The Falcon vs The Winter Soldier - TV Review

Marvel's decision to change some of its movie to TV shows was an odd decision when we first heard about it a few years ago. But after seeing Wandavision I think it might be a great decision. You can't always pack an entire story into a single movie that ranges from an hour and a half to two and a half hours. Sometimes you need more room to breath. Also with the COVID pandemic this can help space out and ease production of these concepts onto the big screen. Plus shows are able to work with concepts that normally wouldn't work on the bigger screen. The second of these miniseries has wrapped up and now we get to talk about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is about these titular characters, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), working together to combat the newest threat to the world: The Flag Smashers. Led by Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman), their mission is to create a world without borders and fight the world governments, believing the world after Thanos snapped half of all life away was better than when everyone came back. But what makes them really dangerous is the fact that Karli, along with 20 others of her group, are supersoldiers like Bucky. As they start their investigations the United States government announces a person will be taking on the role of Captain America, a man named John Walker (Wyatt Russell). All of these factions and a few more begin to intertwine in this spy thriller and questions of morality are brought up to all of them.

The last MCU miniseries, Wandavision, was a great watch for me because it tried new things and had an emotional story that I was invested in. Its ending was rather disappointing, but I was mostly very pleased with that show. But The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (which I will now condense to FatWS) was definitely not as impactful or entertaining. I was honestly quite disappointed with the show on multiple levels. Now it wasn't terrible because I enjoyed it more than I disliked it, but this show was played ridiculously safe. This review will be mostly spoiler free, but there might be a few things that slip through. Just giving a heads up.

So probably the biggest thing people want to know about is why the hell is there a new Captain America and I honestly still question why there needs to be one. At the start of the show Steve Roger's shield is placed in a museum, in a ways retiring Captain America for good. Sam Wilson thought he wasn't ready or deserving of the shield, which is an interesting way the story decided to go. This sequence was a really great moment that I very was happy with because we finally are letting Steve Rogers go after his many efforts to save the planet. But then a few days later the United States government (some of whom were at this event) suddenly announce a new person will take on the mantel of Captain America and my content turned into furious disbelief. America has kind of a problem with fetishising heroes, like America always always has to have a symbol of heroism at all times even if that symbol (or having one) isn't the best option. But in the MCU the US government has often made terrible mistakes, from this to nuking New York City to putting chains on all heroes with the Solvokia Accords (which are barely brought up in the show despite being a massive thing in previous films).

Now I'm not going to say that John Walker ruined the show. Quite the opposite, he was the most compelling character because he was continually struggling to try and live up to what he thought Captain America should be and the title being thrust down upon him is a massive burden that greatly changes him. Also Wyatt Russell was very charming and put on a fantastic performance to point that I was mostly invested in the show because of him. I find him to be a very underappreciated actor after seeing the drama series, Lodge 49, and the World War II horror movie, Overlord. He is just really damn good. After all his father is Kirt Russell, who has also been in the MCU as Ego from Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.

However, there is a huge moment in the show where he kind of becomes a villain that made my eyes bulge in shock. By the end of the show though he is somewhat pardoned for his actions which feels like a very safe way to end his first character arc (since he'll most likely be back in another MCU media). I would have liked it more if he was still a villain by the end of the show, still having his principals on what he should do as Captain America, but also being more realistic, ruthless, and less empathetic than Steve was. Steve Rogers fought in World War II, a fight that is a lot more black and white in terms of morality while John Walker fought in Iraq, in a time of more grey morality. That pressure to live up to one of the most memorable heroes of the world, along his the way he was taught to be a soldier in getting the job done, twists Walker into somebody rather dark and I wanted to see him stay that way.

Another problem with FatWS is that Flag Smashers were very underwhelming. They could have been really good villains like Killmonger with beliefs that they're doing the right thing because they genuinely believe they're doing the morally correct thing and believe a few sacrifices are needed. We do see them assisting and caring for the down-trodden and unfortunate communities that lack supplies, education, and people higher up to help them, but we never got to know in depth and personally why people are fighting for this cause. We should have seen what life was like after Thanos snapped life away to know why the Flag Smashers thought it was better. In Black Panther we see Killmonger's origin when he was a kid, learning how he lost his father, why his father feels like the other Africans of the world are being repressed, and his frustration that Wakanda has all the power to change it, but they refuse to do anything about it. There is no origin story to the Flag Smashers and their reasons for joining the cause are mostly vague.

Worse though is that Karli Morgenthau is villain who, despite saying she is trying to do good, acts like a moody teenager and keeps doing some really terrible things. I'm not blaming this on Erin Kellyman, she did fine with the material she was given and I think she was picked for this role because of her role in Solo: A Star Wars Story because her character in that movie is very similar to her character in this show. At first FatWS made me a little sympathetic towards her at the start, but that didn't develop much and as the show kept showing her actions become more violent and destructive. Then when we get to the end of the show she's doing things that are very much against what the show sets her and the Flag Smashers up as. That could have been well shown as desperation for her causing falling apart, but it's not conveyed very well and us not getting to know the Flag Smashers in depth doesn't help matters either. She is also not that charismatic, bold, or eye-catching as a villain.

I heard that there was an abandoned plot point that there was a virus or a "pandemic" (some time of red flu?) that happened after Thanos snapped half of all life away. A vaccine was made during this time, but when everyone came back the vaccine was prioritized for the "more important communities" instead of the ones that really needed it. This would anger people and Karli would organize them into the Flag Smashers to get the supplies out to the poor communities while trying taking revenge for loved ones who could have been saved if they got the vaccine sooner. Remember at the start of Civil War where those mercenaries lead by Crossbones tried to steal a pathogen of some sort that could have wiped out half a country if let loose? Maybe that could have been unleashed when half of life was gone. A lot less people able to handle the materials and with them unattended something dangerous most likely would have gotten out.

All of this connects to my biggest problem with the show: The writing. Way too many concepts and story plots are stuffed into these 6 episodes and some of them are underdeveloped. Some of these concepts include world politics, family, patriotism, and racism towards African Americans (which I will get into depth near the end). Some could even be thrown out and nothing would have been lost, like Sam Wilson's sister losing her family business and Sam trying to find ways to fix it, Bucky's therapy, Wakanda getting involved, and Sharon Carter. Instead of just pushing ideas they had to deliver to make us excited for these concepts. But they were just thrown in and we were left with a story that doesn't feel very... important. The scripts needed to be revised several more times to trim out any excess ideas that weren't needed.

More importantly though the writing is mostly lazy and predictable. There are some great moments in the show, but that's just what they are: Moments. Most of the plot to felt like a checklist of things that had to be done in the show that didn't connect too well. A majority of FatWS feels like it can't decide who we should be rooting for or what standards/ messages the show wants to advocate. That can be done well, but when it's done in a wishy-washy and basic manner like in this show it becomes boring, frustrating, and not very investing. The ending of the show, which I won't spoil, has Sam making a speech towards some people about a complex issue in which he says, "Just do better." What kind of answer is that, especially in a show in which one of its main issues is international politics? Marvel is capable and has a duty to have better writing than that.

With this, and the my idea of a pathogen affecting Earth's populace after Thanos's snap, I believe the COVID pandemic must have negatively changed the production of FatWS. I can understand bringing a pandemic into the MCU would cause viewers to be uncomfortably reminded of how terrible the real world is, I get it. However it seems like the production was rushed and there were reshoots done. In episode 5 there is a moment where Sam and Bucky are both training with Captain America's shield and both are perfect at throwing it, all while talking about racism. But the next scene is Sam training with it on his own and he's terrible at using it and trying to improve. That's why I believe there were reshoots, to push in scenes that talk about ideas that aren't necessary They might have had a concrete idea on how the show was going to go, but the end product feels rushed with tons of characters doing huge things that are resolved too quickly and easily.

As I mentioned at the start thought there are positive elements of the show as well that make it worth watching. While they didn't get along for most of the show, Sam and Bucky had great chemistry with one another. I understood why Bucky was angry with Sam, his best friend has basically been replaced by some person dressed up in his friends clothes. I was eager to know how they'd bond and fix this tear in their friendship up, along with how they were going to work together to defeat the Flag Smashers. John Walker also, as I mentioned before, kept me watching the show because I was eager to know what they were going to do with him. These characters and what has been done with previous Captain America related MCU media kept me curious for what was going to happen next episode.

The action and camerawork were also professionally done, both reminded me of how it was done in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (which I find to be my favorite film in the MCU). Long, wide shots, along with capturing everything on and off the action. There was good tension, the blows during the fights were strong and impacting, and there was great lighting and shots that captured everything needed on screen. Also, with this being a less magical and sci-fi kind of MCU media the use of CGI was minimal, so the stunts were more practical in execution and it felt more real to look at.

As I mentioned earlier the show tries to tackle racism in America (specifically towards African Americans) and I personally thought it wasn't necessary. The MCU has never gone into racism before besides Black Panther, and even then we the audience, as well as people in the show, didn't treat it like a serious problem. The issues that the MCU have brought up that relate to the real world have more dealt with politics, the use of power, and people's freedoms. Plus a majority of fans after Avengers: Endgame were excited to see Sam Wilson take up the shield as the next Captain America. Plus some of its executions were ham-fisted and cringy, like a scene in the second episode where Sam and Bucky are confronted by a cop in the middle of the street. I was so terrified and uncomfortable that moment that I almost looked away and turned off episode. Disney... please don't do that again.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is an okay show. While the story is fine and it's got some great action and performances from Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, the writing was a rushed, lazy, and predictable. I'd absolutely watch Wandavision over this and even though there were some really good moments I find this show to be a low point in the MCU. Not the lowest, but this could have been a lot better of a show. Even so I could possibly recommend it because I think there are still people who will be entertained by it and be invested in Sam and Bucky's adventures. And the has set up a upcoming MCU film for these two as well, which I am excited for despite how I feel on about the show.

Tentative Score: 6.5/10

Definitive Score: 6.5/10

One last note: Both Wandavision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier have falsely teased that the X-men, the Fantastic Four, and other Marvel properties owned by Fox will be coming to the MCU. The internet, every time a new episode of either was coming up, would be posting a ton of article and links about how Wolverine or Reed Richards or somebody previously owned by Fox would appear in the next episode. Hell, in Wandavision we actually had the actor who played the Fox version of Quicksilver reprise his role only to be revealed to be some guy named "Ralph Boner." Disney, just get it over with! Either stop these baiting Marvel fans or just clearly confirm this is going to happen because we know it's going to happen soon. You've already announced a new Fantastic Four movie in like 2024 (or at least past 2023). So just get it over with!