Commentary
DAMN! Scarlett Johansson has arrived!
On July 9th 2021, Black Widow was released by Marvel and Disney Plus Premier Access and gives the audience a fantastic experience. Originally scheduled to be released May 1st, 2020, we have been awaiting Black Widow for far too long. It was amazing to have the option of watching Black Widow streaming on Disney Plus from my sofa at the same time others were getting the full theatre experience. The terrible pandemic led to this option and I love it.
Now, let’s get down to business. Scarlett Johansson is credited as Executive Producer! Yes, ma'am! This means besides her up front $15 million dollar contract she makes money off of the films success on the backend. With the film's production costs of approx. $200 Million dollars and opening weekend bringing in $218.8 million, $60 Million of that coming from streaming, the female led film is off to a record breaking start.
Speaking of led. Cate Shortland is the first female to solo direct a Marvel film. Nice! She was not thrown to the wolves, however. There was a lot of collaboration with other Marvel directors to ensure storyline continuity. Johansson wanted Shortland based on her previous works (which I will now have to seek-out and watch) and brought her into the fold. As a professional observer, I could tell immediately Black Widow was directed by a female. The characters were detailed, meaningful and sexy in an attractive way, not overly sexualized with gratuitous ass shots. It is subtle but when you watch Wonder Woman you can see that nuance too. It was such a good decision.
The action, as weird as it sounds, is completely outrageous and yet believable. Yup, they sold us a world where Natasha Romanoff can do anything and we totally believe it. We believe it every other time so why not Black Widow too.
The sister character, Yelena Belova played by Florence Pugh, has this dry sense of humor that gets better each time I watch the film (benefit of streaming). I am sure we will be seeing a lot more of her in the Marvel Universe.
Additionally, this is not a blonde haired blue eyed cast. I can not say enough about the wide variety of the beautiful and strong fighting women represented in this cast. Kudos to ScarJo for putting her money where her mouth is and making real change in the industry.
If I were you, I’d go see it in the theatre and then stream it so you can watch it again and again.
No spoilers? My metaphor takeaway from this film is child sex trafficking. It was powerful. I’m trying not to spoil it!
Enjoy the adventure.
#BlackWidow #Disney #Marvel #ScarlettJohansson #CateShortland #director #FemaleDirector #Producer #BlockBuster #DisneyPlus #Streaming #YelenaBelova #FlorencePugh #ScarJo #NatashaRomanoff #MovieReview #Film #Movies #MarvelStudios #FemaleLead
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