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Unfortunately, Season 1: Episodes 1- 6, more Icy than Spicy…

86% Spicy

Synopsis: “After being handed the mantle of Captain America at the end of Avengers: Endgame (2019), Sam Wilson teams up with Bucky Barnes in a worldwide adventure that puts their abilities to the test as they fight the anti-patriotism group the Flag-Smashers.”

Studio: Disney

Release Date: March 19, 2021

Format: Disney+

Genre: Live Action Television – Action / Adventure / Fantasy / Super Hero / Buddy Comedy

Episodes:

1. New World Order
2. The Star Spangled Man
3. Power Broker
4. The Whole World Is Watching
5. Truth
6. On World, One People

Cast: Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Daniel Bruhl, Emily VanCamp, Erin Kellyman, Carl Lumbly

Director: Kari Skogland

Review: Whew! Where to begin? I don’t particularly care for writing unfavorable reviews, especially about material that I enjoy and desperately wanted to embrace, but alright, here it goes… If you are a Marvel fan, don’t hate me, for being honest and expression my personal opinion. If you agree or disagree, have a different take you wish to share, please offer your JouleView Comments in the section below.

Until you see the “Spoiler Warning” there will not be any spoilers, as I will talk about this series without ruining the Disney+ “magic” for anyone who hasn’t had the chance to view the The Falcon and The Winter Solider, yet. I will do this while also addressing the higher level themes, for someone who has seen the series, so that my review will hopefully be worthwhile for all readers. Let’s start with my overall assessment, then go episode-by-episode and then I’ll offer a summary conclusion.

Overall, let me start by saying that the three Captain America films, The First Avenger (2011), The Winter Solider (2014) and Civil War (2016) are my favorite set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It should be no surprise, then, that I was eagerly anticipating The Falcon and The Winter Solider, much more, than I was WandaVision when both series were announced. Oddly, having now watched both, I believe that, while a bit wonky, WandaVision is far superior, overall. You can find that review, here.

What works well? The cast of The Falcon and The Winter Solider is fabulous. I’ve enjoyed Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / The Falcon since his introduction in what is possibly my favorite MCU film, Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014). That film, also introduced us to Sebastian Stan as the second billed character, however, he first appeared as Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), perhaps my 2nd favorite MCU film. To round key cast and characters, we have Daniel Bruhl, who played Zemo from Captain America: Civil War (2016), Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter (also from Civil War) and Wyatt Russel as John Walker. Erin Kellyman, who you may remember from SOLO: A Star Wars Story (2018) is one of the antagonists, leading the Flag Smashers.

Episode 1: “New World Order” sets the right tone for the show, I really found the production values to be quite high for television. This episode felt like a film, it is cinematic in contrast to the final episode, which sadly felt like an bad episode of 80’s TV.

Episode 2: “The Star Spangled Man” had its strong moments, one being in the form of a super hero, battle royale, but that was not enough to save the script from itself. Social Justice themes emerged, that were simply unnecessary. I am fine with cultural messaging, provided they are organic and pertinent to the story. However, it felt so shoehorned, a chip in the armor of what could have been a coherent narrative. My hope was that “Wokeness” wouldn’t be a distraction in later episodes, unfortunately, it got worse, before it got better. I found this off-putting, as the character of Sam Wilson was not like this in prior material.

Episode 3: “Power Broker” is where both the story and the action got back on track with the re-introduction of Zemo and the Super Soldier serum that I’d personally like to get my hands on. Honestly, I didn’t buy the whole Power Broker bit, but you’ll have to wait for the finale as I won’t say more about this. Overall, this episode was good enough to keep me interested in the series.

Episode 4: “The Whole World Is Watching” is THE BEST episode of the series, Wyatt Russel fully displayed his acting pedigree here and there are some jaw dropping moments that are worthy of the MCU cannon. I was really pumped for the final two episodes, after watching this one.

Episode 5: “Truth” starts off with a bang, there is a great action sequence to be had, here, along with some great dramatic elements which also advances the story. However, overall, the cracks were back and we were treated to more Social Justice than Marvel Superhero story. While I fully welcome the topic in films, such as the AppleTV+ original film, The Banker (2020), which also stars Mackie, I don’t want to be preached to in a MCU drama that does not take place in the real world. Sorry! That aside, number 5 was basically a buddy episode, between Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes and I truly enjoyed how their camaraderie evolved.

NOTE: Stay for the first Mid-Credit Scene of the series!

Episode 6: “On World, One People” was the anticipated finale, but to be brutally honest, it was a total let down. It felt low budget, to me. While the series opener was cinematic, this felt like bad 80’s television, as I stated earlier. There is one truly amazing moment, however, in the episode, about 3.5 minutes-in. While this was expected, it was well earned. However, not long after, they just had to go there, again, more Social Justice. This time, over the top, not only getting in the way of the story, it became the story.

Alright Marvel, if that’s the story you wanted to tell, you are welcome to it, but like my review of the AppleTV+ original film, Palmer (2021), there’s a right way to bring social issues into content, ie: use the story and characters to bring the audience on a journey, whereby they come to the same conclusions as the writers / director through the experience of the characters and then there is the wrong way… When your main character is so… out of character, just to make your point. When the story or characters  make judgements, false or offensive assumptions about the audience, to the point that it makes someone who was already with you, turned off, you need to hire better writers. Does that make sense?

NOTE: Stay for the finale’s Mid-Credit Scene!

SPOILER WARNING: Don’t read this part if you don’t want to know this before watching… The series makes the presumption that the world will not accept a “Black” Captain America. Seriously! Why not? When John Walker is given Steve Rogers shield, he didn’t earn it and it felt wrong. At the end of Avengers: Endgame (2019), when it was given to Sam, by Captain Rogers, it felt right… Yet, Sam, gave it back, voluntary. It’s not that America won’t accept Sam as the new Cap, it was because Sam was holding himself back. I am disappointed in Disney & Marvel for making race an issue in this streaming series when it did not need to be.

I never once, saw Anthony Mackie’s character as black man, until Sam Wilson made being a black, the issue. What a shame. After Sam more than demonstrates why he IS the new Captain America, he not only calls attention to the fact that he’s a black man, carrying the Stars and Stripes, he then says that “millions of people won’t like or accept that he’s Captain America, simply because he is black.” What! Are you kidding me? This is simply, way out of place, not just in real life, but in the MCU.

Beyond this, the Julia Louis-Dreyfus cameo role as Madame Hydra, just feels so forced. In the same story, you can’t have one character be a comic book, over-the-top, caricature of reality, when others are being too serious, in an attempt to make this seem like a real life, relevant drama. In contrast, cameos in Florence Kasumba’s reappearance as Ayo and Donald Cheadle as Rhodey contributed to the overall story.

While I also enjoyed the Isaiah Bradley sub-plot, portrayed by actor Carl Lumbly, I feel, had this been more properly developed, given the depth it required,  it would have been a far better vehicle for the Racial Justice narrative the writers / directors were going with, than having had Sam / Falcon / Captain America go out of character, to carry that water.  Spoiler Warning – Over!

Summary: Was the series horrible? No! There were many enjoyable moments. Though I did watch most of the episodes 2x, during the season, I will binge watch it again, at some point, to see if I feel differently than this initial review. Overall, as I said before, the cast is fantastic. When the show is being true to the MCU, it feels like a MCU film. When the series goes Social Justice, way out of context, it loses the impact the writers / director had intended and unfortunately, the big payoff is lost, diminishing the overall narrative.

I enjoyed the irony of having the Flag Smashers be an allegory for ANTIFA, while also having the narrative somewhat criticize them for opposing  the UN and US agenda for open borders. Another irony was having Sam Wilson be conflicted between serving God and Country while also feeling aligned to the plight of these so-called terrorists. I felt the story wasn’t sure where it wanted to go with either story-line. Anyone else think this?

Additionally, I also believe that The Falcon and The Winter Solider would have benefited, had there been better writing and tighter editing. Whereas, WandaVision’s episodes (approx 30ish minutes) felt too short, leaving the audience wanting for more, The Falcon and The Winter Solider episodes (approx 50+ minutes) felt too long at times.

I wonder how much the COVID-19 Lockdowns and events surrounding the 2020 Riots played into this series’ filming inconsistency and possible rewrites? I believe the show was being filmed in Georgia and Czechia at the time COVID hit in 2020, delaying the series launch on Disney+ by about 3+ months

Have you watched The Falcon and The Winter Solider? What did you think about the series, its direction, cast, the story, cinematography, soundtrack and overall themes?

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I look forward to your JoulePepper rating of The Falcon and The Winter Soliderand I would love to read your comments in the JouleView section, below. While I truly wanted to LOVE this series, based on the above, I give this series 3 JoulePeppers – it’s just Warm!

ronvining

Welcome, from AppFlicks Chief AuteurX! I created AppFlicks out of my love for all-things entertainment, stints as a music manager, producer and as an advisor to film & game studios, telcos, lux brands, retail, hospitality & theme parks. Thank you for taking part in our streaming community! NOTE: Activity from my account, may also be initiated by AppFlicks Admin.