The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
"Following the events of 'Avengers: Endgame,' Sam Wilson/Falcon and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities -- and their patience."
The way this show is structured makes it feel like a 6 hour film. The first couple episodes were like the start to any movie. It established where are characters were - emotionally - and also established the overall arc of the plot. As each episode approached the finale, we see more action, more plot, and more character development. Then the finale hits and it truly feels like an authentic climactic ending of a standard Marvel film. However, the pacing of a couple episodes was a bit slow, and they probably could've cut enough to make it 5 instead of 6 episodes, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
The 5 year blip effected the entire world on such a deep level. We've already seen the aftermath in Spiderman: Far From Home and WandaVision. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier elaborates on the effects a bit more with how the world has recovered rather than just our favorite characters. This is why the main villain, Karli, was so good. Her intentions were understandable, and that made her interesting.
In all the time we've known Sam, we've only seen him as the loyal friend and sidekick of Steve Rogers. The first episode gave us so much more about his back story, which we knew almost nothing about prior. While we pretty much know most about Bucky's back story, it was also nice to see how his character developed and how he's recovering from being someone's "pet psychopath." Getting more time with these characters has been my favorite part of the show. Not just because we get to unwrap more of their character, but their dynamic with each other is comedic gold.
The Bucky-Sam comedic duo is no doubt the main attraction to any fan here. I can't even begin to explain in words how hilarious they were. The meme economy was booming. For the whole six weeks the show was on, I couldn't even last 2 minutes on social media without seeing some sort of meme about them, or the show in general. You'll find me on YouTube looing up 3 hour funny moment compilations of Sam and Bucky.
Going from WandaVision to this, the crave of sick action scenes was satisfied as every episode had at least one super cool fight scene. This was the fun action some fans may have missed, and it was well worth the wait to see.
The final episode was epic and is exactly what we've been missing since the last Spider Man movie. Not only did the real Captain America come on to the scene, but he did it with style. Sam is the new Cap, and he owned it. The reveal of his new design was amazing and it lead to fun, action packed, well choreographed fights. An hour of classic Marvel entertainment to be sure.
Episode three was a huge turning point because it brought us the wonderful Zemo back on our screens. Zemo is objectively top 3 MCU villains of all time. The idea of him becoming an antihero of sorts and creating this ultimate trio we never knew we wanted made that episode such a highlight. And the image of him vibing in the club lives in my mind rent free.
Zemo was probably the highlight of everyone's experience with this show. However, John Walker gave the opposite feeling. Wyatt Russell did a wonderful job with this character. Every viewer collectively hated him when he was introduced, and Russell did a great of continuing that through the episodes. He did not deserve any hate he received at all. I dislike that character as much as everyone else, and even after his little redemption, I don't care about him. But Russell presented some complexities with the character in key moments, and credit needs to be given where it's due.
Final thoughts - loved the cast, loved the acting, loved the action. A fun 6 hour experience for all Marvel fans. WandaVision was a phenomena on its own, but it was nice to follow it up with a classic adventure with some favorite heroes (and villain). Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan are simply awesome. They gave us many emotional layers to their own characters and have such great chemistry together on and off screen that make us love the duo. If they make a Captain America 4 with these two guys, I'll pre order my tickets for opening night. I'll be so ready.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆