Episode 1 Of ‘The Falcon And The Winter Soldier’ Sets Up Another Promising Series For The MCU – Review
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is here and as a Marvel fan, I could not be more pleased that we got a new series after the incredible season finale that WandaVision delivered.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is still one of my favorite movies to this day and it was refreshing to revisit the more grounded and serious side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which juxtaposed with WandaVision’s cosmic and magical attributes, makes The Falcon and The Winter Soldier an exhilarating new watch.
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) who only came together near the end of their respective journeys in Avengers: Endgame, are no about to embark on a new journey together that will send them on an action-packed global adventure. Directed by Kari Skogland with Malcolm Spellman serving as head writer, the six-episode series also stars Wyatt Russell as John Walker and brings back Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter and Daniel Brühl as Zemo.
As WandaVision dealt with the impact of grief, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier explores the effects of trauma and responsibility with the titular characters. Each of them is carrying their own traumas, and also share responsibilities bestowed upon them in a post-Captain America world. The first episode sets up the narrative of following Sam and Bucky exploring their own emotional burdens and duties as they navigate a world that still needs heroes and accountability. It will be a very compelling and introspective story as we explore how heroes face their personal issues while so much is expected of them by the world.
It is impressive to see the quality of action we saw in the movies translate so well to TV standards. Although WandaVision maintained that cinematic quality throughout, and eventually amped up the spectacle, it did not have the type of technical action that we would expect from Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The Falcon, for example, gets an incredible action sequence in the first episode that utilizes the capabilities of his suit very well. In just one episode you can tell that there is much more to see from the Falcon’s action scenes since his introduction in 2014.
Despite some impressive moments in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and their appearances in event team-up films, it is good to see Mackie and Stan fully under the spotlight. Although they have already proven to be well suited for their roles, episode one highlights that we have just scratched the surface and both actors have much more to give in regards to their respective roles.
As we will explore in future episodes, Sam is carrying the literal weight of what Captain America left behind, his shield, and all that it represents. Mackie’s performance emphasizes Sam’s struggle to remain optimistic, live-up to the legacy, and also live in his own truth. Sam also has the added pressure of being present for his family and living in the present. Whereas Bucky has to find peace with what he had done, and all the pain and trauma he has endured. Living a very similar experience as Steve Rogers, Barnes has to live with the reality of being out of place in the current world and finding a way to move forward. Sam and Bucky are very different, but together they are able to find what they need.
There is so much to explore, learn, and experience, and episode one does the best it can to lay the foundation for a truly epic and exciting series.
Rating: 4.5/5
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres on March 19 on Disney+.
