Thoughts on Black Widow's characterization in Avengers

[marinarusalka]

Comments

[tripperfunster]

Aside from seeing her in Ironman II (which was a movie I didn't really care for,) I didn't know much about her, aside from what I'd read in fic, and generally, that seems to involve everyone being afraid of her. ;)

At the start of the movie, when she was being 'interrogated' I was disappointed. I thought she was tough! I thought she was a top notch assassin! Of course, I was thrilled to bits when she finally hung up the phone and kicked some serious ass. :D

And again, with Loki, I was thinking ,Oh man! Whaa whaa, poor little girl. Again, I was pleased with her manipulations.

I thought she was great! I am the queen of the 'boys' and slash etc, and i would love to read good fic of her, be it gen or natasha/clint or whatever.

I thought the whole movie rocked pretty damn hard.

[marinarusalka]

One of the coolest things about those scenes with Natasha is that the audience gets set up to have the same false expectations as the villains. We're encouraged to watch and go "Oh, she's weak" just before she turns the tables on us. :-)

The movie totally rocked. I can't wait to see it again.

[ignipes]

I agree with everything you've said here! Well, I don't know the comics canon, but the rest of it. I would like more ladies on the superhero team, but if they're only going to let us have one, yeah, did they give us a good one. Natasha is amazing and I want her movie RIGHT NOW.

[marinarusalka]

I would love to see more more women on the team (my personal choice is Ms Marvel -- see icon). Or failing that, it would be nice to see Natasha interact with Maria Hill (and with Pepper again) in future movies.

But yeah, Black Widow movie needs to happen. Don't let us down, Marvel!

[littlepunkryo]

Amen to all of this. I really liked what they did with her in this - I thought she was going to end up 100% this icy, tough girl character and she wasn't. She was scared and showed it and then worked past it (thinking of her with the Hulk), she was totally badass, she was incredibly competent but also giving emotionally when she needed to be. It was really great.

[marinarusalka]

Seriously, I don't think there was a single Natasha moment in the movie that I didn't love. She's the best.

[shallowz]

Yes to all of this!

I read a review in our local paper who viewed Scarlett Johansson's acting 'Bourne Legacy stiff'. I tossed off the remark since there appears to be a few reviewers out there that unless an actor is emoting to the heavens, they're wooden or stiff. This reviewer was also male and I suspect doesn't necessarily have an objective view on how a woman - super hero or not - should behave in whatever situation.

Personally, I found SJ portrayal of Natasha a wonderful balance of restraint, competence and vulnerability. And I appreciated her moment of shock after The Hulk, since any sane person should have that 'omg' moment after escaping a humungous, angry green guy.

Bruce talking about suicide? Pretty huge vulnerability there, but handled so deftly it's almost overlooked.

I loved this movie and if Joss Whedon is directing the 2nd one, I'm sure I'll be just as happy with it. The man knows how to direct an ensemble cast and make them all shine.

I'm certainly going to see this one again.:)

[marinarusalka]

I saw it again today and came away with an extra dose of love for Natasha. She's really just fantastic in every scene she's in.

[amonitrate]

YES THANK YOU. Especially the bit about emotional vulnerability.

i really need a black widow icon.

[marinarusalka]

Hee. I already have a couple of Black Widow icons, but I think I need more.