The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier works almost perfectly in terms of action and offers more than one imaginative (albeit slightly overdone here and there) sequence that both thrills and excites. In terms of the story, however, I often had a hard time accepting and believing the motivations of the "bad guys", which was certainly helped by the (to me) exceedingly unlikeable casting. Of the storylines, Bucky's therapy sessions and the return of Zemo and the Wakandans appealed to me the most. I found Falcon to be vastly unbalanced and far too "American", while John Walker just went almost completely out of my head throughout (except perhaps at the end of episode 4). Along with action and sci-fi adventure, the series tries to highlight (not only) contemporary issues (racial discrimination, "powerless individual" x "all-powerful government", terrorism, etc.), which it only half succeeds in doing. The series doesn't outright offend, but it doesn't impress either - especially after the genre-bending WandaVision. (04/25/2021)

One of the weakest contributions to the MCU since 2008. The main characters are likeable, unfortunately in a completely dull series and pathetically narrated story. The quality of some of the episodes is average, but most of them are downright terrible. It absolutely doesn't work as a whole, and the story is built up in such a way that it doesn't get interesting for even a second. The characters’ actions, their motivations and story twists, everything is so predictable and sloppy that I am surprised that the big shots at Marvel signed off on it at all. It may have had the ambition to come close to the atmosphere of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but that begins and ends with the visual style of the closing credits. WandaVision was a slightly above average series which at least had a decent amount of originality, but this work is truly a waste of time. If you keep track of all the MCU releases, you’ll probably watch this one, too. But if you mainly watch movies, you may as well skip these 6 episodes. You won’t miss out on anything important. (04/24/2021)

If someone wanted to argue with me that the stopover of favorite characters in the series is just a filler, I wouldn't have much arguments to oppose. Sam's dealing with the legacy and possible future and, on the contrary, Bucky's painful return to the gloomy past "only" pushes both heroes where they belong and gives them just the kind of work I would expect and wish for. This all happens in a cynically acting political world where there is no time for nostalgia and touching memories. The show and the shield must go on, no matter what. Moreover, the script is not afraid to touch on social issues that there is not enough time for in feature-length films and which still need to be addressed. Luckily, it presents them in an improper, but pleasantly conversational and thoughtful way, and that is what has the greatest merit for extremely positive final impressions. This is much more of a personal, future-oriented step than just a sigh over a story of a beloved and absent person with stars and stripes on their chest that has already been closed. And as for Sebastian Stan being "won" so perfectly that he has outgrown his role in a good sense, we can talk about that somewhere else. (10/03/2023)

Action isn’t everything. I’m willing to turn a blind eye to a very poor story rewritten from bioterrorist threat to non-Covid running around Prague, but not to the amateurish directing. I often didn’t understand how the scenes followed each other, who is where and why they do what they do. Mackie is transformed from the likeable Falcon into an unlikeable moralist and unfortunately the writers change him too quickly, sometime in the gap between the last two episodes. Much more interesting is the genesis of U.S. Agent. Bucky’s transformation into a good guy revolves around someone’s grandpa and a notebook with a list of crossed out names. And the formerly excellent Zemo becomes a comic book caricature again. Better screenwriters, better directors. They also need some help with the action scenes: the actors and special effects can’t do it alone. P.S.: GRC is a really dumb abbreviation. (04/24/2021)

Much weaker than WandaVision. It’s more traditional, without any standout ideas. The digital action is solid, and the actors come and go without leaving much of an impression. While WandaVision managed to turn a side character into a central figure, Falcon and Winter Soldier just sort of drifts along with the new Captain America, and I watched it all in silence, feeling nothing. It’s a superhero show that plays it safe — Daniel Brühl easily steals the spotlight, while the main characters don't bring anything new to the table. Hardcore fans might still find satisfaction in the numerous comic book nods. (08/22/2021)