DVD Movie Guide @ dvdmg.com Awards & Recommendations at Amazon.com.
.
Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main
DISNEY

MOVIE INFO

Creator:
Malcolm Spellman
Cast:
Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell
Director:
Kari Skogland

Synopsis:
Sam "The Falcon" Wilson and Bucky "Winter Soldier" Barnes team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities - and their patience.

MPAA:
Rated TV-14.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio:
English Dolby Atmos
English Descriptive Audio
Spanish Dolby 5.1
French Dolby 5.1
Subtitles:
English
French
Spanish
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English
French
Spanish

Runtime: 304 min.
Price: $39.99
Release Date: 4/30/2024

Bonus:
• “Assembled” Documentary
• “Cap’s Shield” Featurette
• 2 Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
-LG OLED65C6P 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED TV
-Marantz SR7010 9.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD AV Surround Receiver
-Sony UBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Dolby Vision Blu-ray Player
-Chane A2.4 Speakers
-SVS SB12-NSD 12" 400-watt Sealed Box Subwoofer


RELATED REVIEWS


The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Complete First Season [4K UHD] (2021)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (August 25, 2024)

At the conclusion of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, it appeared that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) closed the door to further adventures with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) as Captain America. Not that this rules out stories set either in the past or in the multiverse, of course, but the film certainly left the impression that the MCU would move on from Steve as Cap.

2021 brought the first season of a related TV series: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This one explores the events after Endgame that involved two of Cap’s associates: Sam “The Falcon” Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky “The Winter Soldier” Barnes (Sebastian Stan).

This two-disc 4K UHD set includes all six Season One episodes. The plot synopses come from the series’ official website.

New World Order: “Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes realize that their futures are anything but normal.”

Well, that’s a vague way to describe the series’ pilot, isn’t it? Though of course “Order” doesn’t exist as a traditional “opening episode” since viewers already know the characters and background.

“Order” does need to introduce where the roles exist in the post-Endgame universe, however, and it also must set up the season’s plot. It does so in a fairly efficient manner, if not an especially engrossing one.

This leaves “Order” as a productive first episode but not one I think really shines. Still, given that it exists mainly as exposition, it does its job.

The Star-Spangled Man: “John Walker (Wyatt Russell) is named Captain America, and Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes team up against the rebel group the Flag Smashers.”

“Order” concluded with the revelation that the world would get a new Captain America, so obviously “Man” follows that concept. The Walker character debuts here and that means the episode needs to bring the audience up to date on his backstory.

We also get Sam and Bucky together, which didn’t occur in the first episode. They mesh well so when you throw the new Cap into the mix, “Man” delivers a solid episode.

Power Broker: “To find the source of the Super Soldier Serum, Sam and Bucky must scale a ladder of low-lifes starting in Madripoor with Zemo (Daniel Brühl).”

With “Man”, Bucky and Sam started to develop a “buddy cop duo” vibe in their relationship. With the improbable involvement of Zemo here, we get “buddy cop trio”.

And it works for the most part. Granted, given how evil Zemo seemed back in Captain America: Civil War, it feels a little contrived that Sam and Bucky semi-warm up to him as easily as they do.

Despite that stretch, “Broker” pushes along S1’s narrative well. It mixes action, intrigue and light comedy in a satisfying manner, and it even brings back an old friend not seen since Civil War.

The Whole World Is Watching: “John Walker loses patience with Sam and Bucky as they learn more about Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman).”

If forced to find a flaw in S1 so far, it would stem from the way that the series telegraphs the Walker and Morgenthau characters. From the start, Walker seemed like he’d end up as a loose cannon, and we could always tell Karli would become more noble than she might appear.

“World” develops those themes, though more in Walker’s case, as Morgenthau still comes across as dangerous. Still, the episode allows us a deeper understanding of her motives and beliefs.

These telegraphed moments make “World” a bit on the nose. Still, it pushes along characters and S1’s narrative well despite these issues.

Truth: “Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, Baron Zemo, John Walker, and Karli Morgenthau must all deal with the fall out from their actions.”

As mentioned related to “World”, I always thought it felt like a matter of time before we saw Walker as a less than noble character. In a semi-surprising move, “Truth” provides the expected battle against him an episode earlier than anticipated.

That turns into an interesting twist that allows “Truth” to provide deeper layers than might’ve occurred if the fight waited for the final show. “Truth” amplifies both the character elements and the season’s themes in a positive manner.

One World, One People: “As the Flag Smashers escalate their efforts, Sam and Bucky take action.”

As I write this in August 2024, Captain America: Brave New World will hit screens in about six months. That flick will formally feature Sam as Cap, which made me intrigued to see if this series would “promote” him or it wouldn’t occur until the feature film.

Make no mistake: this series is all we get in terms of lead-in to Brave New World. Although this package comes titled “Season One”, Falcon and Winter Soldier didn’t spawn a second year, and given Sam’s change from Falcon to Captain America, I doubt one will ever arrive.

Anyway, I won’t spill the beans and say if Sam becomes Cap here or not. I will say that “People” concludes the series on a positive note.

The episode wraps the season-long narrative and comes with the expected action and twists. This means we get a solid conclusion to a quality superhero series.


The Discs Grades: Picture A-/ Audio B+/ Bonus B-

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on these 4K UHD Discs. A native 4K production, the series looked great.

Overall sharpness seemed positive. Virtually no softness emerged, so the episodes boasted solid accuracy and definition.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects emerged. I also saw no edge haloes or source flaws.

Unsurprisingly, colors generally mixed teal and amber/orange, with a lean toward the former. The tones came across as planned and looked fine given production choices, with a boost from HDR.

Blacks felt dark and rich, while shadows appeared good, with largely smooth low-light shots. HDR added oomph to whites and contrast. S1 brought the expected positive picture quality.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the Dolby Atmos audio of Falcon also satisfied. With plenty of action on display, the soundscapes boasted a nice array of information from all the channels, and the information moved well.

This left us with broad, immersive soundfields. They used the different speakers to create a good sense of the fights and mayhem. The audio wasn’t quite feature film quality, but it still seemed very good.

Speech came across as natural and concise, while music showed rich, full tones. Effects appeared accurate and dynamic, with good low-end and impact. I felt pleased with the soundtracks found here.

A few extras flesh out the set, and on Disc One, a documentary called Assembled spans 59 minutes, 30 seconds. It offers notes from head writer/executive producer Malcolm Spellman, executive producer Nate Moore, director Kar Skogland, co-executive producers Zoie Nagelhout amd Trevor Waterson, costume designer Michael Crow, stunt coordinator Brad Martin, production designer Raymond Chan, VFX supervisor Eric Leven, and actors Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Daniel Brühl, Wyatt Russell, Clé Bennett, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Florence Kasumba, Emily VanCamp, Erin Kellyman, and Don Cheadle.

“Assembled” examines the series’ story and characters, expanding on the MCU movies, cast and performances, costumes, sets and locations, stunts and action, shooting during COVID, various effects, and general thoughts. Despite a bit of the usual fluff, this becomes a fairly strong overview of the series’ production.

On Disc Two, Cap’s Shield lasts five minutes, four seconds. It provides info from Spellman, Moore, Mackie, Skogland, co-executive producer Zoie Nagelhout and VFX supervisor Eric Leven.

The featurette examines the symbolism of Captain America’s shield as well as the design and creation of the physical prop and its use in the series. We get a good examination of these domains.

A Gag Reel runs two minutes, 40 seconds and shows the usual goofs and giggles. Nothing notable emerges but at least the segment doesn’t wear out its welcome.

Finally, we get two Deleted Scenes: “Flight Lesson” (1:04) and “Still Not Funny” (1:10). In the first one, we find a little more between Sam and James Rhodes, with a nod back to events of Civil War.

The second clip lets us see Bucky and Sam joke around at a party we find during the finale. “Funny” feels superfluous but “Lesson” adds warmth and should’ve made the episode.

While not a great superhero series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier nonetheless offers a good expansion of the Captain America universe. With lots of action and intrigue, the show does what it sets out to do. The 4K UHD discs boast strong picture and audio along with a mix of bonus materials. This turns into a quality MCU adventure.

Viewer Film Ratings: 3 Stars Number of Votes: 1
05:
04:
1 3:
02:
01:
View Averages for all rated titles.

.
Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main