the villain, there is a shift in gravity and suddenly you get behind Walker’s character and discern Morgenthau to be the actual malefactor. You are always left on the edge of your seat discombobulated, just like our main heroes, and that made the show 10 times more interesting than what it seemed like at first.
The action sequences are top-notch, plaudits to the amazing stunt team, and the CGI incorporated is good too. I enjoyed the buddy cop moments too, and some of the jokes were really funny. The only issues I had was that at times the jokes got too irrelevant and irritating, and even sometimes took away the tension from the scenes. I absolutely enjoyed the fourth episode which was dark and gritty, but then Marvel’s choice to stick to the lighthearted stuff disappointed me again. The soundtrack is addictive, and I think Henry Jackman took inspiration from the ‘Civil War’ soundtrack to create such heroic theme which can now be considered Wilson’s theme with a great deal of pride.
All in all, ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a thoroughly enjoyable show, one that not only continues the sequence of world-building for the MCU but rather discusses major issues that many people in our face everyday and even opens up a new method of filmmaking which I have coined as ‘perspective’- the villain is whoever you perceive to be, not necessarily the one the show wants you to believe. I absolutely loved this show and can’t for a potential 4th instalment in the ‘Captain America’ series.
‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ gets a B.
Thank you for reading this review, stay tuned for more!
P.s: Zemo's dance scene is one of the most iconic scenes in the MCU.
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