Marvel Studios' Black Widow - Official Teaser Trailer

My daughter is interested in seeing this but hasn’t seen all the MCU films like the rest of the family, notably Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame. Will she be (1) hopelessly lost and/or (2) seeing anything that nods to BW’s fate in Endgame?

 

Yes, for anyone watching the MCU for the first time in later years, this is perfect to watch right after Civil War, EXCEPT for that epilogue. That's slightly unfortunate. Maybe for home video, it should be detached from the movie and put in as a bonus scene with spoiler warnings.

I saw it in Regal's 4DX format Thursday night (no mandatory masks, no social distancing, with a mostly sold-out theater). It was an incredible showcase for 4DX, with all of the car crashes, hand-to-hand combat and explosions. The chairs almost throw you out onto the floor at some points, and one particular segment ended with an audible "wow" from the audience, and laughs at just how violently the chairs were moving. I also saw my first 4DX "snow" thanks to one of the scenes in a wintery locale. One time, the 4DX put out a giant plume of smoke that was just too much, it obscured half the screen for a couple of minutes. The smoke's the only part of 4DX I would do away with. The 3D also looked very pleasing to the eye, with a lot of moments of depth. I think Godzilla: King of the Monsters was the only 4DX I've seen that might have been better than this one.

It looks like they might've spent the extra year polishing up the effects and tightening up the editing, because this is one of the MCU's most technically flawless movies. Kevin Feige clearly has a well-oiled machine in place to produce these films. The movie's credited director has only directed three no-budget films before, so it's inconceivable to me that she could pull off a production this massive with so little experience without a lot of help.

I thought that overall this was one of the strongest MCU movies. It was a welcome change of pace to see a down-to-earth spy thriller after the heavy sci-fi and superhero storyline in Endgame. This, at different times, felt like the 1980s G.I. Joe cartoon, James Bond and Mission: Impossible. I think my two favorite MCU movies are Winter Soldier and Endgame. I feel like I enjoyed this one just about as much as Winter Soldier. And this is much better than their other recent film Captain Marvel, a stiff, flat outing that is one of my least favorite MCU movies.

Black Widow probably has plot holes, but it's so fast-paced and action-packed that you don't have a lot of spare time to think about the plot. This movie functions on the level of pure action, making it almost a pointless exercise to analyze the story very much. Therefore, I also wasn't too concerned about what any of the "reveals" were going to be. There isn't a lot of time to think during this movie. There's only one three-minute scene in the middle of the movie when the momentum grinds to a halt, and half the theater seemed to be checking their phones or muttering to each other. Then things pick right back up. There's a lot of backstory in the film covered in flashbacks and dialogue exchanges. I think I understood MOST of it, which is a good achievement considering how incomprehensible a lot of spy thrillers can get.

The movie does get more over-the-top and less plausible as it goes on. By the end, it starts to feel more like a comic book and less like an adult spy thriller, because of the incredible feats, both physically and plot-wise, that the characters are able to pull off. But I can't really complain about that, because we know going in this is a comic book, and not based on the grittiest or most hard-boiled source material. Still, maybe there are some difficult situations that the characters get out of just a little too smoothly and easily at times.

Florence Pugh was the most interesting actor to watch in the film. As the "other" Black Widow in the movie, she was the second most important character to pull off, and she achieved that to the maximum extent possible. She's the one character in the movie I would eagerly anticipate seeing more of, if possible. As for ScarJo, this is probably her best performance as Black Widow, but I still feel she was miscast in the role from the beginning. Emily Blunt would've nailed this part in a way ScarJo just isn't capable of. I feel satisfied now that I've seen enough of ScarJo in the MCU, and she can be retired. I didn't recognize Ray Winstone in this film. I'm not that familiar with him, but he sure gave a different performance here than he did in Indiana Jones 4, and a better one. The Red Guardian character, as indicated in the trailers, is largely there to provide comic relief. He was not the best part of the movie, and I enjoyed him more when he was given some moments of dignity.

I feel like this movie leaves wide open the possibility that we can get a similar Captain America movie, set between Civil War and Infinity War. If I recall, what Steve was doing during that time was left just as vague as what Natasha was doing.

On an unrelated note, as a G.I. Joe franchise fan, I'm greatly disappointed that the G.I. Joe movies don't feel a lot more like Winter Soldier and Black Widow. 1980s G.I. Joe was based right off of the Marvel Avengers comics in many ways, but the people making the G.I. Joe movies don't have 1% of the understanding that Marvel Studios does of how these kinds of stylized action-adventure stories are supposed to be done.

 

We intended for Marvel's Black Widow to be our big return to the theater-going experience, but we wound up taking the easy way out and watching it on Disney+ tonight. It's a big, broad noisy epic that's kind of a messy amalgam of James Bond and "Star Wars," and it's more the story of the title character's family than it is about her, per se. The climax would be right at home in any 1980s/1990s Bond film, but there are enough twists and turns to make you pay close attention.

Gabby Beristain's cinematography is risky: he's a DP who makes bold choices on set with lots of mixed lighting (intensifed by lead colorist Jill Bogdanowicz's stylistic grading). It's a very in-your-face film, but definitely doesn't follow the usual episodic Marvel formula. I think the middle sags a bit, but the last 45 minutes is worth the cost of admission alone. Amazing tech specs, and some stunts I don't think have ever been attempted in film before.

'Black Widow' Review: Grittier and With More Feeling Than You Expect - Variety

 

Thanks for that.

From the various screenshots I've seen, it looks like they have done some work on Johansson's face.

I don't think I've seen her skin face so smooth in years - possibly since Besson's Lucy.

In that image you posted, she looks like a girl in her mid 20s and not a woman pushing 40 y.o.

 

The scene that's staying with me the most is the fight between the two Widows in the apartment building. Narratively, this scene is completely gratuitous, so you know it made it into the movie on its cool factor alone. This was the most Bourne/Wick/Tarantino-style fight in the movie. The choreography and editing were razor sharp. It's the grittiest, most down-to-earth, least comic-booky, least show-offy, least over-the-top action scene in the movie. And it had a more unpredictable, dangerous feel than in most of the straight hero vs. villain fights.

And, yeah, "gritty" is becoming the adjective of choice for this movie. Should've made it into the Rotten Tomatoes summary.

I was a little surprised they didn't use CGI on the face of the child Natasha to replicate ScarJo, since she started in movies at around that same age. I had trouble figuring out which kid was Natasha vs. Yelena, because the child Natasha didn't have red hair.

I think the movie does deserve a place in the annals of the "bruised forearm" movies, Roger Ebert's category for movies such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Die Hard 2, Lethal Weapon and Speed.

 

I saw it yesterday and have been thinking about it ever since. Just a great stand-alone MCU movie (except for the continuity in the post credit scene)

 

1) I don't think anyone would be hopelessly lost, since the film has a central plot that it contained in the narrative. But the story rests on the fact that the Black Widow has left the Avengers, and this is repeated several times.

2) Nothing in the main body of the film references the main character's fate in Endgame. BUT beware the after credits sequence, as already noted, as this takes place AFTER Endgame. In fact, I was confused what the sequence meant, since it anticipates a future MCU story. I had to look it up on-line. I'll stick it in a spoiler:

Spoiler: Black Widow Post-Credits Sequence

Natasha's sister Yelena Belova visits her grave to pay respects and it soon becomes apparent someone else is there beside her - it seems to be her boss or someone she works with. Apparently (not explained) this is Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, from Falcon And The Winter Soldier. She gives Yelena a photo and asks her if she would like to kill the man who killed her sister. It is a photo of Clint Barton, the Avenger Hawkeye. This anticipates a future story in the upcoming Hawkeye miniseries, in which Yelena presumably will take on Hawkeye.

 

There is a fair bit of other continuity in there. Widow talks about how the Avengers have fallen apart as a family, referencing Civil War. And then the ending has her all restyled and prepped for her entrance into Infinity War. Which is what really makes it ideal to watch in between those movies, especially since those details may be forgotten by people who haven't seen those movies in years. Civil War itself seemed to be something the filmmakers really wanted to forget about soon after it happened, and I'm not sure the resolution of that rift was worthy of all the set-up. So it helps the series to see a movie flesh out that "rift" period a little bit more. If you're going to break up the Avengers, you want to see how they function broken up for a while before they get back together.

The "new" character in the end credits scene was apparently supposed to debut in this movie, but because of the delay, she ended up debuting in one of the Disney+ series. I could tell some people in the audience recognized her. And this scene is apparently a teaser for a different Disney+ series, not a movie. I'm not sure if this is the first reference in the MCU movies to a past or future Disney+ series.

 

I found the opening of the film heartbreaking, it really brings home the trauma Natasha suffered in her early life

 

The child Natasha had blue/cyan hair, so the inference is she liked to dye her hair at different times, and did it since she was 11 or 12. I had no problem with that. They also make it clear later on in the film that they were each "stolen" from other parents, so they weren't blood relatives.

Not that much of a spoiler, so I'll repost it. A Hawkeye Marvel TV show is in production now and is due to air at the end of 2021. My guess is we'll see some of these characters (and plot elements) again.

 

You know, she's only 36, and the movie was shot 2 years ago (when she was 34), so I'd give her the benefit of the doubt and say she lives well, she's got great make up, she has great lighting, and she's in very good shape.

 

Both she and Florence Pugh also contracted pneumonia during the filming of the movie.

Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh battled pneumonia whilst filming Black Widow | Movie News | Landmark Cinemas

 

Lola FX.

It's a software company specializes in age reduction. It first became known to the general public when Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart were de-aged to appear as younger versions of themselves.

Prior to that, it had been used on music videos for aging pop starlets.

 

I really don't think they de-aged her with effects, or even tried that hard to do so with makeup. She would only have been playing herself 2 or 3 years younger than her age. The shot seen above is probably just in a softer focus, maybe due to being shot in a crowd scene with a moving camera? This shot has more contrast going on, and you can see more of the lines in her face.

Overall, she does seem to have less "baby fat" in the newer MCU movies than in her earlier ones, which is probably due to more intense physical training. Her hair coloring also seems more naturalistic in this one and less crayon bright, which I guess was meant to help with the "grittier" tone of this movie.

 

The most interesting potential offshoot film to me, would be the young actress who plays Yelena, when she gets pulled into the Red Room and becomes the "deadliest child assassin."

 

By the way, if you like Florence Pugh you really have to see Fighting With My Family, where she plays a wrestler.

 

That's true although in contemporary movies like this, we can use a very light touch (in near-realtime) to just soften people's faces a little bit to add a little more glamor. It's not de-aging per se, it's just a mild filter. They can also shoot with ProMist and Hollywood Soft filters to do the same thing, but the advantage of doing it in post is to only affect the face and not everything in the shot. I didn't see any evidence of this in Black Widow.

 

That could be an entire show unto itself, but jesus, it'd be a tough one to watch.

 

It I might have to be animated, like O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill.

 

Thanks a lot Chris and Marc for your kind replies, much appreciated.

Yeah, in this shot she looks a bit older; I wasn't thinking they de aged for the whole film though. How much would that cost? I remember it took a lot of money to de-age Pitt for a short shot on "Benjamin Button" and that was outstanding, like that scene starring Robert Downey Jr on "Civil war".

The de-aging on "The Irishman"...didn't think it was as good as the aforementioned ones.

Guess I'll have to see the film. Was thinking about going to the theater and support my local one that reopened not too long ago (with new "post pandemic" prices) but the virus is starting to run again.
I really want to see on the big screen but not enough to risk my health. We'll see.

 

The only thing unbelievable about THAT movie is that Nick Frost would be married to Lena Headey!!!

 

Reports are putting Widow at an $89m domestic weekend. That's a little higher than pre-pandemic Dr. Strange and Ant-Man and the Wasp, but a lot lower than Captain Marvel's $153m and Guardians 2's $146m. It's a great number for MCU circa 2014, but a little soft for the present day. So there seems to be a COVID penalty in place, which Disney is no doubt collecting a good bit of through streaming purchases. But this is at least a weekend record for pandemic-era films. I don't think Suicide Squad or Shang-Chi will top it, but Venom 2 in late September has a good chance at taking the post-pandemic crown from it. As does Bond in early October. Other high-profile movies remaining this year are Eternals, Space Jam, Dune, Halloween Kills, Top Gun, Ghostbusters, West Side Story, Spider-Man, Matrix 4.

Deadline says the Cinemascore is A-, which is actually low for the MCU. Only 4 of the previous 23 have gotten under an A apparently. It's getting its share of flak in internet comments. Apparently the Taskmaster is heavily changed from the comic book version, so fanboys are slamming it for that. But some people think this version of the villain works well in the movie. Mixed reviews seem to predominate over terrible or great reviews. There isn't a lot of consensus in the reviews...the action was the best part, the action was the worst ever in the MCU and too hard to follow, it was nice that they used less CGI, there was way too much CGI, the action was more down-to-earth, the action was too over-the-top, it was a great final adventure for Black Widow, Black Widow was still poorly developed as a character, ScarJo gave her best performance yet, ScarJo gave her worst performance yet, it started slow but then got more exciting, it started out great but had a lousy third act, the comic relief was great, the humor was the same old stupid overdone MCU stuff, it had a nicely darker tone, the dark content was undermined by an overly light tone, the stakes were too high for what should've been a smaller movie, the stakes weren't high enough so the movie felt unimportant, etc. Florence Pugh is getting almost universal praise though, one point of clear positive consensus. There seems to be a fair amount of consensus that the top villain of the movie is not all that impressive a character. Another fanboy complaint is that the movie "came out too late." that it's out of synch with the rest of the MCU, and doesn't "add anything" to the MCU.

 

I saw it last night. I thought it was very well done. Florence Pugh really stole the show. Fun movie.