“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” Disney+ Review by Brooke Daugherty : Pop Culture Leftovers

“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” Disney+ Review by Brooke Daugherty

March 28, 2021 2:11 pm |

After the amazing first season of WandaVision, I worried how Disney+ could follow up with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Thankfully, the pilot episode proved to be up to the Marvel standard. Where WandaVision pushed the fantasy element, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier pushed back with a much more realism. Our titular heroes brought the action, but also the emotion.

Created by Malcolm Spellman (Empire) and directed by Kari Skogland (Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier feels more MCU than any of the previous television or streaming shows, despite Spellman and Skogland’s limited film experience. Disney+ is not playing around. The CG is great for the most part, but a bit in the first fight sequence is a bit off. Not enough to put my rating to “taste it”, but enough for me to notice. After the second time watching the episod, I realized instead of looking like green screen work, it looked like watching a 2D movie that has been filmed with 3D cameras for a few sequences. It just feels off. Luckily, it was just a tiny slice of this great pilot.

Minor spoilers ahead.

Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) don’t even meet up in this episode. Although I missed their usual bickering, I was not disappointed. Both characters get backstory in this first episode. Mackie and Stan both gave top performances. We get the return of Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes AKA War Machine. Cheadle’s part was very small and I hope he shows up again in a future episode. We also get the appearance of Wyatt Russell as the new Captain America AKA US Agent. Danny Ramierez plays Air Force lieutenant Joaquin Torres, a Falcon fanboy and Sam’s Air Force contact. Torres is a precious cinnamon roll and I will protect him with my life, you hear that Disney?!

Getting Disney+ just for all the new MCU content is definitely worth it. WandaVision was amazing and after just one episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, I have a hankering for the rest of the series.

PCL Rating: Tupperware

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH