“Captain America: Civil War” seemingly stumbled upon the chemistry between the two as a squabbling odd couple. The conceit here’s what occurs to them post-“Avengers: Endgame,” with out the crimson, white and blue icon that related them.
That query, no less than, has to attend, as the two characters — Mackie’s the Falcon, a.ok.a. Sam Wilson, and Stan’s World War II super-soldier Bucky Barnes, trying nice for 106 — initially function on parallel tracks.
Indeed, in the similar manner “WandaVision” spent a number of chapters earlier than laying out its playing cards, this present seems to be in no hurry to disgorge its secrets and techniques or provide break-the-internet moments, exhibiting comprehensible confidence that followers will stick round whereas the first episode fleshes out the characters.
That’s to not say the opening hour — directed by Kari Skogland (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and written by Malcolm Spellman (“Empire”) — is uneventful, starting because it does with a rousing motion sequence involving a army mission that appears pretty much as good as absolutely anything you’d see on the large display.
Still, these keen to look at the two swap insults whereas throwing punches as an alternative get an introduction to Sam’s household and an replace on how Bucky has been passing the time, adjusting to life after his days as a near-unstoppable murderer.
The major theme of “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” really dovetails properly with the problem that Marvel itself faces, after a 12 months with postponed films and the departure of signature characters that helped launch the firm on its dominating path.
“We need new heroes,” Sam is instructed, a reference to the chaotic occasions following the defeat of Thanos that appears notably vital, each to the present and to Marvel on a broader stage.
In that sense, this collection — initially supposed to steer off Marvel’s Disney+ roster — maybe inadvertently suits the second. As the Falcon and Winter Soldier unite to fill the void left by the lack of their buddy, the present is serving a comparable goal for individuals who final noticed them in a crowded theater, rising from portals and prepared to assist save the world.
“The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” premieres March 19 on Disney+.
