1. "Marvel has earned my trust, but David Harbour looks corny af" In response to Reply # 0
The MCU is bound to have a major misfire one of these days, I just hope this isn't it.
I just wonder how this will play out. It *looks* like it should have come out somewhere between Winter Soldier and Civil War. But maybe they have a way to make it a little epilogue to the end of her story arc in Endgame.
2. "In for ridiculous David Harbour " In response to Reply # 0 Tue Dec-03-19 08:04 AM by navajo joe
The fight choreography looked a little too slow and too overly choreographed and the line readings weren't great but some of the set pieces looked cool and I'm down for the GI Joe/Metal Gear Solid-esque vibes.
Scarlett Johannsen's Widow became a great character as she grew over the course of the Marvel Phases but a lot of that had to do with her relationships (with Cap, Clint, Hulk). So I'm into this if they establish the family stuff well.
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A lot of you players ain't okay.
We would have been better off with an okaycivics board instead of an okayactivist board
5. "Aside: Is her career disappointing?" In response to Reply # 4
She was a great child actor. But her adult performances haven't been as outstanding and the roles she's played haven't been very interesting.
I know women, more so than men, have to go where they're hired. But it would have been good to see her choose a role, in an indie maybe, in which she was asked to 'do more'.
She has been in the biggest series of all time. She's led huge box office successes, she's taken a lot of smaller chances, been in diverse, interesting stuff, worked with the best directors and can be excellent when she needs to be.
People would MURDER to have her career
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A lot of you players ain't okay.
We would have been better off with an okaycivics board instead of an okayactivist board
High Society Member since Oct 13th 2003 7375 posts
Fri Dec-06-19 07:54 PM
10. "under the skin was indie." In response to Reply # 5
Have you seen that? I think she’s balanced the major big league blockbusters with smaller roles just fine actually.
This year alone has done JoJo and the Marriage joint. Her best performance might be HER and she’s not in the film, but damn if she doesn’t make you feel like she’s alive and a real human in that vocal performance.
Could’ve easily just coasted after the Marvel gig but she likes challenges imo.
21. "she was good in Matchpoint...realll good lol" In response to Reply # 5
>She was a great child actor. But her adult performances >haven't been as outstanding and the roles she's played haven't >been very interesting. > >I know women, more so than men, have to go where they're >hired. But it would have been good to see her choose a role, >in an indie maybe, in which she was asked to 'do more'.
11. "looks better than i ever could have imagined." In response to Reply # 0
i had zero interest in a black widow movie. now im fairly interested.
if marvel can turn *this* into a blockbuster too then crown em.
these dudes are turning practice squad players into stars while dc cant even figure out what to do with arguably the 2 most popular superheros of all time.
I thought this was great. Surprised at how harsh and dark some of the themes and devices were. Basically it’s Another MI but also well-done. Most of the action scenes are buttnuts.
29. "Very lukewarm on this" In response to Reply # 0
This a film that should've happened right after CIVIL WAR.
It's a cross between The BOURNE films and the last few MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE films.
Really liked the feminist themes. Also really liked the Budapest chase.
My main problem is with LOKI doing epic weird shit week after week with great storytelling and better set design, cinematography, and directing, it's hard to justify paying ANY money to see this. Not to mention the spy shit and hand to hand combat was done in a more satisfying way in FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER. Excuse me, I meant CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE WINTER SOLDIER.
It also doesn't help that Natasha was the least interesting character in her own film.
Marvel Studios has to be careful from here on out on what gets a movie and what gets a Disney+ show. I'm scared for SHANG-CHI now.
It's very weird what they chose to be in the IMAX aspect ratio and what they decided to keep in normal aspect ratio.
33. "RE: Very lukewarm on this" In response to Reply # 29
best thing about the direct streaming is a good bootleg is easy to find. I enjoyed it but not sure I would have loved paying in theater or the 30 bucks Disney wants for premier stream.
35. "Yeah - my issue with it is the timing, for two reasons. " In response to Reply # 29
To your first point, this would have fit perfectly if it actually came out after Civil War like it’s own timeline is set in. At that point in the MCU, an individual character movie with lower stakes would have felt perfectly fine. Post Infinity War and Endgame though? It fell a bit flat to me. It would have made sense if there was something that happened that would add perspective to her arc and choices in IW/EG. For example, if her sister dies in this, sacrificing her life for Natasha, that would add some death to Natasha sacrificing herself for Clint to get the soul stone.
To your second point regarding the Disney + shows vs theatric releases, since this was originally supposed to come out in 2020 before we had these three MCU shows on Disney + that also makes the stakes in this seem underwhelming.
45. "least interesting character TO YOU" In response to Reply # 29
Black Widow has always been a favorite of mine and i couldn't wait to see this...
i love how you think she's in a pickle and she's like "thanks for cooperating", then they shit is all fucked up afterward LOL
d
"But rest assured, in my luxurious house built on the backs of people darker than me, I am sipping fine scotch and scoffing at how stupid you are." - bshelly
the pacing was a bit off for me. Some parts just dragged way too long. Also there was some BAD acting. Scarjo sounded like she wasnt even trying in some scenes. I didnt care for Rachel Weisz at all.
But other than that is was good. Enjoyed the family dynamic. Her sister was great. Of course David Harbour was great. Good action. Was nice to get a back story to Black Widow. Overall i say a 3 out of 5.
November 8th, 2005 The greatest night in the history of GD!
Frank Longo Member since Nov 18th 2003 86672 posts
Sun Jul-11-21 02:18 PM
34. "I think Johansson *was* great early on. " In response to Reply # 32
But somewhere Marvel took her from being the quiet, laser-focused badass who hinted at her past to a character with love interests and lengthy monologues where she says exactly how she feels.
Johansson is *great* at playing the former. Her best performances are all these people/creatures attempting to present one thing while she wrestles with internal conflict. She's just not as strong imo at doing the Big Monologues, and it's also just not nearly as interesting a character imo.
Like, a Black Widow movie should be on some John Wick revenge shit, but there's too much bantery monologuey familial stuff.
I agree with most of the comments. It just felt unnecessary. I think maybd the only justification for the movie is in the end credits scene, because it sets up ____ to potentially be the next major MCU character. I'm okay with that.
Also Jeremy Renner should have at least had a cameo.
I might have liked it more if I'd seen it in the theater and not on Disney+.
I also agree that the shows are outdoing the movies at this point. I was not impressed by the Shang-Chi or Eternals trailers. It's the same with Star Wars. The Mandalorian was waaaaay better than the recent trilogy--and I was a big defender of The Last Jedi.
Kevin Feige is a smart guy. I think the upcoming movies were mostly shot before the shows got off their feet. Hopefully it means the next few movies after that will flex a little more creatively to match the shows.
39. "I think 'The Black Widows' would've been a better title" In response to Reply # 0 Mon Jul-12-21 07:49 PM by Options
anyhow, based on what we got, I would've preferred Natasha's past to remain a mystery — she's more interesting to me that way.
*spoilers below*
this movie should've been gritty, grounded and bleak. it tries to set that tone with the intro (and that groan-inducing cover song. ugh!!), but it's too steeped in MCU PG-13-ness to effectively pull it off. there's way too much comedy for that tone to work.
the family aspect was a nice framework, but it never went deep enough with any aspects of it to make me believe real breakthroughs were being made between the members. lots of set ups with no genuine pay offs.
seeing fighting style callbacks with the Task Master was cool, but it absolutely does not look like there's a woman in that suit, which made the reveal awkward.
on the plus side, Florence Pugh was great as Yalena. even though I think the comedy was ultimately not what this film needed, she was excellent and was the real star here, IMO.
She'll prolly get paid, and start doing more focused smaller shit, because she can. If she spends the rest of her career doing shit like "Under the Skin." I'd call that a win.
44. "I feel like this hits different for many women..." In response to Reply # 0 Thu Jul-29-21 10:44 PM by Damali
i just saw it earlier and it kinda rocked me...
first off, the woman singing that slowed down, even more depressed version of Smells Like Teen Spirit during the opening credit montage...like that shit broke my heart and the movie hadn't even really started yet...so fucking haunting...and the fact that a woman was singing it...nice touch
the film was phenomenal...top notch writing, as always..the "family reunion" had me laughing so fucking hard...David Harbour was brilliant (
but what really got me was the theme around the way girls are treated in the world..often manipulated, used and discarded...i think you kinda have to have walked on this earth as a female to really really resonate with that throughline...
i loved it from beginning to end..their dynamic as sisters was so perfect and natural...i loved all the 'poser' jabs and her w/the vest and the pockets had me rolling cuz that's how we women be talking about clothes..like exactly
anyway 10 outta 10
RUN SCARLET HER FUCKING MONEY
d "But rest assured, in my luxurious house built on the backs of people darker than me, I am sipping fine scotch and scoffing at how stupid you are." - bshelly
50. "they needed her uninteresting @$$ to save the Avengers" In response to Reply # 49
...after Infinity War. without her, Tony Stark would still be drifting somewhere in space. IIRC, her movie also introduced the Skrulls (the shapeshifters) and more cosmic elements that will probably play a larger role in the MCU going forward.
I feel like Captain Marvel was planned as an important piece of the franchise while Black Widow was made to appease fans demanding it.
53. "I think you're right" In response to Reply # 51
but again, I think her movie came "late" because it was never part of their original road map, unlike Captain Marvel. if fans hadn't consistently asked for it, it wouldn't have been made at all. and when you consider Natasha's arc esssentially being completed in Infinity War, it's clear a solo film wasn't a priority for them.
52. "They still could have introduced Captain Marvel" In response to Reply # 50 Sat Aug-07-21 09:22 PM by spirit
This Black Widow movie would have been a good follow up to Civil War.
The after credit scene could have been Widow walking up behind Steve after he walked up to Falcon’s cell “can you guys quit staring at each other so we can get outta here?” LOL
Captain Marvel still could have been introduced later. I felt like they pushed back Nat just so Captain Marvel could get the honor of having the first female led MCU film, which is goofy since Nat had been there almost since Day One.
before Kevin Feige was the big dog he is today at Disney the movie portion of Marvel (Marvel Studios) had to report to the main company (Marvel Entertainment) about everything he did. a gentleman named Ike Perlmutter is CEO. long story short, Ike is a jerk. he didn't feel that movies led by women and black people would sell well. in 2015 Disney made Marvel Studios a separate entity from Marvel Entertainment and now Feige can do whatever he wants because he no longer reports directly to Perlmutter. then Marvel released Black Panther and Captain Marvel which are smash hits both breaking $1B at the box office. so yeah Black Widow should have been made a long time ago, but they kinda weren't able to. she has been in more of the movies than any other character so i guess that's kinda something?
56. "yeah it's a weird technicality " In response to Reply # 55
they have her listed as appearing in Thor Ragnarok but it's really just her video message that she left to the Hulk that plays in the ship. that's kinda cheap. so not counting that, she's been in 9 films to RDJ's 10.
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