In case the discourse surrounding WandaVision didn’t make it clear enough, we’re still negotiating the territory between “it’s a TV show” and “it’s an extended movie” with regard to the Marvel Cinematic Universe series on Disney+.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Premieres March 19th, 2021 on Disney+
So, is the highly anticipated new show more movie or TV show? That proves to be a tricky proposition after viewing the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the only one made available for preview before its March 19 Disney+ premiere. In a feature film, you’re just fine with an opening act that sets up events and connections that will be completed while you’re sitting in the same seat. It is kind of weird, however, to be watching a 45-minute episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that’s more like 25 minutes of The Falcon and 20 minutes of The Winter Soldier.
Episode 1 places us just a few months after the resolution of “the Blip”—now apparently the in-universe MCU shorthand for the five-year disappearance of half of humanity between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is back at work as the Falcon—including taking on a mission to rescue an Air Force officer hijacked by terrorists over Tunisia—while also trying to help his sister, Sarah (Adepero Oduye), save the financially-strapped family fishing-boat business in Louisiana. Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), meanwhile, is working on the conditions of his pardon for his Winter Soldier crimes, while still experiencing post-traumatic stress over those actions.
There’s a lot of table-setting going on here, not surprisingly, including resolving the question of why Sam didn’t take up the Captain America shield handed off to him by Steve Rogers at the end of Endgame. Show-runner Malcolm Spellman (Empire) needs to set-up what appears to be the series’ “big bad,” an organization called Flag Smashers, as well as the day-to-day lives Sam and Bucky are now leading in the post-Blip world.
That doesn’t mean there’s no room for action, though most of it is concentrated in the sequence where Falcon takes on the airborne terrorists. Director Kari Skogland handles that material solidly, in a way that really does feel reminiscent of the rhythms of vintage superhero shows from the 1970s: one big action set-piece before the mid-way break, one after.
Yet it does feel like a series that might provide the satisfaction of digging deeper into the characters. We get to see Sam trying to leverage his Avengers celebrity for a bank loan, and reconnect with his family members; we watch Bucky go on his first date in 75 years while turning Battleship into a drinking game. Those sequences are nicely handled, and demonstrate exactly what a multi-hour series can do that a single feature film—especially one that has to juggle dozens of other characters—can’t do.
What we don’t see, at least not yet, is what this show will look like once it’s actually The Falcon AND the Winter Soldier. Mackie and Stan share exactly zero scenes in the opener, though it’s clear from the final scene what it is that’s likely to pull them together. The individual, ground-level struggles of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes make for some interesting human drama. Here’s hoping that the show can maintain that humanity once our heroes are suited up, side by side, and fighting for … well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
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Let’s Hear From You
Now that WandaVision has concluded its exciting run, are you looking forward to seeing another entry of the MCU on the small screen? Do you have any hopes for the plot of the season? Share your thoughts in the comments below.