The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (05.14.21)

 

Out of all my many hobbies, the most taxing on my wallet has always been comic book collecting. Issues that feature the first appearance of famous characters are particularly coveted by collectors, with some rare issues going for millions of dollars at auction. Another type of comic that I personally like to collect are ones that are historically significant in the real world. With this in mind, it is no surprise that Captain America #117, which features the first appearance of the first African American superhero in a mainstream comic book, the Falcon, is one of the most cherished issues in my collection. I was therefore thrilled when the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of the character, brought to life by Anthony Mackie, had the chance to make history once again (alongside Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes) in the new limited series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, although I ultimately found that the journey to get there could have been a little more polished.  

            Despite the very different tones and genres, it is hard not to compare The Falcon and the Winter Soldier with Disney+’s last premium Marvel series WandaVision. While the latter defied genre expectations and challenged what it meant to be a comic book adaptation, the former feels a lot more familiar. While WandaVision felt like a weird experiment, F&WS is much more akin to a typical Marvel blockbuster split into six episodes, with fast-paced and exciting action scenes, a lot of banter, and a lot of dependence on knowledge of what’s come before (I can’t imagine this story being easy to follow for someone who has not seen any of the other MCU outings). The acting is great all around, the fight choreography and special effects are appropriately grand, and the story is not afraid to explore some highly relevant issues such as race and immigration.  

            That being said, there are some minor flaws that keep F&WS from soaring to the heights that a couple of MCU entries have reached in the past. I did not find the banter between the two main characters to be quite as sharp and entertaining as I would have liked it to be, which was a bit of a disappointment after witnessing their brief yet brilliant interactions in previous movies such as Captain America: Civil War. The story is also a bit murky at certain points as it tries to juggle a handful of different antagonistic forces, each with its own agenda. And on the action side of things, F&WS occasionally falls prey to one of my least favorite tropes in cinema: the dreaded shaky cam. Why directors can’t just film normally without having the camera operators flailing their arms everywhere, I have no idea, but this technique sometimes made it difficult to track every punch, kick, and wing stab in F&WS.   

            But despite its flaws, F&WS is still a whole lot of fun. I’m glad the two characters finally got room to breathe and be in the spotlight for a bit, and I’m sure Steve Rogers can rest easy knowing that his shield is in good hands.  

            All six episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are now available on Disney+.   

 

This review was first published in The Keizertimes on May 14th, 2021. Visit at http://keizertimes.com/

This is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist (04.30.21)

One thing that I’ve always appreciated about streaming services is that they give film and television makers an unprecedented level of creative control that might not be possible through more “traditional” means. Free of outside pressures such as strict rating guidelines, the need to attract advertisers, and time constraints, platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime can sometimes allow artists to refine their visions from what might have been a crude sketch to a full blown mural. These looser restrictions can also be a detriment, however, as some creators don’t seem to understand that less is sometimes more. I have often found this to be the case amongst the most unlikely of entertainers: Documentarians. This is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist, is one such documentary that could have greatly benefited from firmer studio control. There are many good things about it, from the visuals to the overall story, but the fact remains that it is was just too long and went on far too many unnecessary tangents to keep my attention.   

            Visually, This is a Robbery hits all the right notes for me. The reenactments are understated and accompany voiceovers instead of attempting to tell the story by themselves, the still shots of the crime’s aftermath are fascinating, and there is always something nice to look at. The story was one that intrigued me, as I have never heard of the 1990 robbery of Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, and includes a huge cast of interesting, real-life characters that range from stoner security guards to museum curators to mobsters. I was also a fan of the music, although there is no denying that it was occasionally too loud and even got obnoxious once or twice. All of the right pieces for a great documentary are there.   

            But just because you have the option to make your documentary four hours long doesn’t mean you have to make your documentary four hours long. The four hour-long episode format is, thankfully, a break from Netflix’s usual six hour-long episode structure, which means This is a Robbery doesn’t drag as much as other recent offerings from this particular service, which is nice. But drag it still does, particularly when the show starts to focus more on the mob (which includes many primary suspects) and less on the titular crime itself. The creators also seemed to feel the need to interview everyone they could point a camera at, as some of the talking heads felt completely unnecessary. The documentary repeats ideas constantly as well, as if the audience is made up of particularly forgetful goldfish. Needless to say, less would have been more in this case.   

            At the end of the day, This is a Robbery is still a very interesting and competently made documentary. It just also happened to cross the thin line between being thorough and being a little too bloated for its own good. Ultimately, I do not feel like my time has been stolen, if you’ll forgive the pun.   

            This is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist is now available on Netflix.   

This review was first published in The Keizertimes on April 30th, 2021.