The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Mini Series (2021) Review

So yes better late then never but here is my review for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, the second Disney+ series made by Marvel Studios and after the success of WandaVision there was big hype for this show and let's see if it delivers. The premise of the show sees Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes have to unite in order to take down a new group while dealing with personal issues that have defined their lives. 

Main Character

Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan as the lead characters are fantastic here and they have amazing chemistry together. I've always felt like Mackie has been underutilised in the MCU but he is given the spotlight here and he is great, you see how real life circumstances affect his performance and after the events of Endgame he is really struggling what his role exactly is as a hero and it is very effective. Stan has always been great and he gives a really strong performance here, there is so much emotion to the character of Bucky Barnes as he really tries to move on from his past as The Winter Soldier but it provides some stellar scenes and I love both of these characters and felt like they really moved up from supporting characters in the films to main characters here. 

Supporting Characters

Wyatt Russell plays John Walker and this guy is amazing, I mean the internet literally united to hate this character and that takes an incredibly skilled actor to do that. I actually felt like he was such an interesting and real character that had plenty of depth towards him and you see how he is really affected by the pressure of his new role. Daniel Bruhl is back as Zemo and he is probably my favourite part of the show, when he arrives on the screen the show just gains more life and energy to it with Bruhl clearly loving his role and allowing more freedom the he had in Captain America: Civil War. Emily VanCamp is also back as Sharon Carter and she is really good, they do some interesting things with her character and you see how the past 5 years that the character has had to go through has really affected her more then most. Carl Lumbley plays Isiah Bradley and wow this is such a strong performance, the emotion is ramped up ten fold when he is on screen and it feels appropriate due to the real life issues that are clear inspirations and he knocks it out of the park. Erin Kellyman plays Karli and I think she is okay, the MCU has sometimes had issues with antagonists and I think Kellyman does the best she can and really tries and it doesn't affect the role too much and more of the issue is the storytelling for her and her groups role. 

Story 

The story is good, the dynamic between Sam and Bucky is really affective and I love how it develops as the show goes on and progresses very naturally. The show is also effective in showing the legacy of the shield of Captain America and how there is way more then we knew from the films. The show also manages to spend more time with the characters and find out more about there characters and ideals and that is only something this show can do. But there are a few issues and for me it was mainly to due with the villains The Flag Smashers, I think when they wrote them it sounded great on paper but it just wasn't as good as it should have been. The show needed to do more with them and make us actually care about them which they just missed here. 

Script 

The script is really good, The MCU has always had a blend of humour and drama but this show does it ever so well. There is a nice amount of laughs and that is mainly due to the chemistry between the two leads. But the drama is really well done with some truly emotional scenes that are made really well and executed in a way to really make you care. 

Style 

The style is good, in terms of the action scenes and the scale I thought it was really good. It at times feels like one of the films with action scenes that are huge in scale and feel like they slot in really well with the rest of the MCU. But I do think this show has a few issues with its pacing, there are only 6 episodes but I think it needed at least 8, there are a lot of story arcs going on here and not all of them have as much time dedicated to them as they really needed. 

Overall 

Overall, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is a great show that does a great job with its characters. This is just another great addition to The MCU and sets up some pretty exciting things for the future that may affect the TV and Film universes so give this one a watch. 

Rating - 8/10