MARVEL' S Falcon and the Winter Soldier

[nexus]

Tough room. But what else is new?
I liked the finale and the series as a whole.
The finale started off a little choppy and the fight between Sam and Batroc was not terribly well choreographed, nor was the Bucky/Walker/Flag Smashers fight. However, production was hampered by Covid delays and it's possible these had to be rushed as a result. Filming under those conditions was completely different. I know that an entire plot line had to be cut, and I'm sure there were more than a few scenes that had to be reworked or dropped altogether.
I thought the new FalconCap suit looked very good. I don't think it translates as well into live action but I understand why Marvel went with it. It might look better with a dark blue cowl or some kind of trim or accenting. I also thought the shoulder pads looked a little too blocky. The biggest letdown with the costume was a lack or any major tech upgrades like a woven in endoskeleton that augments Sam's strength to super soldier level or vibranium-based gauntlets, weapons or other accessories in addition to the vibranium wings. But again, the rushed production might have been a factor and there wasn't time to do a whole suit tutorial. I'm sure Marvel will make tweaks and improvements to the costume for S2 or the next movie. Remember Captain America's first Avengers costume?
There were several other things I liked about the series:
Bucky & Sam's friendship--it was able to build organically and didn't feel rushed. Stan and Mackie have great chemistry.
Bucky's personal struggles--he was going through severe PTSD and guilt, which has not gone away but he is learning to better manage it and to forgiving himself. All between multiple fights at locations around the world.
Isiah's Story--Yes, the series got "preachy" on more than one occasion which isn't what some folks were tuning in for. I'm so tired of people who've never faced adversity complaining about "wokeness." The fact Marvel was able to tell a powerful story in such an economical fashion was quite an achievement.
Zemo--The character was leveled up to at least an 8 on the villain scale and Bruhl was pitch perfect
John Walker--Not only was the character's journey extremely well done, this was the role where Wyatt Russell stepped out of his father's shadow.
Sharon Carter-- Great that Marvel not only gave her something more to do, but actually turned her into a complex and intriguing character.

Spoiler

I read one comment where someone theorized that she might be a Skrull, which would be a brilliant twist. That would take her from agent to double agent to alien agent.

The Boat--There was maybe one scene that went on too long, but it served as a metaphor for the series and you could see the parallels throughout. That's just smart writing.

Looking forward to a second season.

 

[Wor-Gar]

This was another mediocre outing for the MCU.

Overall the show was a disappointment. For me it's in the same league as WV...

I was really hoping the last episode might ratchet up the excitement. MCU has a terrible track record so far with these series, whoever is in charge. You'd think a series would led itself to cliff-hanger comic book structure, but it seems the MCU is much better at movies then extended series. Not one of these shows has come close to the cliff-hanger style like Game of Thrones did.

The Boat--There was maybe one scene that went on too long, but it served as a metaphor for the series.

That's just smart writing.

The metaphor being that the series also went on too long. Not sure what's smart about that.

 

[matticus]

Episode 5 seemed like logic was lost. Same goes for the entire series. Superior trained soldiers like Bucky and Walker and they get their a$$ handed to them by refugees. Walker getting out done by freckles was laughable. The final plot was like, that was it? This show just seemed like filler for an inevitable Season 2. If you showed Falcon arguing with the politicians earlier on, it might have had bigger impact. But he just seemed to be blabbing on and didn't resonate with me.

Falcon's supporting characters were easily the worst decisions made in the show. I felt like it didn't bring more to his character and was just agenda driven pandering so the mob doesn't come for your non-woke company. I guess a black President of the U.S. means you can't have a black Captain America? Dumb. Bucky was a brainwashed killer, Sam a loyal and righteous friend, not a forced race casting. I guess it is never good enough for some people or writers in this case. Whoever you are and whatever you do, there will always be people that don't like you. It is either good or bad with people, it is that simple. Dumb non-sense to put in this show.

ALL I WANTED WAS MORE ZEMO!!!!

Spoiler

Hard for me to believe that Sharon would betray her country, so maybe she is playing the long game to work her way to the top. I don't think she is a skrull.

 

[matticus]

I was really hoping the last episode might ratchet up the excitement. MCU has a terrible track record so far with these series, whoever is in charge. You'd think a series would led itself to cliff-hanger comic book structure, but it seems the MCU is much better at movies then extended series. Not one of these shows has come close to the cliff-hanger style like Game of Thrones did.


The metaphor being that the series also went on too long. Not sure what's smart about that.

Too irrelevant is the metaphor. Lot's of waste and unimportant "events". I am out on the Marvel series stuff now. This was my only real interest in the shows, and with all the money spent, it was just a bridge to what I really wanted to see. Glad I only read what happened in WV, another bridge to something people actually want to see (Dr. Strange 2/New Vision in something else). There were not even good cameos and with Shang Chi, wake me up maybe when Spider-Man No Way Home comes out.

 

[Sassafras]

Walker and Zemo were the only good things in it. Ultimately it was too preoccupied with being woke while sacrificing story and suffering from the crushing weight of Steve's shadow.

Yeah, and IMO ironically at least for me if they'd just done the supposed buddy-cop movie; touching on some real life events, and Steve being gone; and paying attention to the choreography and the two characters working their respective strengths more - don't think a lot of folks had a problem with Falcon being Cap.

It was gonna either be Bucky or Falcon anyway we knew who Steve gave the shield to.

Instead this overweighted tepid treatment just contrasted how great earlier Cap movies were. Or most of the MCU efforts. For me this may fall into the bottom.

 

[ironwez20]

This was very meh. Well the final episode was. Still better than WV which was crap and built up things that didn't come to fruition. I expected this to be meh but it was decent.

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

I don’t really like the Falcon Cap suit

 

[Wor-Gar]

They spent their money on locales and not writers. Filler is as filler does.

Absolutely no reason to ever revisit this again.

So far, Disney+'s big grab for streaming share via the MCU has come up with disappointment after disappointment. Third time's the charm with Loki? Yeah, we'll see.

Ironically, Star Wars has hit it big on the small screen... MCU and SW have basically switched roles.

 

[Sassafras]

I don’t really like the Falcon Cap suit

The wings are nice - the rest; not enough for me to spend $$$$ on. Bucky's outfits were rather dull; tho I get he was supposed to be "just a guy re-integrating into society". But IMO for the big finale u'd think he would've added some stuff.

But then again this series wasn't about him.

 

[Spartan Rex]

Better or worse?

 

[matticus]

Worse.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Colorful costumes have become as dated as capes.

 

[matticus]

Colorful costumes have become as dated as capes.

Better than Singer's black leather X-Men. Got to include Mangold for failing Wolverine too.

 

[TheDucky]

Go watch Invincible right now. By far the best superhero show or movie of 2021.

 

[BeefEaster]

Holy crap that finale was corny.

I thought I was going to sprain my eyeballs from rolling them so many times.

 

[Spartan Rex]

Yeah, this series was a let down.

 

[Josette]

I too was a bit put off that Bucky was not given the shield first as they did in the comics - however, the show did win me over in that respect. After End Game, Bucky was not emotionally ready for the responsibility of the Shield and the Captain America title. Sam was the right choice as an individual but also the right choice for the people (not just Americans) in these more politically charged times. I'm more than Ok with Sam having the shield now (interestingly I think Bucky might now be on the path to becoming the right man to take on the mantle in the future should it be required).

There's not enough Bucky but the Bucky you get is good. It should be called Falcon with a bit of Bucky haha.

The thing is, and you basically say it right in this post, is that any IN STORY reason [excuse] given as to why Bucky wasn't "ready" for the shield is just that - an excuse. The OUTSIDE reason was blatantly obvious, and it had nothing to do with character development or the story or whether or not Bucky was "ready" (which really would've made Bucky taking the shield all the more compelling IN STORY).

Yes, IMO it did; but

while I think to a degree Bucky's post-blip arc was treated reasonably; for myself the character for the most part didn't have they dry humor that is in some of the comics; Bucky IMO was served up as a symbolic wish fulfillment for apologizing for *stuff*; as a fighter seemed to be pigeon-holed mostly as a bruiser - which he is, of course, but IMO got nerfed from being the highly trained and deadly assassin, formerly feared by the intelligence community, to being kind of a charge-in hothead at one point - IMO totally off character and made no sense at all with his history and background.

There were a few real nice moments; but overall IMO doesn't do the character justice. He's primarily a sounding board and backup for Falcon's journey, if anything. Action sequences aren't that interesting. Or - if I had met Falcon and WS through this show alone, I wouldn't have taken to either character, probably. The much-touted real life, and very funny public friendship of the two actors is totally flattened. I guess u could call it *dramatic* but I thought it was - flat. Falcon seems off-character for me too, for that matter. Patronizing at times.

It could have been worse handling. But I expected a lot better. Some real good moments but IMO you can watch the best stuff, probably, in small chunks on YT and save yourself some time.

I think that's what I'll do- re: youtube good Bucky moments. I know how big a fan you are of these characters and a lot of the issues you list here in regard to how Bucky is handled are things that would just make the viewing experience worse for me. I worried they would nerf him or or have to "lessen" him in some way (like being a charge in hothead - just like, from some reviews I've read and you mention, it seems like they changed Sam to make the story work).

I was waiting until Loki came out to get D+ and then watch all the shows, and now I'm feeling apprehensive about Loki, and how they're going to write/treat the character. He's my favorite, so if he's written poorly in his own series, that will seriously damage the franchise for me going forward. I'm already struggling to have interest in many of the upcoming movies, and a lot of the other series announced aren't anything I'm excited about.

 

[jye4ever]

It’s a shame how everything was super rushed to the finish line.

But LOL @ woke Flag Smashers getting blown to smithereens by an eastern european white butler that is some funny *** ****

 

[Johnny Utah]

Walker and Zemo emerged unscathed.

Oh well, wonder what HT have coming for Star Wars day!

 

[Spartan Rex]

Looks like CA 4 has been green lit by Disney with Spelman writing again. Yikes.
No more guns for Bucky and lots of preaching and kid gloves for terrorists from Sam.