The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (4K UHD Blu-ray Steelbook Review)
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is one of 4 Marvel Disney+ series available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray. The continuing (mis)adventures of Sam Wilson and “Bucky” Barnes after the blip that devastated the world in Avengers: Endgame, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier explores the state of the world among terrorists and how a new Captain America can find a way to honor Steve Rogers legacy while carrying his shield. How does the series translate from film to TV you ask? Well, read on below for my thoughts, plus more info on the stellar UHD Blu-ray presentation! Be sure to click the cover art at the end for the paid link to buy your own copy!
Series 
Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and The Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon, and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier. The pair, who came together in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame, team up on a global adventure that tests their abilities — and patience.
The Flag Smashers, an anti-patriotism group are on the run, stealing the same serum that gave Captain America his size and strength. Aided by supporters, they’re elusive and tough to fight when found. As our heroes dive deeper into the issue, investigating in Munich, the mismatched Bucky and Wilson encounter a new Captain America, John Walker, who wants to fill the shoes of the original Captain America but is kind of a heel. The leader of the Flag Smashers, Karli, Is young and seemingly influential and her followers are ruthless for the cause.
Throughout the series, we witness a prison riot, encounters with Wakandans and a whole lot of action. Do our heroes find a way to come together to fight for good or will their animosity make that impossible. We must wonder as their disagreements become par for the course in the beginning. There’s also that new Captain America, who could be helpful if he didn’t seem so hokey. There’s a lot to think over as you get through each episode.
I found The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to be engrossing, simple to follow and a lot of fun to watch. Each episode takes time to develop characters, deliver action beats and sly mild comedy and leave each episode on a cliffhanger that begs you to binge watch to get to the end. The main detractor like many new action-oriented TV shows is the clunky CGI, and that’s not news to anyone who has or hasn’t seen this show. Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Wyatt Russell, and Erin Kellyman are committed to their roles and their work makes this show a pleasure from start to finish.
Video
Stills are for promotional use only and not from the 4K UHD Blu-ray
Encoding: HEVC/H.265
Resolution: 4K
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
HDR: HDR10
Layers: BD-66 (2 Discs in set)
Clarity/Detail: Another solid release of a Disney+ series on disc, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier makes excellent use of digital photography, HDR and some smart filming choices to bring us a very solid image. Clarity is second to none and the overall detail of each scene and shot is nearly perfect. Almost too good when you get to special effects shots!
Depth: Focus is a big part of the look of the show. Early on, Bucky is in therapy and the scene Is shot with soft focus on the eyes and upper face of Bucky and his therapist. Then we are treated to some great looking action scenes where characters fly back and forth in front of the camera, while losing no image quality during said scenes.
Color Reproduction: There are a variety of colors given more reality thanks to HDR. Everything on screen looks pleasing to the eye and lifelike!
Black Levels: Scenes in the dark or near dark look excellent with nice shadow detail. I didn’t witness any crushing. Black masks look nice and dark too!
Flesh Tones: Characters are flesh toned as naturally as can be, with nothing looking amiss during the series.
Noise/Artifacts: None
Audio
Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 Dolby Digital Descriptive Audio, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Dynamics: Dolby Atmos once again aids the action on this 4K UHD Blu-ray set. All speakers get a nice workout with the score adding some weighty heft to each episode, too.
Height: From above, we can anticipate action baring down on us, with The Falcon flying by, Bucky dragging under trucks or even “Captain America” throwing his famous shield. That’s just the tip of the iceberg too! This is a height active mix!
Low-Frequency Extension: Flyovers, skydives, music, gunshots, car chases and more offer their bass moments to a happy subwoofer!
Surround Sound Presentation: Ambience, echoes, and the sounds mentioned above in the height section make their appearance at ear level, sounding full and immersive in the sound space, and expanding the sound stage.
Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue sounds great throughout.
Extras
Extras for Falcon and the Winter Soldier match others from these Disney+ physical releases with a documentary, a featurette, a gag reel and a couple of deleted scenes. The real selling point with these releases is the collectible steelbook and art cards, which are very nice looking!
BONUS FEATURES
Featurette:
- Cap’s Shield – Sometimes a shield isn’t just a shield. Anthony Mackie and the creative team behind The Falcon and the Winter Soldier discuss what Captain America’s iconic accessory ultimately represents — along with the numerous challenges of capturing the cumbersome prop in action once cameras started rolling.
Gag Reel: Watch the hilarious outtakes with cast and crew.
Deleted scenes:
- Flight Lesson – Sam and Rhodey have a heart to heart and bond over flying.
- Still Not Funny – Bucky brings a treat to Sam’s family gathering.
Documentary:
- Assembled: The Making of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier – Embark on the making of this high-flying, globe-trotting action series with the cast and crew in Assembled: The Making of Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
Summary
I have to be honest – I went into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier with lower expectations than I thought I would. I may be suffering from Marvel fatigue, but I am glad my expectations were far exceeded. The show is not perfect, but it does have a ton of great moments and a rewatchable way about it too. I am hopeful that we get some more adventures with Bucky and Sam, but until then, we can keep watching and re-watching the pair fight the baddies on this excellent 4K set!
** NOTE: My review copy did experience some skipping while I was watching it, in the second episode. I had a clean disc, and my 4K UHD Blu-ray player is brand new, so I’m guessing it was a replication defect. Hopefully it’s just an issue with my disc and not with many discs.
