Not even close to as bad as I was led to believe!
Sure, this blew up two pages of Tolkien’s appendices into a two hour flick just so Warner Brothers can maintain the main book rights. But doing it in anime form is gutsy, and I think it works — the visuals are mostly quite good (although there are a few odd moments), with a few scenes that I found to be particularly stunning.
I might be a bit biased…
Overall, this show has its heart in the right place even if it’s sometimes very hamfisted with its messaging and politics. Both Falcon and Winter Soldier’s overall plots are very solid, but I felt some more setup was needed for why they’re nearly immediately in a quippy buddy-cop relationship.
The Flag Smashers are very lame villains and the worst part of the show. Their motivation is clearly meant to echo real world causes and should be sympathetic, but it’s explained…
