The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: Series Premiere Review

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Plot: Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, who came together in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame. team up on a global adventure that tests their abilities—and their patience.

Review: It takes no more than 10 minutes for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier to prove that Marvel Studios is bringing feature film caliber storytelling to Disney+. With a look that echoes Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the second MCU television series kicks off with a pulse-pounding action sequence that looks like it deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Picking up six months after the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame, the first episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier just barely scratches the surface of the story unfolding over the course of six episodes but jams a lot of storytelling into forty-five minutes. If WandaVision was Marvel Studios experimenting with different types of storytelling, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is their way to deliver movie-quality action and adventure with a great deal more character development than we have ever gotten before.

While I will not divulge any major spoilers here, I can tell you some concrete things about The Falcon and The Winter Soldier to put your mind at ease. First, there is no post-credit sequence on the first episode. Second, the episode runs for a full 45 minutes excluding the credits and international credits that seemed to pad a great deal of the shorter WandaVision episodes. Third, the score by Henry Jackman features major callbacks to his musical themes on both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War. Third, there are many new characters introduced including Danny Ramirez as Sam's military liaison and Adepero Oduye as Sam's sister, Sarah. We also meet Amy Aquino as Bucky's therapist. Fourth, there are two MCU-related cameos in the first episode. Fifth, there is no shared screen time between Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan in this first chapter.

What I can tell you specifically related to what I have seen so far as that there is a lot of focus on both Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes as superheroes in a post-Blip world as well as how they cope as human beings in a world without Captain America or Tony Stark. Aside from the major action sequence at the start of the episode, there are several smaller action moments peppered amongst a lot of solid character development for both heroes. It becomes very apparent from the outset that showrunner Malcolm Spellman is focused on developing more than two-dimensional comic book characters for this series. There are some legitimate moments of emotional depth and nuance here for both Mackie and Stan as they get to shine on screen more than ever before. We also learn the answer to the question: how do superheroes get paid?

What is also apparent is that the title of this series is appropriate as this is a series equally about both characters. It also could have been called The Next Captain America as that is also a major element to the narrative. The shadow of Steve Rogers looms large over both Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes but the iconic mantle of the Star-Spangled Avenger is a jumping-off point for this story. We see the new antagonist group The Flag-Smashers in action and begin to discover why Sam is still Falcon here rather than the next Captain America. After 45 minutes, we have barely seen any footage teased in the trailers for this show which indicates the next five episodes are going to be busting at the seams.

Director Kari Skogland, a veteran of helming television series ranging from Banshee, Boardwalk Empire, and Vikings to The Walking Dead, The Punisher, and NOS4A2, deftly balances the dialogue-heavy dramatic moments with the action sequences. Both Falcon and Winter Soldier-specific action scenes look as if they could have been excerpts from any of The Russo Brothers' MCU projects. This is a fairly violent show with some mild profanity that may not be as kid-friendly as other Disney+ fare but nothing we haven't seen in any other Marvel Studios movie. It also further blurs the line between movies and television because at no point does The Falcon and The Winter Soldier look like it has sacrificed anything for the sake of a smaller budget. The special effects and production design are excellent. If there is any shortcoming it is that we have to wait week after week to find out what happens next.

Judging how good The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is based on one episode alone by not be fair, but if the quality of this first episode is any indication, the rest of the series is going to be a really fun ride. By this point, both Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan know their characters inside and out, but audiences are going to gain insight that they could only infer from their prior appearances. In just forty-five minutes, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier knocks you for a loop with an eye-popping cinematic sequence, some truly funny moments, some great cameos and easter eggs, and one hell of a cliffhanger ending leading into the next episode. It may not be a mystery in the same way that WandaVision was, but this is yet another win for Marvel Studios

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier premieres on March 19th on Disney+.