![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
204.
I watched Black Widow last night, which was a lot of fun. While I miss the in-cinema experience, I actually liked doing it from the comfort of my lounge. I wore trackies, had my cats with me, and was very comfortable and relaxed.
I do not like Scarlett Johansson at all, and I'm not a supporter of her work. I do like Natasha Romanoff, so I have conflicting feelings about her no longer being in the MCU. I'm glad ScarJo is gone, but I'm disappointed that such a complex female character is gone, too. Natasha never deserved to die in Vormir. (I also find the whole self-sacrifice confusing as we didn't spend enough time with the Soul Stone's lore to understand if sacrificing yourself because you love the other person who you're sacrificing yourself for counts? I imagine it does, but… I have a lot of thoughts about the Soul Stone and have had them since I first saw Infinity War.)
This was a nice love note to Natasha. I enjoyed the fact that it was predominantly led by women—Natasha, Yelena, Melina. Alexei was a very big hit or miss for me—I didn't really care if he was there or not as I felt he didn't really fit in the overall story, but I'm glad that he sort of didn't take away from the overall story of womanhood and girlhood (and even motherhood).
I'm also really glad Whedon never got to touch this.
• The opening was really, really heartbreaking. I genuinely buy into the fact Melina and Alexei did genuinely care about Natasha and Yelena. Rachel and David acted the opening really, really well. I did genuinely think they were their real parents. At first, I thought the blonde girl was Natasha, but when I saw the other child, I had a feeling it was her. The child actresses were brilliantly cast because I can see them growing physically into Florence and ScarJo. (I am very big on child actors looking like their adult counterparts. Some productions can't even get the damn eye colour right.)
However, Natasha mentioned that Yelena "was only six" when they were taking her. Did Natasha know what was going to happen? Had she gone there before? The line about "She's only six" where she pleads it to either Melina or Alexei had me curious, but I don't feel like they expanded upon that. I was under the impression Natasha was just as clueless about what was intended for her, but I'm not entirely sure if that line was meant to be heavier than it was or if I'm merely reading into it. (Also, who were they running from? S.H.I.E.L.D.? Who was chasing them?)
• I'm really disappointed that they didn't introduce Natasha's Russian name—"Natalia Romanova". I don't think I saw Iron Man 2, but they did have her introduce herself as "Natasha Rushman", no? So it's not like the audience isn't intelligent enough to know that Natasha goes by aliases. We've established she's a spy—and even have aliases for her in the movie, even if they're a throwaway line—so I don't think it's entirely implausible to introduce that aspect of her character.
• Yelena is my girl. I'm pleasantly surprised by her. She was definitely the comic relief, but she was so, so good. I love how she admired Natasha and also ridiculed her—I do wonder if Natasha does play it up a little for the applause and accolades—and I like that she never aspires to be a celebrity (her saying the power pose is "disgusting" was great). I really liked Yelena and I hope she gets to do a lot more in the MCU. I do kind of wish they had dealt with the fact that Yelena clearly felt left behind and not good enough for Natasha. I know they reconciled and accepted one another as sisters, but Yelena clearly resented Natasha for being an Avenger and choosing them over her.
• I did really like how the movie showed the brutality of fights. The Widow who ended up with a broken leg in Budapest was so gnarly to look at, but about damn time we saw that. I am also a bit bitter it happened to be a woman who was of colour who had to die.
• So, how did Natasha know the guy who was giving her aeroplanes and looking after her RV? We never expanded on that. I do have a bit of a problem with predominantly white-led casts having the token POC and that POC being relegated to some supporting role that never gets fleshed out. It's 2021. I should be able to see myself in films where I play a significant role, even if it's minor.
• I really did like the confrontation with Dreykov because, to me, he just seemed like the typical physically bland white man who used his male white privilege to disarm, abuse, and discard women. I felt like the fact that we didn't spend any time with him made him even scarier imo. I also felt that we didn't need to spend time with him—he's everywhere in our world, anyway.
The fact that he referred to women as an infinite resource made my skin crawl. But I suppose that's how people who are human traffickers look at those who they traffic. (I've also recently gotten off the tail end of watching Grey's Anatomy's trafficking storyline, so for me, all of this is just compounding a very heavy watching experience. I've been consuming these horrific storylines and am terrified that we live in a world that has people who do this. You really do not know what's happening to the person beside you, do you?)
I did find him to be a physically weak villain, but that was the beauty of it imo. I liked that he wasn't some CGI alien that Natasha had to battle. He was a human man who happened to have money and intelligence (or cunning, really) to boost his power. He was scary in the fact that he was so human.
I did like how he used pheromones to control the Widows. I also like how he didn't think he needed to learn how to defend himself because he used his privilege as the puppet master to protect himself. If he had trained with the Widows, perhaps he would've been a more physically formidable opponent. (I will always like Thanos for the sole fact that he lived his own words—he was physically and intellectually scary despite being a purple alien. He was a commander who was a soldier; he did the dirty work, too. Dreykov did not, afaik.)
I was also very hopeful he would tell Natasha her mother's name. I was so personally offended when he didn't. That line delivery of "Unknown" was so, so horrifically good that I was personally so angry that he would have the gall to do that. (I was kind of hoping that at the end of the film, Natasha would have found her mother's grave.)
• But… who runs Red Room? Just Dreykov? What is the Red Room? It's clearly building a network of spies to infiltrate key political parties and military operations.
• I did like the twists behind Natasha and Melina plotting together. I did genuinely think Melina backstabbed Natasha and Yelena. I do wish we had spent more time with Melina to understand how these Widows impacted her life (and even her backstory—she seems so fascinating!) but I guess if we did, that reveal probably wouldn't have hit as hard as it did.
• I found Taskmaster completely terrifying, but I genuinely hated the resolution of her storyline. Natasha breaks her mind control and Antonia's just fine with everything? Natasha tried to kill her to get at her father. How is she okay with that? Natasha is responsible for the path that Antonia has been travelling. While her father is the one who pushed her down it with his mind control and viewing her as an object, Natasha is the reason why he had that opportunity to do so. I really wish we got to spend more time with Antonia… and that she had more than two words to say. Antonia deserved to have a complex personal arc, and I hated that we're left with the implication that she forgave Natasha because she broke her out of her mind control.
The mimicking ability was excellent and so intimidating, especially on the bridge fight.
Am I also to believe S.H.I.E.L.D. is okay with Natasha murdering a little girl to fully defect to them? I really dislike how MCU likes to angle S.H.I.E.L.D. as the be all and end all of some goodness when, really, they're shitheads, too. (My current watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is really killing me with how they simply brush every shitty thing they do under the rug.)
• I am very glad that Steve Rogers never made an appearance in this film. It's like how I preferred it when Superman wasn't in Supergirl—they really let Natasha shine without her being overshadowed by Rogers or Stark (like she often is in the films).
• I've seen people criticise the film for its predictable plot. It's a valid criticism, but you can't expect every plot to be original, either. While Black Widow had the typical "I'm going to free myself from my past sins and I've got red on my ledger" plot, I thought it was fun. Who cares if something is predictable? As long as you enjoy the ride, that's all that matters. (People have their expectations way too high sometimes. I think people came into this expecting MCU's most anticipated (sorry, Carol) female-led solo film to be out of this world. It was a good film. It didn't bore me like Steve and Tony's films do.)
• Is there a shortage of Russian actors? I love Rachel, don't get me wrong, but… is there a reason why we do not hire actors who are the nationality of the character? I'm sure we can do that now since it's 2021? What do I know? I barely see myself in television and film as it is. (I'm not Russian; I'm half-Indian and The Witcher is probably the first show that I've gotten to see someone who looks like me be powerful, desirable, praised, displayed and appreciated for being complicated, and even celebrated.)
• I'm also kind of over MCU and the way the heroes destroy buildings and kill people and we're just meant to sit here and praise them. I know Civil War kind of came from that, but I will always like the mess that was Batman vs Superman because they actually had a narrative that held Superman accountable for all the destruction he causes. Taskmaster created a lot of mess in Budapest (something that… I'm surprised Red Room would be okay with considering I'd assume they'd want to remain off specific radars?) and so did Yelena and Natasha and we just… have to accept it. I understand it's part of the fantasy of these films, but I really wish we would acknowledge how destructive heroes are. Can we start holding them accountable? Can they pay for my hospital bills, my car insurance, and my funeral costs?
• I am glad Natasha finally had good hair again. I hate the blonde and the moment that she came out with it, I cringed. (Also how cool is it that she got the aeroplane that she'd go and pick up my girl Wanda in from this film? I loved being able to piece together bits and pieces. I went into this film having not seen any of the trailers and not knowing where it was in the timeline.)
• THAT ENDING CREDIT SCENE. I didn't know that Allegra was going to be in the movie. I knew that Julia was supposed to be in it (maybe a bigger part?) but I genuinely didn't think she had filmed anything for the film. So, when she appeared at the ending, I did scream and clap. She's recruiting. Is MCU's Allegra going to be Madam Hydra and recruit a team to work against Fury's team? It was also implied that Yelena was already working for her, so how did Allegra track her down? How did Allegra know Clint was there when Natasha sacrificed herself? I hope this gets revealed and shows Allegra's cunning.
• NATASHA GOT A GRAVE. NATASHA HAS A MEMORIAL. NATASHA IS BEING REMEMBERED.
But I am still really bitter that one of the only female characters who has received any development in the MCU does not have a statue or a memorial wall or even a goddamn museum about her. Steve does. Tony does. What about Natasha? She played a pivotal role in the Avengers' success, especially in Endgame. Why do we always celebrate the white man? (Do not get me started on Gamora who is another woman who gets sidelined for manpain.)
Her gravestone made me upset. Was her stone placed in a little cemetery? Or could this possibly be the tree where her mother was buried? (I'm assuming that story was true.) I do believe the tombstone was for Yelena, but I do wish the Avengers had acknowledged Nat. There wasn't any room in WandaVision (and obviously there's absolutely none in Loki), but The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was a great platform to acknowledge Natasha, even very briefly given how close Steve and Natasha were. (It was probably the only appropriate series to acknowledge her in. I understand that show was about Sam becoming Captain America and the super soldiers, but it's also very clear to me these series are also meant to serve the function of being the bridge between Phase Three and Phase Four, and I think they could've gotten away with it in that show. Fallen soldiers was a theme there.)
Yelena was clearly dusted. I still think it's shit Natasha died. She left a family that she was only beginning to get to know again. It makes her sacrifice all the more tragic… and even unnecessary if we're to believe that Natasha was sacrificed from a narrative perspective because ShE dIdN't HaVe A fAmiLY.
• On an end note: I hope we get to see Yelena lead the Widows, and I hope we see some Widows not easily fall in line with her because I didn't quite like how all of them were suddenly so friendly and hunky-dory with Natasha and Yelena. I want some drama and valid opposing opinions!
Overall, I did enjoy the film a lot. The action was great. The cast chemistry was terrific. I loved how it tackled human trafficking and put more women on the screen than MCU has ever done before (Endgame's battle sequence with all the ladies doesn't count since none of them has ever spoken to one another). It does ring hollow, though. Natasha is gone. This film should've been made and distributed before Infinity War. It's definitely a love letter to Natasha, but it also feels disingenuous at the same time.
DC was producing Wonder Woman and Birds of Prey films. What was Marvel's excuse to delay this film for so many years? We know female spies are a wanted storyline—hello, look at the success of Alias in particular! Marvel has a long way to go when it comes to its leading ladies. I do hope they get more female directors behind the helm. I did hear that the movie was originally written by a woman and then she was replaced by a man… I'm just glad a woman was directing because I feel like you can definitely tell the difference. The suits were sensible, this styling was appropriate, the camera angles weren't overly sexual. It was a good film. I wish I had this film when I was growing up.
Countdown to when I begin to write Yelena and Nat fic. (WandaVision is still my Vegemite and I will die with this show.) I have more thoughts but I want to stop thinking and switch off now (and... watch the movie again).
Anyway, for a while, I've been thinking about trying some public entries with my thoughts on the media I consume to get me back into using this journal. I don't really use it to document personal shit anymore, so why not be a nerd?
I do not like Scarlett Johansson at all, and I'm not a supporter of her work. I do like Natasha Romanoff, so I have conflicting feelings about her no longer being in the MCU. I'm glad ScarJo is gone, but I'm disappointed that such a complex female character is gone, too. Natasha never deserved to die in Vormir. (I also find the whole self-sacrifice confusing as we didn't spend enough time with the Soul Stone's lore to understand if sacrificing yourself because you love the other person who you're sacrificing yourself for counts? I imagine it does, but… I have a lot of thoughts about the Soul Stone and have had them since I first saw Infinity War.)
This was a nice love note to Natasha. I enjoyed the fact that it was predominantly led by women—Natasha, Yelena, Melina. Alexei was a very big hit or miss for me—I didn't really care if he was there or not as I felt he didn't really fit in the overall story, but I'm glad that he sort of didn't take away from the overall story of womanhood and girlhood (and even motherhood).
I'm also really glad Whedon never got to touch this.
• The opening was really, really heartbreaking. I genuinely buy into the fact Melina and Alexei did genuinely care about Natasha and Yelena. Rachel and David acted the opening really, really well. I did genuinely think they were their real parents. At first, I thought the blonde girl was Natasha, but when I saw the other child, I had a feeling it was her. The child actresses were brilliantly cast because I can see them growing physically into Florence and ScarJo. (I am very big on child actors looking like their adult counterparts. Some productions can't even get the damn eye colour right.)
However, Natasha mentioned that Yelena "was only six" when they were taking her. Did Natasha know what was going to happen? Had she gone there before? The line about "She's only six" where she pleads it to either Melina or Alexei had me curious, but I don't feel like they expanded upon that. I was under the impression Natasha was just as clueless about what was intended for her, but I'm not entirely sure if that line was meant to be heavier than it was or if I'm merely reading into it. (Also, who were they running from? S.H.I.E.L.D.? Who was chasing them?)
• I'm really disappointed that they didn't introduce Natasha's Russian name—"Natalia Romanova". I don't think I saw Iron Man 2, but they did have her introduce herself as "Natasha Rushman", no? So it's not like the audience isn't intelligent enough to know that Natasha goes by aliases. We've established she's a spy—and even have aliases for her in the movie, even if they're a throwaway line—so I don't think it's entirely implausible to introduce that aspect of her character.
• Yelena is my girl. I'm pleasantly surprised by her. She was definitely the comic relief, but she was so, so good. I love how she admired Natasha and also ridiculed her—I do wonder if Natasha does play it up a little for the applause and accolades—and I like that she never aspires to be a celebrity (her saying the power pose is "disgusting" was great). I really liked Yelena and I hope she gets to do a lot more in the MCU. I do kind of wish they had dealt with the fact that Yelena clearly felt left behind and not good enough for Natasha. I know they reconciled and accepted one another as sisters, but Yelena clearly resented Natasha for being an Avenger and choosing them over her.
• I did really like how the movie showed the brutality of fights. The Widow who ended up with a broken leg in Budapest was so gnarly to look at, but about damn time we saw that. I am also a bit bitter it happened to be a woman who was of colour who had to die.
• So, how did Natasha know the guy who was giving her aeroplanes and looking after her RV? We never expanded on that. I do have a bit of a problem with predominantly white-led casts having the token POC and that POC being relegated to some supporting role that never gets fleshed out. It's 2021. I should be able to see myself in films where I play a significant role, even if it's minor.
• I really did like the confrontation with Dreykov because, to me, he just seemed like the typical physically bland white man who used his male white privilege to disarm, abuse, and discard women. I felt like the fact that we didn't spend any time with him made him even scarier imo. I also felt that we didn't need to spend time with him—he's everywhere in our world, anyway.
The fact that he referred to women as an infinite resource made my skin crawl. But I suppose that's how people who are human traffickers look at those who they traffic. (I've also recently gotten off the tail end of watching Grey's Anatomy's trafficking storyline, so for me, all of this is just compounding a very heavy watching experience. I've been consuming these horrific storylines and am terrified that we live in a world that has people who do this. You really do not know what's happening to the person beside you, do you?)
I did find him to be a physically weak villain, but that was the beauty of it imo. I liked that he wasn't some CGI alien that Natasha had to battle. He was a human man who happened to have money and intelligence (or cunning, really) to boost his power. He was scary in the fact that he was so human.
I did like how he used pheromones to control the Widows. I also like how he didn't think he needed to learn how to defend himself because he used his privilege as the puppet master to protect himself. If he had trained with the Widows, perhaps he would've been a more physically formidable opponent. (I will always like Thanos for the sole fact that he lived his own words—he was physically and intellectually scary despite being a purple alien. He was a commander who was a soldier; he did the dirty work, too. Dreykov did not, afaik.)
I was also very hopeful he would tell Natasha her mother's name. I was so personally offended when he didn't. That line delivery of "Unknown" was so, so horrifically good that I was personally so angry that he would have the gall to do that. (I was kind of hoping that at the end of the film, Natasha would have found her mother's grave.)
• But… who runs Red Room? Just Dreykov? What is the Red Room? It's clearly building a network of spies to infiltrate key political parties and military operations.
• I did like the twists behind Natasha and Melina plotting together. I did genuinely think Melina backstabbed Natasha and Yelena. I do wish we had spent more time with Melina to understand how these Widows impacted her life (and even her backstory—she seems so fascinating!) but I guess if we did, that reveal probably wouldn't have hit as hard as it did.
• I found Taskmaster completely terrifying, but I genuinely hated the resolution of her storyline. Natasha breaks her mind control and Antonia's just fine with everything? Natasha tried to kill her to get at her father. How is she okay with that? Natasha is responsible for the path that Antonia has been travelling. While her father is the one who pushed her down it with his mind control and viewing her as an object, Natasha is the reason why he had that opportunity to do so. I really wish we got to spend more time with Antonia… and that she had more than two words to say. Antonia deserved to have a complex personal arc, and I hated that we're left with the implication that she forgave Natasha because she broke her out of her mind control.
The mimicking ability was excellent and so intimidating, especially on the bridge fight.
Am I also to believe S.H.I.E.L.D. is okay with Natasha murdering a little girl to fully defect to them? I really dislike how MCU likes to angle S.H.I.E.L.D. as the be all and end all of some goodness when, really, they're shitheads, too. (My current watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is really killing me with how they simply brush every shitty thing they do under the rug.)
• I am very glad that Steve Rogers never made an appearance in this film. It's like how I preferred it when Superman wasn't in Supergirl—they really let Natasha shine without her being overshadowed by Rogers or Stark (like she often is in the films).
• I've seen people criticise the film for its predictable plot. It's a valid criticism, but you can't expect every plot to be original, either. While Black Widow had the typical "I'm going to free myself from my past sins and I've got red on my ledger" plot, I thought it was fun. Who cares if something is predictable? As long as you enjoy the ride, that's all that matters. (People have their expectations way too high sometimes. I think people came into this expecting MCU's most anticipated (sorry, Carol) female-led solo film to be out of this world. It was a good film. It didn't bore me like Steve and Tony's films do.)
• Is there a shortage of Russian actors? I love Rachel, don't get me wrong, but… is there a reason why we do not hire actors who are the nationality of the character? I'm sure we can do that now since it's 2021? What do I know? I barely see myself in television and film as it is. (I'm not Russian; I'm half-Indian and The Witcher is probably the first show that I've gotten to see someone who looks like me be powerful, desirable, praised, displayed and appreciated for being complicated, and even celebrated.)
• I'm also kind of over MCU and the way the heroes destroy buildings and kill people and we're just meant to sit here and praise them. I know Civil War kind of came from that, but I will always like the mess that was Batman vs Superman because they actually had a narrative that held Superman accountable for all the destruction he causes. Taskmaster created a lot of mess in Budapest (something that… I'm surprised Red Room would be okay with considering I'd assume they'd want to remain off specific radars?) and so did Yelena and Natasha and we just… have to accept it. I understand it's part of the fantasy of these films, but I really wish we would acknowledge how destructive heroes are. Can we start holding them accountable? Can they pay for my hospital bills, my car insurance, and my funeral costs?
• I am glad Natasha finally had good hair again. I hate the blonde and the moment that she came out with it, I cringed. (Also how cool is it that she got the aeroplane that she'd go and pick up my girl Wanda in from this film? I loved being able to piece together bits and pieces. I went into this film having not seen any of the trailers and not knowing where it was in the timeline.)
• THAT ENDING CREDIT SCENE. I didn't know that Allegra was going to be in the movie. I knew that Julia was supposed to be in it (maybe a bigger part?) but I genuinely didn't think she had filmed anything for the film. So, when she appeared at the ending, I did scream and clap. She's recruiting. Is MCU's Allegra going to be Madam Hydra and recruit a team to work against Fury's team? It was also implied that Yelena was already working for her, so how did Allegra track her down? How did Allegra know Clint was there when Natasha sacrificed herself? I hope this gets revealed and shows Allegra's cunning.
• NATASHA GOT A GRAVE. NATASHA HAS A MEMORIAL. NATASHA IS BEING REMEMBERED.
But I am still really bitter that one of the only female characters who has received any development in the MCU does not have a statue or a memorial wall or even a goddamn museum about her. Steve does. Tony does. What about Natasha? She played a pivotal role in the Avengers' success, especially in Endgame. Why do we always celebrate the white man? (Do not get me started on Gamora who is another woman who gets sidelined for manpain.)
Her gravestone made me upset. Was her stone placed in a little cemetery? Or could this possibly be the tree where her mother was buried? (I'm assuming that story was true.) I do believe the tombstone was for Yelena, but I do wish the Avengers had acknowledged Nat. There wasn't any room in WandaVision (and obviously there's absolutely none in Loki), but The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was a great platform to acknowledge Natasha, even very briefly given how close Steve and Natasha were. (It was probably the only appropriate series to acknowledge her in. I understand that show was about Sam becoming Captain America and the super soldiers, but it's also very clear to me these series are also meant to serve the function of being the bridge between Phase Three and Phase Four, and I think they could've gotten away with it in that show. Fallen soldiers was a theme there.)
Yelena was clearly dusted. I still think it's shit Natasha died. She left a family that she was only beginning to get to know again. It makes her sacrifice all the more tragic… and even unnecessary if we're to believe that Natasha was sacrificed from a narrative perspective because ShE dIdN't HaVe A fAmiLY.
• On an end note: I hope we get to see Yelena lead the Widows, and I hope we see some Widows not easily fall in line with her because I didn't quite like how all of them were suddenly so friendly and hunky-dory with Natasha and Yelena. I want some drama and valid opposing opinions!
Overall, I did enjoy the film a lot. The action was great. The cast chemistry was terrific. I loved how it tackled human trafficking and put more women on the screen than MCU has ever done before (Endgame's battle sequence with all the ladies doesn't count since none of them has ever spoken to one another). It does ring hollow, though. Natasha is gone. This film should've been made and distributed before Infinity War. It's definitely a love letter to Natasha, but it also feels disingenuous at the same time.
DC was producing Wonder Woman and Birds of Prey films. What was Marvel's excuse to delay this film for so many years? We know female spies are a wanted storyline—hello, look at the success of Alias in particular! Marvel has a long way to go when it comes to its leading ladies. I do hope they get more female directors behind the helm. I did hear that the movie was originally written by a woman and then she was replaced by a man… I'm just glad a woman was directing because I feel like you can definitely tell the difference. The suits were sensible, this styling was appropriate, the camera angles weren't overly sexual. It was a good film. I wish I had this film when I was growing up.
Countdown to when I begin to write Yelena and Nat fic. (WandaVision is still my Vegemite and I will die with this show.) I have more thoughts but I want to stop thinking and switch off now (and... watch the movie again).
Anyway, for a while, I've been thinking about trying some public entries with my thoughts on the media I consume to get me back into using this journal. I don't really use it to document personal shit anymore, so why not be a nerd?