Author Topic: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***  (Read 6545 times)

Offline Chris

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #15 on: March 19, 2021, 05:02:50 PM »
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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

The quote I remember went something like "I want to be an avenger so i can sit around the mansion counting all the zeros in my paycheck."

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #16 on: March 19, 2021, 06:18:37 PM »
I am pretty sure Stark left everyone money but those that sided with Cap. That man can hold a grudge!
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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #17 on: Today at 02:35:40 PM »

Offline perc2100

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #17 on: March 19, 2021, 06:29:07 PM »
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I am pretty sure Stark left everyone money but those that sided with Cap. That man can hold a grudge!
Right; Rhodey was chill in his scene with Sam because you know his ol' pal Tony hooked him UP!  :P

Offline Chris

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #18 on: March 19, 2021, 07:18:35 PM »
Is it Friday yet?

Offline perc2100

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #19 on: March 26, 2021, 11:57:34 AM »
Episode 2, "The Star Spangled Man" was a real solid episode: it hooked me and excited much more than the premier.  Obviously the premier episode of any series is tasked with setting up the story, characters, themes etc. and e1 of FatWS felt a little mopey and moody given the themes they're seemingly aiming for.  E2 picks things up nicely, highlighting things that we know already work with the characters (like their adversarial banter between each other), and things that worked in the premier (big action set-piece, that I'll get into shortly; and...yea!!!...another therapy session).  Last week I was slightly unenthusiastic about the series feeling like 'stock MCU' (which, I typically do love) and less 'taking creative chances w/Marvel properties by going in different directions ala "WandaVision".'  This week did more of what works in the MCU well and I'm all-in at this point; they evenly quickly "rectified" (note: not a problem for me at all) the situation of our two headliners not sharing screen time rather quickly in e2.

Let's talk about the new Captain America, Wyatt Russell's John Walker.  Last week I immediately wanted to hate him, but knew I couldn't because he's Kurt Russell's kid and I absolutely can't hate anything that comes from Kurt Russell: especially since Wyatt has that 'Kurt Russell vibe' going for him.  This week we got a bit more about John Walker: some nuance that tells us this is a legit amazing US soldier who also is a touch arrogant.  So far, though, MCU Walker is a bit less abrasive than the comic version.  In the comics, Walker was a significant contrast to Steve Rogers, having come into fruition in the 1980's.  Walker is Reagan-esque compared to Cap's FDR ideals; Walker from the south vs Steve from Brooklyn; Walker more to the right politically while Steve was more to the left; Walker in the comics was much more arrogant and cocky, while Steve was modest and humble.  We even get his partner/'sidekick' reminding him that he "...can't just punch your way out of problems" suggesting maybe some anger issues to-be-explored in the future.  A scene where Walker suggest Flacon and Bucky (who is not happy being addressed via Steve's longtime friendship nickname) were just "Cap's Wingmen" suggests the tension we'll be seeing coming up between the characters.

And about Lemar, Walker's partner/friend.  He's right from the comics too, with the same code name of Battlestar (albeit without the incredibly dated looking costume from the comics).  We didn't see a ton of him yet, but he's Walker's BFF in the comics: he even had the nickname of Bucky for awhile, in a bit of on-the-nose comic synergy (it was a version of 'Bold Urban Commandos'/BUC) but was dropped in the comics when the writer realized 'buck' was an offense slur for Black people in some regions of the country.  The adversarial vibe between Bucky & Sam vs Walker & Lemar at the end, after the heroes are released from jail, is a nice dynamic that will almost certainly get a payoff sooner rather than later.

Most of us are watching this series because we like the back-and-forth between Sam & Bucky, and this episode delivers that for us.  In fact, actor Anthony Mackie feels like a better actor when conversing with Sebastian Stan: with a more nuanced and natural performance than when he delivers exposition or other dialogue with other characters.  Between the acting & humorous convos, these two are already proving to be every bit as awesome of a pairing as we hoped from what we saw in CIVIL WAR & the latest AVENGERS movies.  A highlight for me was the "couples therapy" session, though this week it had less of a "The Sopranos" vibe than in e1.  All three of our actors REALLY work well together: all adversarial but comical (even if letting our heroes work out their differences in couples therapy makes very little real-world sense - I mean, she just _met_ Sam after all!).  I've never been a huge fan of Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier; I've always felt like he was pretty wooden and lame as the character, lacking charisma.  These two eps, though, I've had the revelation he's really just playing the character incredibly low-key all along, and his sense of humor/joke delivery in this series is soooo my jam!  What I thought was charisma-lacking was really hiding his incredibly dry humor & wit!  We knew the back-and-forth between the headlines would be the key to this series (and we were expecting it to be entertaining), and this show is delivering!  I don't think I can overstate that the duo is really a perfect pairing for this type of "buddy team-up" series.

This is a packed episode, and it felt like the big action scene was a off: slightly uneven, with some incredibly wonky CGI (of Sam flying around - which was reminiscent of wonky Spidey CGI from the otherwise impeccable Raimi movies) but it did give us one major revelation.  We now know the Flag Smasher are seeming 'Super Soldiers' of some type: in interesting wrinkle that I look forward to hearing fleshed out.  I also dug their 'leader,' Karli.  In the comics Flag Smasher was a bad guy (singular) named 'Karl,' so props to the MCU for this gender-flipped homage.  The Flag Smasher seem to have a legitimate stance regarding how those Blipped-back are getting preferential treatment vs those who were there for the five years that had to deal with the aftermath of the tragedy/crisis (it's also kind of a reminder how big of a selfish a-hole Stark was by creating these HUGE problems in the world, though as a father I can't begrudge him too much I guess).  Also the series leaned heavily again into the systemic racism theme: first we learned Sam the Avenger can't even get a small business loan, and this week he's hassled by cops and presumed to be the cause of a mild dispute with Bucky.  While most of this series was almost certainly shot before last summer's racial protests, I do appreciate Marvel Studios addressing racial strife within the MCU: and showing us that even The Avengers who have saved the world numerous times now still have their own problems & get hassled by 'the man.'
This episode alleviated any doubts I may have had last week, and now I feel pretty all-in with "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (not that I had much doubt, to be honest).

Some other tidbits:
* Sam arguing with Bucky about the Big 3 bad guys they fight = Androids, Aliens, and Wizards had me laughing (especially Bucky coming back suggesting they have to fight Gandolf).  BUT, of course, as a nerd we know that's not accurate.  I mean, within the entirety of the MCU Cap films the bad guys were Nazis, HYDRA, and Baron Zemo (who we'll see again, possibly next episodes if the last scene is any indication).

* the HS marching band that performs for Walker had me cracking up playing a pepped-up version of "Star Spangled Man With a Plan" from the original CAP film!  It was a fun arrangement (and I missed what college show band they used in the series, though the HS was set in Georgia and Marvel Studios is in Atlanta area so there are a few options they could've gone with - credited as 'Captain America Drum Corps' and coordinated by the same educator/expert that was the advisor for DRUMLINE and other such endeavors).  As a HS band teacher I may be persuaded to find/arrange that piece myself as a goofy/fun pep band chart for my marching band next year  :P

* speaking of music, when Walker comes in to save the day in that opening mission, I really dug the 'retooling' of Alan Silvestri's iconic Captain America theme music.  Cap's theme is maybe the most recognizable/best theme/musical motif in the MCU so it was a blast to hear it reworked a bit here when Fake Cap jumps in to save our heroes (in Walker's first big heroic appearance in the series, no less).

* I dug the What Wolf reference, first heard from T'Challa in INFINITY WAR!  In the comics White Wolf was T'Challa's adopted White brother who worked for the king; it's nice to hear that nickname from T'Challa still floating around the MCU  8)

* we still haven't heard what's happened to Steve: is he dead or just in retirement somewhere?  It feels like it's not beyond the realm of possibility that we _could_ see a Chris Evans-in-old-man-makeup make a cameo to give Sam a pep talk to take up the shield and become the _real_ new Captain America.

* Isaiah Bradley makes his first appearance in the MCU.  I was just schooled by a buddy of mine about Bradley's history in the comics: he only survivor of a test of a Super Soldier Serum similar to the one used on Cap in the early 00's comic "Truth: Red, White, and Black."  I'm told Bradley fighting Winter Soldier in the early 50's is at least somewhat different from the comic book version, though same as the comics Bradley alludes to being thrown in prison despite his heroics for his country (same as the comic, from what I'm told).  It's a seven-issue story that I just picked up on comixology and look forward to reading (I'm assuming I'm going to magically have some free time in the very near future: maybe if I log off and stop writing so damn much... :-X )

* on one last, mostly unrelated note....
James Gunn dropped the trailer for his THE SUICIDE SQUAD while I was halfway done with e2.  I purposefully decided to wait and watch the trailer until after I was done, and boy am I glad I did.  That trailer rocked my world, and I'm glad I saw FatWS a 'fair'/full attention watch before being distracted with
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and other amazing James Gunn-goodness!  Surely I would've been way distracted for too long had I interrupted FatWS with THE SUICIDE SQUAD trailer, so I'm glad FatWS got my full attention prior  :P ;D
« Last Edit: March 26, 2021, 06:15:54 PM by perc2100 »

Offline MickeyJack

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #20 on: March 27, 2021, 02:19:16 PM »
Excellent analysis! Regarding Gandalf, I loved Bucky's comeback that he read The Hobbit in 1937, the year after it was published. Nice nugget for us nerds.

Offline Chris

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #21 on: March 27, 2021, 02:55:24 PM »
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Excellent analysis! Regarding Gandalf, I loved Bucky's comeback that he read The Hobbit in 1937, the year after it was published. Nice nugget for us nerds.

Yeah, that was a nice one.

Offline Pyramid

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #22 on: March 28, 2021, 05:42:13 AM »
I am loving everything about this show especially the nuance of the vilians, The Flag-Smashers!  They are not simply cookie cutter baddies.  The characterization of Sam, Walker, and Bucky are superb.  Looking forward to more episodes!
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Offline perc2100

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #23 on: March 29, 2021, 11:05:33 AM »
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I am loving everything about this show especially the nuance of the vilians, The Flag-Smashers!  They are not simply cookie cutter baddies.  The characterization of Sam, Walker, and Bucky are superb.  Looking forward to more episodes!
I agree; the MCU has kind of 'grown up' with their villains.  In the Phase 1 & many Phase 2 the villains felt mostly like disposable cookie-cutter "bad guys" (Loki, obviously, the exception).  Getting to IRON MAN THREE (to a less extent), WINTER SOLDIER, etc. and beyond they've done a better job of framing the villains as different shades of grey: not exactly sympathetic, but I think an empathetic viewer could look at 'em and at least think "OK, Robert Redford's character is a little evil but I can kind of see where he's coming from with this authoritarian-esque government thinking."  Especially the slate of films running up to INFINITY WAR, villains in the MCU are more nuanced and empathetic (who make bad decisions).  Not all of them (Klaw, obviously, is an arms dealer which is in no way grey or empathetic), but a lot of them are (Killmonger, conversely, is violently militant which isn't good, but his viewpoints and POV are understandable even if you disagree).

FatWS is similar.  I'm not 100% sure I understand the specifics of _how_ the Flag Smashers plan on getting back to the Blip/ 1/2 'order' but I can empathize with their seeming thoughts that their needs and voices are going unheard and unaddressed.

Offline Chris

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #24 on: March 29, 2021, 04:48:30 PM »
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I am loving everything about this show especially the nuance of the vilians, The Flag-Smashers!  They are not simply cookie cutter baddies.  The characterization of Sam, Walker, and Bucky are superb.  Looking forward to more episodes!

When I first saw the previews, I thought it might be The Hand.  I think Marvel has those rights back with the DD/Wolvie rights back from Fox.

Offline Michaelnaut

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #25 on: April 02, 2021, 02:42:57 PM »
I don't know about you folks, but when that Marvel fanfare comes on in the beginning, I turn that $#!7 up to 11! :D
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Offline Pyramid

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #26 on: April 06, 2021, 05:34:24 AM »
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I don't know about you folks, but when that Marvel fanfare comes on in the beginning, I turn that $#!7 up to 11! :D
Or hum right along with it!  lol
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Offline Michaelnaut

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #27 on: April 08, 2021, 03:05:30 PM »


Brilliant!
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Offline perc2100

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #28 on: April 08, 2021, 06:22:10 PM »
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Brilliant!
I'll be honest, with zero MCU branding & with/without context Daniel Brühl clubbing is awesome  :P

Offline Pyramid

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Re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier ***Spoilers***
« Reply #29 on: April 09, 2021, 05:58:52 AM »
On my third rewatch of S!:E4 The Whole World is Watching and that last shot is perfect.  Really excited where Walker is going.  Oh, and buying Captain America 323 to get it CGC.   ;D
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