As WandaVision for this, Disney +’s The falcon and the winter soldier serves Marvel-old solid pieces while also allowing time to dig deep into the minds of the characters.
Only the first episode, which premiered on Friday, March 19, was shown to critics, but the 47-minute duration nonetheless provides film action series, as well as a much-needed, overdue insight into MCU’s Sam Wilson, aka Falcon (played by Anthony Mackie) and the hero-driven-assassination-twisting hero James “Bucky” Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).
You saw a glimpse of the fleeting chase that the series begins, while Falcon (with significant help from its handy drone Redwing) navigates the Tunisian airspace in pursuit of an HRT; as a whole it is a exhale piece of filmmaking that will blow the crowd away at your local, sadly dilapidated Cineplex. The physical confidence Sam showed in the series, followed by the fun teasing between him and a government official, cemented Mackie’s upgrade from a buddy to the main character.
Stan gets a smaller action-hero showcase in the premiere, though that kind of flashback lays the foundation for the first time we see Bucky in the current timeline, stoning a therapist by the ‘three rules’ he has to abide by as part of his pardon. If he’s a ruthless HYDRA assassin, it’s clearly a number on the psyche (just like ’90 years go by from war to war ‘), so Bucky in the months since the Blip /Avengers: Endgame has awarded himself a regimental fine which, when revealed, will certainly break your heart.
Speaking of the absence of five-year-old Blip and Sam: the consequences threaten to improve the lives of his sister Sarah (Adepero Oguye) and her two sons, at home in Delacroix, La. The brother / sister scenes resulting from the crisis are hot, small and speak to issues that are far more humane than when Sam does not encounter an army and a monster.
But Sam also has to make superheroic decisions, as Steve Rogers at the end of Endgame. Since the Blip, “The world is broken, waiting for someone to fix it,” Colonel “Rhodey” remarked to Rhodes (Don Cheadle) during a DC ceremony in honor of Steve’s legacy. But Sam has to wonder: Is he the best person to inherit Cap’s cloak?
Save for a few brief tergies of the introductory threat of the series – a rising faction known as the Flag-Smashers – and a last minute that raises big questions about Sam’s heroic future, it’s just about the first deliveries. But if Disney +’s second Marvel series stays afloat, it’s just as well received as WandaVision, even if it is a more traditional Avengers shoot.
THE TV LINE UNDERLINE: The falcon and the winter soldier, first looks like a winning pair.