Author Topic: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***  (Read 6537 times)

Offline Chris

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Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« on: March 13, 2021, 02:55:44 PM »
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Offline Miclpea

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2021, 03:34:49 PM »
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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #2 on: Today at 10:24:01 AM »

Offline Michaelnaut

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2021, 06:11:17 PM »
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Offline mark

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2021, 08:04:09 PM »



Offline perc2100

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2021, 08:16:32 AM »
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Is it Friday yet?
My school district started in-person education this week, for the first time in slightly over 12 months; we see the students Mon-Thurs and then Fri is synchronous (no in-person class, no zoom, just students working independently).  This week, I've been thrown off constantly on what day of the week it is, thinking I'm a day 'ahead' of what it is.  I legit was making plans to stay up and watch right at midnight last night before my wife reminded me "it's just Wed."  :P
(and of course I wasn't staying up to watch Snyder's Justice League)

Offline Chris

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2021, 11:17:36 AM »
Still watching but a few observations:

--When I first heard TV show my main concern was VFX quality.  Disney continues to deliver high quality since Mando
--The TV show format was literally perfect for WV and is giving some welcome character dev that we might not otherwise get.
--These shows are coming at the perfect time with COVID as a reintroduction to normalcy.
-- They also paused on the superhero fatigue that was all over the news in 2019
--While the blip explaining is normal now, I hope that they don't dwell on it indefinitely.
--I have to say that I still miss Cap.

Maybe more when I finish the ep.

Offline perc2100

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2021, 11:34:34 AM »
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--While the blip explaining is normal now, I hope that they don't dwell on it indefinitely.
Yeah, I'm kinda hoping MCU gets it out of its system, for the most part, via these Disney+ series.  While part of me digs exploring Blip-related stuff (and, in the instance here, using The Blip as a catalyst for some significant threat/terrorist group/bad guy is an intriguing idea), I also really dug the very comic-esque way FAR FROM HOME handled it: in a "yeah, this is dense but we're gonna mostly reference it once, sort of blow-it-off or play it for laughs occasionally, and move on with the main story" way.
Again, perhaps if this had come out last summer, when originally planned as the 'kick-off to the next MCU Phase,' with "WandaVision" coming quite a bit after, it wouldn't feel...odd (? or IDK what feeling it's given me, to be honest).  It's not bothersome, per say, but I don't anticipate/hope that other films (or even the "Loki" series) to dwell on it too much.

Offline Chris

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2021, 11:54:19 AM »
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Yeah, I'm kinda hoping MCU gets it out of its system, for the most part, via these Disney+ series.  While part of me digs exploring Blip-related stuff (and, in the instance here, using The Blip as a catalyst for some significant threat/terrorist group/bad guy is an intriguing idea), I also really dug the very comic-esque way FAR FROM HOME handled it: in a "yeah, this is dense but we're gonna mostly reference it once, sort of blow-it-off or play it for laughs occasionally, and move on with the main story" way.
Again, perhaps if this had come out last summer, when originally planned as the 'kick-off to the next MCU Phase,' with "WandaVision" coming quite a bit after, it wouldn't feel...odd (? or IDK what feeling it's given me, to be honest).  It's not bothersome, per say, but I don't anticipate/hope that other films (or even the "Loki" series) to dwell on it too much.

Agree.  I just don't want it to turn to Agents of Shield s1 where they mention New York (Avengers 1) every ep.

Offline perc2100

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #8 on: March 19, 2021, 12:14:40 PM »
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Agree.  I just don't want it to turn to Agents of Shield s1 where they mention New York (Avengers 1) every ep.
YES!  And this feels like its teetering dangerously close to an "Agents of SHIELD"/Netflix-esque series  :-X

Offline perc2100

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #9 on: March 19, 2021, 12:16:32 PM »
I posted my thoughts in another thread, but figured I'd consolidate (and save mods the trouble  :P )
“Falcon and the Winter Soldier” was originally planned to be released summer of 2020: the first new Marvel product that continues following ENDGAME.  The series quickly establishes we’re “a couple months” after folks returned from The Blip, and does indeed feel like an ‘extension’ of the MCU: meaning, more of the same/not really breaking new ground (yet, at least).  In fact, this would feel more at home with the Netflix series, albeit with a better budget + actual MCU movie tie-ins.

I’ve said previously that “WandaVision” set an incredibly high bar for Disney+ MCU series, and frankly “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” falls short a bit.  Maybe this is the part where I mentioned, in full disclosure, that this is the Marvel Disney+ series I’m least excited about: I was more interested in the oddness of “WandaVision,” as well as the time-craziness of “Loki.”  “FatWS” e1 feels a bit like the Star Wars novels felt like in the late 80’s/early 90’s in that it’s coloring in story that while maybe interesting doesn’t feel necessary.  After the opening action set-piece, the episode falls into a kinda sluggishly paced Netflix-esque show (albeit a substantially better-than-most one): with scene-after-scene of our Avenger heroes glumly trying to pickup their pieces and deal with their lives following the events of ENDGAME.

That being said, this is in no way bad, per say, and it wasn't all doom & gloom.  I lol'ed when Sam's sister referenced him off "fighting Doctor Space Cape," and for whatever reason Bucky's therapy session with the government mandated psychiatrist (as part of an Immunity deal) cracked me up.  His therapy kind of felt like a pseudo-AlAnon program where Bucky is striving to make amends for past wrongs: of course here, his 'past wrongs' involve espionage and international assignations; his giving the "I'm not going to hurt you..." before rattling off his pre-scripted apology is making me smirk again just thinking about it.
And in a way, e1 starts similar to where "WandaVision" ended up becoming about: Sam & Bucky (who do NOT share screen time in the first 50 minute episode of the series) are grieving both Steven's exit from the spotlight (we don't know if he's dead or in hiding or whatnot) and trying to put their lives back together after the Blip + epic fight to save the universe.  The series starts with Sam pondering on Steve's words asking him how it felt to hold the shield, and when Sam says it feels like it belongs to someone else Steve quickly affirms it doesn't: exuding his confidence in Sam (that Sam doesn't yet have).  We're quickly swept into the series' first action set-piece where we not only see Sam's Falcon suit seemingly looking brighter than in past films, but also a pseudo-Iron Man tech that is a be all/end all for whatever Sam could need.  Also brought back in this opening fight: Batroc, last seen in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER opening sequence!  I really love how well Kevin Feige et al have molded the MCU with the same ethos as the Marvel comics came up with BITD, where anyone can pop in or out of a storyline, and with a cleanly directed action sequence to kick off the series.

And while this first ep felt like 50 minutes of set-up (spoiler: because it is), it does feel like a nice way to flesh out Bucky & Sam.  We get to see Sam's family & home life, Bucky continuing his quest to try and right himself we saw near the end of CIVIL WAR, etc.  Anthony Mackie in particular is an excellent actor, and I hope we get to see him stretch his dramatic chops a bit here throughout the series; his recent performance in SYNCHRONIC is really wonderful, and I want to see him do more!  As set-up premier episodes go, this feels FAR more in-line with the MCU than "WandaVision"'s premier eps felt.  While most of us were wonder "WTF is this series headed?!" during "WandaVision"'s first 50 or so minutes, there is no doubt where "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" will be headed - in familiar MCU territory. I do think it's fascinating to see this series (as well, to a lesser extent seemingly, as "WandaVision") tackle The Blip: something the neither the Russo Bros nor their screenwriters really cared to consider the long-term impact of (and, honestly, why would they? They were essentially exiting the MCU after ENDGAME to move on to other things so it wasn't really their future-problem or concern).  I dig how this show is digging into how big of a mess Tony Stark created for the world, not wanting to 'erase' his daughter by going back to the pre-Blip moment instead of keeping it 5 years in the future.  We have terrorist cells that have popped up now because they want to return to the world where half of the universe population was gone.  Rhodey put it best early in the ep, setting up what I presume is the theme of the series: "The world's broke; everybody's just looking for someone to fix it."  Currently Sam doesn't seem interested in being that guy (and at the end of the ep. the US Government finds its new Captain America to assuage the unrest of the people) but we all know he and Bucky will step in to fill that role.

Some comic nerd stuff:
* I presume 'Imposter Cap' will turn into US Agent?
* Flag-Smasher is the name of the mentioned terrorist cell; in the comics, that was the name of a singular bad guy, here repurposed as a group
* I mentioned Falcon's suit being a bit brighter, leaning on its red color scheme; that reminded me that in the comics for awhile it was actually green (!)  ???
* in the comics, The Avengers were paid a stipend set up by Stark as a charity foundation in his mom's name (I remember Peter Parker, needing money badly, wanting to join The Avengers mostly for that monthly stipend).  In the MCU we seemingly learn the Avengers do NOT get paid?!  We know in CIVIL WAR Star set up a charitable fund in his mom's name for...MIT students.  I guess I had assumed from the movies that The Avengers were government employees but apparently not?
* I admittedly swooned a bit seeing Jack Kirby's Captain America #1 cover as part of the Smithsonian exhibit honoring Captain America near the beginning

What did you all think?  I liked this, but I'm not anxious to watch it again anytime soon like I was after "WandaVision"'s first few eps.  I think this would've worked FAR better if it were able to have premiered as the next thing after ENDGAME (yet another reason for us to all curse COVID-19, which shut-down production on this series and delayed its release)

Offline Chris

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #10 on: March 19, 2021, 01:40:11 PM »
Yeah, I think that the stipend was $50k/year in the comics.  I'll have to find that one.

Edit:  * in the mid 80s
« Last Edit: March 19, 2021, 01:43:23 PM by Chris »

Offline mark

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #11 on: March 19, 2021, 02:44:43 PM »
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Yeah, I think that the stipend was $50k/year in the comics.  I'll have to find that one.

Edit:  * in the mid 80s

Avengers 236 :) Spidey tries to join the avengers in part for the $1000 a week so he can help pay for Black Cat's medical bills.

Offline perc2100

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #12 on: March 19, 2021, 02:46:55 PM »
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Avengers 236 :) Spidey tries to join the avengers in part for the $1000 a week so he can help pay for Black Cat's medical bills.
Yes!! I couldn't quite remember the specifics, I just knew good ol' cash-strapped Parker needing money & was looking to join The Avengers for that sweet, sweet Stark stipend.  :P

Offline NCDS

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #13 on: March 19, 2021, 04:27:17 PM »
If I don't get to watch Wannabe Cap's A$$ get kicked I am going to be upset!
« Last Edit: March 19, 2021, 06:17:16 PM by NCDS »
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Offline Chris

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #14 on: March 19, 2021, 05:01:28 PM »
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If I don't get to watch Wannabe Caps A$$ get kicked I am going to be upset!

Yeah!  #cantreplacechrisevans