My thoughts on Black Widow 2...
...I mean, Captain America 2. In short: it is a very good movie. I did not love it as much as Avengers, but it's probably my current second place in the Marvel franchise.
And now for my unpopular fannish confession: I have almost zero interest in Steve. I recognize him as a well-written character, and he is all about being out of place, which is my favorite thing to write about. And yet I cannot find it in myself to care for him. I was watching the movie for Natasha, Maria, Nick Fury, Sam, and then Steve. In spite of having little interest in the main character, I was very interested in the whole movie, which I think says a lot about the overall quality of the film.
Things I didn't like
1. I wish they could have pared down the action sequences a little bit. There were a few too many scenes in which four guys with machine guns didn't manage to hit anyone. That's a definite narrative pet peeve of mine.
2. I wish Natasha didn't always have to stand all sexy like all the time. Like when she's leaning over the computer in the beginning of the movie, she might as well be at Playboy shoot.
3. At the end of the movie, I honestly believed that the woman on the council was actually some incredible bad ass. And I was super excited to see a random older lady bust out martial arts moves and save the day! So I was a little sad she was actually Natasha, though of course I'm always glad to see Natasha kicking ass.
Things I did like
1. Aw, Steve got a new BFF! Even though I don't care about Steve a whole lot, I'm glad he find someone who can empathize with his experiences of coming back from a war and not understanding his place in the world. I also like that Sam is a counselor/mentor sort of person who can hopefully help Steve process his feelings. I think that would be a neat dynamic for their friendship -- Steve not always being the leader, and having someone to call him out on his occasional BS. Also, those wings were fucking cool.
2. Post-Soviet!Natasha. This post about the world Natasha would have grown up in is so awesome, and it makes me want to write a huge back story about her. Why do I have a job? Why can't I just sit around and write fanfic all day?
3. Natasha telling Steve how to be undercover. He's making a battle plan in the mall, and she's all like "pretend we're a couple, and everything will be fine." And she's right! Also, that conversation in the car: "I have a question, and you don't have to answer it, but not answering it would be like an answer anyway." And Steve's fundamental unease with her in that scene. He knows that she's good at what she does, but she's completely the opposite of him, and he doesn't know how to respond to that.
4. Natasha's little arrow necklace! I'm glad that the movie went with a friendship arc for Natasha and Steve. I do not accept that relationship arcs are inherently disempowering for female characters, but I also very much enjoy seeing male/female friendships in pop culture. There is a little flirting/UST, but I think that's mainly Natasha's personality. She has chemistry with basically everyone, and she flirts with everyone too -- either because it's fun for her, or she likes the subtle power it gives her. Or both.
5. Maria Hill, so awesome. When Black Widow finally gets a movie, can Maria be part of it? Fury says he didn't know who to trust, but when he thinks shit is fucked up, he asks Maria to come RIGHT FUCKING NOW. "Any attempt on the director's life had to be convincing" -- if she wasn't in on this from the beginning, she was the first person Fury called. Most likely she was in on it because how else was he going to get to his bunker? I feel like this would be a good film for the Maria/Steve lovers on my flist.
6. Nick Fury! He's always seemed so distant and remote and a little creepy, so I really enjoyed seeing his character get more definition. When he goes to Pearson about Insight, he looks seriously freaked out. And obviously he wants to protect SHIELD because it's his baby, but when everyone around him says it has to go, he accepts it. I want to read a million stories about him!
7. People fight when you take their freedom, so you have to make them give it up voluntarily. Still giving me shivers.
Is there a comment fic meme somewhere? I have prompts, and I want to write stories like burning.
And now for my unpopular fannish confession: I have almost zero interest in Steve. I recognize him as a well-written character, and he is all about being out of place, which is my favorite thing to write about. And yet I cannot find it in myself to care for him. I was watching the movie for Natasha, Maria, Nick Fury, Sam, and then Steve. In spite of having little interest in the main character, I was very interested in the whole movie, which I think says a lot about the overall quality of the film.
Things I didn't like
1. I wish they could have pared down the action sequences a little bit. There were a few too many scenes in which four guys with machine guns didn't manage to hit anyone. That's a definite narrative pet peeve of mine.
2. I wish Natasha didn't always have to stand all sexy like all the time. Like when she's leaning over the computer in the beginning of the movie, she might as well be at Playboy shoot.
3. At the end of the movie, I honestly believed that the woman on the council was actually some incredible bad ass. And I was super excited to see a random older lady bust out martial arts moves and save the day! So I was a little sad she was actually Natasha, though of course I'm always glad to see Natasha kicking ass.
Things I did like
1. Aw, Steve got a new BFF! Even though I don't care about Steve a whole lot, I'm glad he find someone who can empathize with his experiences of coming back from a war and not understanding his place in the world. I also like that Sam is a counselor/mentor sort of person who can hopefully help Steve process his feelings. I think that would be a neat dynamic for their friendship -- Steve not always being the leader, and having someone to call him out on his occasional BS. Also, those wings were fucking cool.
2. Post-Soviet!Natasha. This post about the world Natasha would have grown up in is so awesome, and it makes me want to write a huge back story about her. Why do I have a job? Why can't I just sit around and write fanfic all day?
3. Natasha telling Steve how to be undercover. He's making a battle plan in the mall, and she's all like "pretend we're a couple, and everything will be fine." And she's right! Also, that conversation in the car: "I have a question, and you don't have to answer it, but not answering it would be like an answer anyway." And Steve's fundamental unease with her in that scene. He knows that she's good at what she does, but she's completely the opposite of him, and he doesn't know how to respond to that.
4. Natasha's little arrow necklace! I'm glad that the movie went with a friendship arc for Natasha and Steve. I do not accept that relationship arcs are inherently disempowering for female characters, but I also very much enjoy seeing male/female friendships in pop culture. There is a little flirting/UST, but I think that's mainly Natasha's personality. She has chemistry with basically everyone, and she flirts with everyone too -- either because it's fun for her, or she likes the subtle power it gives her. Or both.
5. Maria Hill, so awesome. When Black Widow finally gets a movie, can Maria be part of it? Fury says he didn't know who to trust, but when he thinks shit is fucked up, he asks Maria to come RIGHT FUCKING NOW. "Any attempt on the director's life had to be convincing" -- if she wasn't in on this from the beginning, she was the first person Fury called. Most likely she was in on it because how else was he going to get to his bunker? I feel like this would be a good film for the Maria/Steve lovers on my flist.
6. Nick Fury! He's always seemed so distant and remote and a little creepy, so I really enjoyed seeing his character get more definition. When he goes to Pearson about Insight, he looks seriously freaked out. And obviously he wants to protect SHIELD because it's his baby, but when everyone around him says it has to go, he accepts it. I want to read a million stories about him!
7. People fight when you take their freedom, so you have to make them give it up voluntarily. Still giving me shivers.
Is there a comment fic meme somewhere? I have prompts, and I want to write stories like burning.