The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Whole World Is Watching

 "Being Cap is the first time I've had the chance to do something that actually feels right."

This is still no WandaVision, but it's a complex and nuanced action drama with actual subtext and proper characterisation. There are echoes of Mark Gruenwald's John Walker storyline in Captain America, most obviously at the shocking final scene, but this is very much its own thing.

It's to the writers' credit that the plot is bloody complex at this point- we have Sam and Bucky, who are not quite on the same time as Walker and Lemar, let alone the compelling Zemo; we have Karli Morganthau and her Flag Smashers; we have the Wakandans, who just want Zemo; and, of course, we have the mysterious Power Broker (probably not quite as Gruenwald originally wrote him). Some of these want justice, but not all of them agree on what this is. Some want power, very literally symbolised by the Super Soldier Serum.  And evryone is an individual with their own motives. There are nice character touches, too, like the flashback to Bucky's "unbrainwashing" in Wakanda.

But there are, I think, two themes here. One is the ethics of terrorism. Karli is a genuine idealist, whose ideology appeals to Sam, yet her methods are murderous: the ends justify the means, however vague her ideology (Socialism? Anti-Nationalism?) may be. Yet Walker simply accepts the US government line, while Zemo simply says that "The desire to become a superhuman cannot be separated from supremacist ideas". He may be a cynic, but this works on more than one level. Altruistic aims can subtly shift, and if one's peers are super soldiers...

This segues into power. Karli has some further vials, most of them destroyed by Zemo (giving Karli a problem; the Power Broker ants those vials or else), but one secretly pocketed by Walker, who spends most of the episode losing fights. But would you take one if you could? Sam has no hestitation: no. Afte all, he refused the shield. Lemar, asked by John, is an instant yes. Given how the episode ends, I think we all know what he's going to do.

But, given how the episode ends... this man is a damaged war veteran and as much a victim as anyone. But John Walker is no Captain America. And, while this may be no WandaVision, it's very good telly.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Power Broker

 "I can't run in these heels!"

I have to admire the way this episode is constructed. On the face of it the plot is a load of fairly obvious padding, as Sam and Bucky look for clues on how the Super Soldier Serum has been recreated, in the form of a kind of treasure hunt. Also, John Walker and Lemar Hoskins are getting jealous of them, while it's established that the only twenty vials of the Serum in existence are held by Kari Morgenthau, with the mysterious Power Broker in pursuit. That's it.

And yet we also have strong characters, good dialogue and lots of globe trotting between Bavara, Latvia and... Madripoor. There may be no sign of a certain eyepatch wearing Canadian mutant, but I think this is the first appearance in the MCU of something which was once part of the X-Men bunch of characters and concepts formerly owned by Fox before Disney ate it. Am I right?

Of course, we also have Bucky springing the ever-entertaining Baron Zemo, who makes for a splendid triple act with Bucky and an exasperated Sam. We also meet Sharon Carter again, on the run- not pardoned, like Sam and Bucky- and dealing in stolen Monets. Her situation is a massive rebuke to Sam, who has never stopped to consider the present condition of thise who sacrificed everything for him and Cap in Civil War.

There's also a nicely played scene where Kari's friend and underling is shocked that she is now willing so set off bombs in situations where there are likely to be casualties. And John Walker is turning out to be more and more of a massive dick.

This is good stuff. Not WandaVision good, but good.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Star-Spangled Man

 "Time to go to work..."

An impressive, and very different, second episode here in which Sam and Bucky finally meet up again and immediately, action sequences or not- and the action sequences are good- have great comic chemistry as the kinds of friends who constantly insult each other. I particularly love the extended riff on Sam's theory about "androids, aliens or wizards", and Bucky's boast about having read The Hobbit... in 1937.

This episode also gives us our first look at this version of John Walker- from Custer's Grove, Georgia as Mark Gruenwald originally wrote him but this time less of an obvious redneck, although he's still something of a jock and naive square jawed conformist type. It's notable how this version of Lemar Hoskins is considerably brighter than this John Walker.

There's lots of tension between all of these characters. As we find out at the end, Bucky resents Sam for spurning the shield as Steve Rogers' hand-picked successor and, of course, both of them are wary of the initially friendly new Captain America and Battle Star. The subtleties of this awkwardness are well handled. There's some nice political subtext, too, in the context of American racism- Sam is only not abused by racist cops because of who he is, and we meet Isaiah, a black super soldier from the Korean War who seems to have been treated abominably by his country.

And the learn more about the Flag Smashers- this time most certainly not a bloke but an organisation much less organic, and its leader is a young woman (with a nice bit of misdirection as we meet her) called Kari Morganthau. Her "imagine there's no countries" ideology is channelled through "the Blip" here, and the whole gang appear to be super soldiers. This is very interesting, as is the mention of Gruenwald perennial baddie the Power Broker.

This isn't quite up there with WandaVision, or indeed Gruenwald's splendid run on the Cap comic. But it is, nevertheless, very good.

Jigsaw (2017)

“The game- it's started!"

 SPOILERS. You have been warned.

Well, that was unexpected. Seven years after this long-running and very gory franchise of clever whodunit/vigilante tale/squirm fest comes to an ignominious end with Saw 3-D it gets another sequel- this time, against all odds, a fitting, satisfying and genuinely clever finale.

I don't use the word "unexpected" lightly. After all, John Kramer has been dead for so many films now that it really is just stretching credulity to have his pre-planned "games" still playing out ten years after his death. It also isn't remotely credible to have him somehow not have died, although the film teases us with this possibility. No; instead, the film riffs on this very dilemma and finds a solution which is, yes, cheating a bit- this new set of murders exactly mirrors an earlier bunch of murders, and we aren't told until near the end that the scenes featuring Kramer happen years earlier- but it's genuinely clever. I like the inclusion of Jigsaw superfan Eleanor, whose gory collection makes her a splendid red herring, while our two police detective anti-heroes soon focus into our two main suspects for Jigsaw's heir. We also get some gloriously fiendish "games" and as clever and intricate a plot as ever.

So the franchise is right back on form at the last moment. But please: no more.