Scarlett Johansson

[syve]

Nov 13, 2019 13:27:35 GMT -4 @innocentone said:

I don't think it will be an indictment. Wonderwoman did great.

I feel like if it flopped sexist studios would completely take the opportunity to be like "See, that's why we don't make movies with women. I'm not sexist, people just don't like lady movies". I think movies starring women just have to cross a higher bar.

Which is why I'd like Black Widow to do well. Plus Natasha ended up being one of my favourite characters. And it's kinda bullshit that they made like seven, eight movies starring blonde guys named Chris before they had two starring women.

[Ladybug]

Wonder Woman is an actual super hero with powers. Black Widow is just a well trained spy. She has no super power that I'm aware of. She has a little gun. I've always thought it was a lame character compared to other Marvel heroes.

[Mutagen]

While I'm kind of meh on ScarJo in the role, I think a Ronin or Atomic Blonde type movie about a spy gone rogue would suit the Black Widow character very well. I think the Marvel movies missed a BIG opportunity by not giving her the shared history with Bucky/the Winter Soldier that she had in the comics; that would have opened up so many potential stories to spin off a whole movie about.

[boricuamusicfan]

Black Widow is not going to flop. One thing that Marvel Studios has perfected is how to create a compelling story at the core of all of their CGI-heavy superhero brawl-a-thons. MCU film after MCU film gets solid reviews simply because they focus on characterization, and they build the customary superhero battles and sci-fi mumbo jumbo around that (not the other way around). At this point, audiences trust the Marvel Studios brand because they have consistently given audiences compelling characters and human emotions at the center of their movies. Natasha is one of the original movie Avengers, and the character has had an interesting narrative in the movies and in the public eye (remember the whole "where is Black Widow?" movement when the old guard of Marvel Studios never included the character in all the Avengers merchandising/toys)? I actually feel that the long-time wait for her to get a solo adventure will work in its favor, because audiences' appetite for Natasha has been intensely whetted. The novelty of being "first blockbuster superhero movie starring a woman" (Wonder Woman) or "first blockbuster Marvel superhero film starring a woman" (Captain Marvel) is not there to help Black Widow, but I am sure that the marketing team will take advantage of the "finally, Black Widow, in long-anticipated solo adventure/you asked for this and we listened/the original female Avenger in her first solo adventure" angle. WIth how successful Marvel films are lately, I can't imagine this flopping.

[Ginger]

Unpopular opinion, but I hate all of the Marvel movies and think they are complete garbage. (And I gave them more than a fair chance.) I think they should all flop, and can't believe Martin Scorsese had to apologize for speaking the truth about what a big pile crap they are. I hope the Black Widow movie flops and brings down Marvel with it. (I know it won't happen, that's just wishful thinking.)

Scarlett, Angelina Jolie and tons of other actresses have proven time and again that movies starring women can succeed in a wide variety of genres. It's chalked up to one-time luck or the appeal of that one particular actress, and then it's forgotten and Hollywood goes back to their default mindset that women can't carry movies. Black Widow won't change that mindset one way or the other.

[pachengala]

I’ll join you in the UO corner, Ginger. Each Marvel movie exists solely as a commercial for the next movie. Also, while I’m being kind of a jerk about it, I hope Black Widow does flop because SJ is a jerk as well.

[Deleted]

Yeah, there is something about Scarjo that isn’t likable. I mean there are plenty of people who dislike Angeline Jolie but Tomb Raider and Salt were both successful movies. If it fails (and as mentioned previously, it probably won’t) it is partly due to her. There are very few actors (men and women) who can carry a movie. There is an alchemy of charisma, timing, luck, and talent (not just the star’s talent, but also the writer and director, design, etc.) that has to come together in the right combination for success.

[dragonflie]

I agree with everything you said Ginger x1000.

I hope it flops purely to see the end of this stupid monster of MCU movies. I do feel that coming down the line- Marvel fatigue has to kick in here sometime soon. I mean this whole 10 year (more/less??) plan led to this last Avengers big game movies (or whatever they are called). Now it feels like leftovers.

[Mutagen]

I think the fatigue/backlash is already kicking in with Endgame. It succeeded in the sense that it made a ton of money and managed to tie together an insane amount of characters/movies. But even among fans, the aftertaste seems pretty negative. Nobody liked what happened with Cap or Black Widow. The cast/story is just too bloated to really make anything pay off. 

I'll cop to enjoying Marvel movies. They are fun, generally well-acted, and while I'm not going to argue they are intellectual powerhouses, some of them manage to sneak in subtext beyond what you'd expect from a typical action blockbuster (such as Thor: Ragnarok's commentary on colonialism).  But they've absolutely hit a ceiling on "big ensemble cast event" movies. 

[deeconsistent]

Nov 12, 2019 13:48:56 GMT -4 Laira said:

I hope Black Widow doesn't flop simply because if it does, it'll be seen as an indictment of female leads, not just as an underperforming movie.

There's a whole cultural war surrounding female-led action movies these days. In terms of cast leads, the next Marvel phase is a lot more progressive than the previous ones, so I agree, it would be a blow if this was the cycle that saw the first truly disappointing returns.

I remember years ago, I thought computer animated films had to fade out at some point. I figured the novelty would wear off and people would eventually realize how much uglier they look than hand drawn animation. Here we are, two decades later and the end of the year box office lists are pretty much just superhero movies, remakes and computer animated films. I know a lot of them get great reviews, but I can't tell the difference between any of those animated movies and I'd rather see a comicbook movie any day of the week.