The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Daniel Bruhl, Sebastian Stan
Score: 3.5/5 stars
Disney's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, much like WandaVision, is an unfettered experiment in going places where the mainline MCU films have not gone before. While WandaVision dealt deep in the realm of magic and mysticism, Falcon takes a more grounded approach and tackles a more real-world issue: Racism.
The entire six-part series is centred on the idea of legacy, what it means to be Captain America, and the oppression people of colour face in this day and age, let alone the past.
While Sam Wilson remains firmly in the camp of legacy and the burden of picking up the mantle of an icon, which forms a true arc and concludes one phase of his character which has been built up over several films, the racism is presented through the lens of one Isaiah Bradley, the man who could have been a Black Captain America.
While Isaiah gets not a lot of screen time, the crucible he has gone through forms both a wall and a shield for Sam in his quest to be something different, as he and Bucky (suffering from a terrible PTSD as the former Winter Soldier) tackle a group of international radicals who believe the world was better during the five years everyone was gone post-Avengers: Infinity War.
This group - the Flag Smashers - are not just a threat to the world, they are a threat to themselves, with their super-soldier leader Karli - introduced as a sympathetic character who wants to do better for the world - slowly descends into being a semi-villain, while on the run from a mysterious "Power Broker" who possessed the super-soldier serum that gave her powers.
On the other hand is Baron Zemo, the man who tore the Avengers apart with meticulous planning and a CCTV clip. Unrestrained by a movie's -hour-runtime, Zemo really gets fleshed out as a character, growing beyond the boundaries of a vengeful intelligent madman. Daniel Bruhl clearly has had a lot of fun portraying this Zemo, who is more calculated, more cunning and more dangerous than ever before - and sporting his iconic purple mask.
The real star of the show, however, is the new Captain America - John Walker. He is a decorated man with several medals, unlike Steve Rogers - but just like him, has the drive to help people. Unfortunately, his tangling with Sam, Bucky and Zemo puts him down a dark path, though it is not a fault to be ascribed to any of the four, ultimately ending in an unnecessary murder. Wyatt Russell really shows off his acting chops here, delivering both a semi-likable successor, a deranged madman, and a man who has lost all hope - only to claw back some of it, with some help.
The series relies heavily on the idea of conspiracies and plots being sprinkled around everywhere. Stopped a terrorist from kidnapping an important person? That's a fork into a conspiracy. Infiltrated a march to see who's calling the shots in the Flag Smashers? Another fork, and so on. Went to talk to Isaiah Bradley? Oh boy, that's a can of worms that nobody would typically want to open.
Falcon, of course, does not shy away from classic Marvel CGI action and comedy, though that does not form the key tool to drive the story, and is used relatively sparingly - but to great effect.
To close, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is another solid entry into the MCU spin-off series and has potential (though not necessarily large) ramifications for the universe at large.
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