‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ web series review: A new Captain rises in the Brave New World
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Forged: Anthony Mackie, Daniel Bruhl, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Disney’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, very like WandaVision, is an unfettered experiment in going locations the place the mainline MCU movies haven’t gone earlier than. Whereas WandaVision dealt deep within the realm of magic and mysticism, Falcon takes a extra grounded method and tackles a extra real-world difficulty: Racism.
Your entire six-part collection is centred on the concept of legacy, what it means to be Captain America, and the oppression folks of color face at the moment, not to mention the previous.
Whereas Sam Wilson stays firmly within the camp of legacy and the burden of choosing up the mantle of an icon, which types a real arc and concludes one part of his character which has been constructed up over a number of movies, the racism is introduced by way of the lens of 1 Isaiah Bradley, the person who might have been a Black Captain America.
Learn | ‘WandaVision’ net collection evaluate: A maddening glimpse into the longer term
Whereas Isaiah will get not a number of display time, the crucible he has gone by way of types each a wall and a defend for Sam in his quest to be one thing totally different, as he and Bucky (affected by a horrible PTSD as the previous Winter Soldier) sort out a gaggle of worldwide radicals who consider the world was higher in the course of the 5 years everybody was gone post-Avengers: Infinity Warfare.
This group – the Flag Smashers – usually are not only a risk to the world, they’re a risk to themselves, with their super-soldier chief Karli – launched as a sympathetic character who needs to do higher for the world – slowly descends into being a semi-villain, whereas on the run from a mysterious “Energy Dealer” who possessed the super-soldier serum that gave her powers.
However is Baron Zemo, the person who tore the Avengers aside with meticulous planning and a CCTV clip. Unrestrained by a film’s -hour-runtime, Zemo actually will get fleshed out as a personality, rising past the boundaries of a vengeful clever madman. Daniel Bruhl clearly has had a number of enjoyable portraying this Zemo, who’s extra calculated, extra crafty and extra harmful than ever earlier than – and sporting his iconic purple masks.
The actual star of the present, nonetheless, is the brand new Captain America – John Walker. He’s a embellished man with a number of medals, not like Steve Rogers – however identical to him, has the drive to assist folks. Sadly, his tangling with Sam, Bucky and Zemo places him down a darkish path, although it’s not a fault to be ascribed to any of the 4, in the end ending in an pointless homicide. Wyatt Russell actually exhibits off his performing chops right here, delivering each a semi-likable successor, a deranged madman, and a person who has misplaced all hope – solely to claw again a few of it, with some assist.
The collection depends closely on the concept of conspiracies and plots being sprinkled round in every single place. Stopped a terrorist from kidnapping an necessary individual? That is a fork right into a conspiracy. Infiltrated a march to see who’s calling the pictures within the Flag Smashers? One other fork, and so forth. Went to speak to Isaiah Bradley? Oh boy, that is a can of worms that no person would usually need to open.
Falcon, after all, doesn’t shrink back from basic Marvel CGI motion and comedy, although that doesn’t kind the important thing instrument to drive the story, and is used comparatively sparingly – however to nice impact.
To shut, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is one other strong entry into the MCU spin-off collection and has potential (although not essentially giant) ramifications for the universe at giant.
