Catching Up With THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLIDER

 Article first published as THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER Review on Seat42F.

SPOILER WARNING: This review contains spoilers about the first (and only the first) episode of the series.

Marvel’s second MCU television series premiered on Disney Plus this weekend. THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER, as the title implies, follows Sam Wilson, a.k.a. The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes, a.k.a. The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). Doing what, it’s not quite clear in the first episode, as the two do not come into contact. Nor are two more important characters from the films, Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) and Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), anywhere in sight. But the first hour is a set up as to where the two heroes currently are and what their state of mind is before the six-episode story really gets going.

The premiere of THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER starts with a big action sequence featuring The Falcon before it gets personal. I know a lot of people watch Marvel for the big action sequences, and this one should satisfy them. It’s a start-of-the-movie bit, with the hero versus a gang of villains. Not even close to a final showdown, but something to get people excited.

Personally, I thought it went on a little long. Perhaps it did so because there was almost no more action the rest of the episode and they wanted to take care of that segment of viewership. But things got a lot more interesting for me once we checked in with Sam the person, not Sam the hero, and that’s what I hope THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER is primarily about.

Sam is not a man out of time, but he is a man out of step with everything around him. His family has been suffering financially, his sister, Sarah (Adepero Oduye, 12 Years a Slave), having to take care of the family business herself when Sam blipped out of existence for five years. (And can we PLEASE have a series set DURING the blip??? I need to see that!) Sarah doesn’t welcome him back with open arms. Sam is determined to hang onto the past, which causes conflict between them. The question remains, will it be possible for him to do so? Or does he need to move on?

Along similar lines, Sam willingly gives up Captain America’s shield to the Smithsonian, not able to see anyone else but Steve Rogers as the Cap. But by handing over the shield to the U.S. government, he gives up control of Steve’s legacy. So like his family’s business, things may now have taken a turn that he doesn’t have anything to do with and can’t get back.

By contrast, in THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLIDER, Bucky is trying to make up for the past rather than change it. He is in therapy with Dr. Raynor (Amy Aquino, Borsch) and slowly making amends for the wrongs he did as the Winter Solider. This isn’t easy, but he’s trying, and that’s what matters, even if I’m not sure he’s feeling it does. At least this is something that gives him purpose, considering almost everyone he knew is dead and he’s a man out of time.

He also dips his toe into the dating pool with entertaining results, proving just what an old man he really is at heart. It’s the type of comedy mined for Steve in the films, but somehow seems even more amusing when it happens with Bucky.

Of course, there is a villainous group rearing their heads halfway around the world, as Sam’s friend Joaquin (Danny Ramirez, The Gifted) is looking into. This will probably be the mission that brings Sam and Bucky together. Zemo and Sharon Carter are probably connected, too. I’m guessing that will be the main thrust for the next five episodes.

But I hope as THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER takes off, it doesn’t forget what this first installment was about: two men searching for their place in the world. I find that tale more compelling, and that’s the one I want to see more of. Sure, they can go kick butt against supervillains and that’s entertaining. However, rich characters are the heart of the franchise, and with six hours to tell the story, there’s plenty of time to explore that here. Let’s hope they do.

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER releases new episodes to stream Fridays on Disney Plus.

THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX

Article first published as Review: THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX on Seat42F.

The following contains spoilers about The Cloverfield Paradox.

Surprise! Viewers of the Super Bowl were not expecting to learn that a new Cloverfield movie was on its way. But that’s exactly what happened when, with only a trailer played during the football game, Netflix dropped THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX Sunday night.

THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX is the third film in the loosely connected series produced by J.J. Abrams. The first, titled simply Cloverfield, was a found-footage monster movie that put the audience in the perspective of someone running from a Godzilla-like creature. 10 Cloverfield Lane was mostly a bottle suspense thriller set in an underground bunker after a post-apocalyptic event. The third film is set on a space station in the future, and their experiments to find an unlimited energy supply for mankind rip a whole in space-time that unleashes monsters and other strange things across multiple dimensions. So this movie is both a sequel and prequel to the others which are, presumably, set on different Earths.

Connecting them in this way is pretty smart for a franchise that doesn’t want to tell a linear story. We now have the origin of sorts for the very different monsters we see in all three films, an explanation as to why these things are happening, and endless possibilities for future installments. As a connecting thread, THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX works very well. It’s even better that it comes so late in the series, letting the mystery linger for years before solving it.

However, THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX is, by far, the weakest of the three installments.

THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX suffers from being split into too many pieces that fail to form a cohesive narrative. Our international crew of astronauts, comprised of Hamilton (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Belle), Kiel (David Oyelowo, Selma), Schmidt (Daniel Bruhl, Captain America: Civil War), Monk (John Ortiz, Kong: Skull Island), Mundy (Chris O’Dowd, Bridesmaids), Volkov (Aksel Hennie, The Martian), Tam (Ziyi Chang, Memoirs of a Geisha), and Jensen (Elizabeth Debicki, The Great Gatsby) start off in a somewhat straight-forward, save-the-Earth mission. This morphs into a cross between Alien and Apollo 13 as technology goes wrong and things (oddities, not monsters) haunt the ship. Eventually, as the cast is picked of one-by-one, it feels very familiar.

This in of itself should have been the movie, and it would have been OK if it had a few different elements to keep us guessing where it was going. While parts of it feel like remakes of other films, there’s enough originality to forge its own path, and an interesting story boosted by some terrific performances and spectacular special effects. But there are also very weird things, like an intelligent hand and arm, that just aren’t satisfyingly explained and make the whole thing uneven. There are also characters who act out of character or make ridiculous decisions no one in their right mind would make, sending the plot off course. Inconsistencies plague this work.

Add to this, THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX forces the DNA of the previous two movies into this one by following Hamilton’s husband, Michael (Roger Davies, Family Affairs), back on Earth. Michael first finds himself in a city being actively destroyed by very big creatures, a la the original, and then takes shelter in a creepy bunker, as in the sequel. These comparisons feel forced and unnecessary, distracting and off-tone. It also spoils what could have been a twist ending otherwise.

There’s also a bit of exposition when an apparent conspiracy theory nut (Donal Logue, Gotham) warns a reporter (Suzanne Cryer, Silicon Valley) about what might happen with the space station. He ends up being right, but I couldn’t help but feel this was a bit more hand-holding that viewers needed. Unless Donal is a set up for another film, in which case, I like him enough to overlook this.

I think if the writers wanted to keep all the pieces they force in, THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX would have worked better as a television miniseries or season. That way, it could take its time exploring each of the facets of the tale in a longer narrative arc. Hamilton could even visit herself on the other Earth, and really dig into what the multiple dimensions presented mean. It also would make more sense to keep Michael in it for a potential second season. In this way, nothing would need to be cut out, and it would almost guarantee more forthcoming story (J.J.’s name and a big budget making a two-season order on a streaming service likely). If they wanted to keep this as a movie, they really should have narrowed in on a few choices and ditched much of the material they went with.

I will say, I did enjoy the other J.J. references present. Keep your eyes peeled, and you’ll see homages to 2009’s Star Trek and the television show Alias, as well as hear some regular Abrams cast voices, such as Simon Pegg and Greg Grunberg.

Overall, I didn’t hate THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX. Like I said, there are some really good elements, and in terms of defining the franchise, it does its intended job. However, there are enough plot holes and weaknesses to keep it from being a thoroughly enjoyable watch, and certainly makes it the low point of the series so far. The potential is strong enough that I want to see it developed further. But care must be taken to make sure the next installment doesn’t go off the rails like this one did, which would surely kill any future stories any time soon.

THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX is available now on Netlfix.

THE ALIENIST Sans Aliens

Article first published as TV Review: THE ALIENIST on Seat42F.

TNT begins a new chapter in their programming with THE ALIENIST. An alienist has nothing to do with extraterrestrials, though TNT has done their share of that type of show. Instead, the term, considered archaic now, refers to someone who practices psychiatry. Which, if you’re following along, means the series is about a person who studies the human psyche in a bygone era. A period piece drama is not the normal fare you’d expect from the network. But does it work?

Not quite. The pacing is slow and the plot is dreadfully plodding. The first word that comes to mind to describe THE ALIENIST is boring. I don’t care about the characters, nor their motivations, which is not a sustainable model for a television show.

TNT is known for works that are fast-paced and somewhat cheesy, so THE ALIENIST is a departure, and that by itself is good. Care has been taken with sets and costumes, so it looks good. This is especially true in an early sequence on a wooden bridge. There aren’t the usual plot holes and cliché dialogue that other programs on the network have contained. The acting is quality, as is the directing. So it’s not the individual elements that are the problem here.

THE ALIENIST stars Daniel Bruhl (Captain America: Civil War) as Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a doctor who works with the mentally disturbed and tries to treat them. Not cure them, mind you, but make their conditions more manageable. He is assisted by John Moore (Luke Evans, 2017’s Beauty and the Beast), an illustrator who helps Dr. Kreizler see things he cannot, a second pair of eyes who provides other perspective. Rounding out the central trio is Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning, The Runaways), a police clerk who is interested in following the law, but is intrigued by the doctor’s work when it seems more reliable than the old techniques.

These three are decent actors, as anyone who’s seen them in other works can attest. Fanning, once a child actor who has starred in respected films, makes her first foray into series television, and Evans and Bruhl have had some success on screens both large and small. I can’t point to any of the trio as a weak link.

The three begin by trying to clear the name of a man sentenced to death. I would say there is some moral quandary as to whether they should, as the accused is suffering from painful, incurable syphilis anyway. But as all good classic heroes, they are committed to truth and justice, and so seek not just the extension of their ground-breaking work, but to use it to help people, too.

It’s not this somewhat tired premise that spurs the bad review. Although it seems similar to a couple of recent streaming and cable shows, also period pieces, the trappings of the setting and the way the story plays out distract enough from the common formula. It’s just the overall tone, which doesn’t rise to the level of the style of the piece.

THE ALIENIST is also very gory. Gory enough that I couldn’t see it on basic cable in the pre-Walking Dead days. This choice fits well with the story they’re telling, being brutally up front at showing things, not glossing over and romanticizing. In that, I do think the show made the right decision, supporting the premise and plot.

In the end, I must conclude that the show is decent, certainly a step up for TNT, but lacks the charm, intensity, and magnetism that many of the best shows today have.

THE ALIENIST airs Monday evenings on TNT.