The "Black Widow (2021)" Film Thread - SPOILERS!!! Now Out On Home Video Sept 14

[Adami]

Funny how there's not really another word for "thesaurus".

I thought it was stadler?

I wasn't going to point that out, but... 

IT'S LITERALLY YOUR JOB!

[jingle.boy]

Funny how there's not really another word for "thesaurus".

I thought it was stadler?

I wasn't going to point that out, but... 

IT'S LITERALLY YOUR JOB!

:dammitstadler: ... you had one job!

[MinistroRaven]

Both parties reached and agreement

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/30/media/disney-scarlett-johansson-lawsuit/index.html

[jingle.boy]

Both parties reached and agreement

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/30/media/disney-scarlett-johansson-lawsuit/index.html

Well there you go.  Exactly as Bill called it.

[Adami]

I’m shocked!!

[Adami]

Both parties reached and agreement

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/30/media/disney-scarlett-johansson-lawsuit/index.html

Well there you go.  Exactly as Bill called it.

Well, it was common sense.

[Stadler]

Both parties reached and agreement

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/30/media/disney-scarlett-johansson-lawsuit/index.html

Well there you go.  Exactly as Bill called it.

Well, it was common sense.

That's low.   

[jingle.boy]

Both parties reached and agreement

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/30/media/disney-scarlett-johansson-lawsuit/index.html

Well there you go.  Exactly as Bill called it.

Well, it was common sense.

That's low.   

It's downright deplorable.

[Orbert]

Can someone recap?  I've read that article twice, and a few others, and all I get is that "they reached an agreement".  Lots of details about how it came about, and why, but nothing on what was actually decided.

[bosk1]

It is probably confidential.  Most settlements are.

[lonestar]

It is probably confidential.  Most settlements are.

Yeah, I read elsewhere that details aren't being released

[pg1067]

Both parties reached and agreement

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/30/media/disney-scarlett-johansson-lawsuit/index.html

Well there you go.  Exactly as Bill called it.

Don't call me "Bill."   

My best guess is that the two sides will do a bit of preliminary punching at each other and eventually settle in a mediation.

Although there seems to have been little or no preliminary punching and no mediation.

Now I need to check what's going on with the Nirvana album cover lawsuit.

[hefdaddy42]

Both parties reached and agreement

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/30/media/disney-scarlett-johansson-lawsuit/index.html

As expected.  I'm glad it's over.

[jingle.boy]

Both parties reached and agreement

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/30/media/disney-scarlett-johansson-lawsuit/index.html

Well there you go.  Exactly as Bill called it.

Don't call me "Bill."   

Ok, Shirley.

[Orbert]

It is probably confidential.  Most settlements are.

Yeah, I read elsewhere that details aren't being released

That's what I figured, but some people were saying that the results were exactly what they'd predicted.  What, that they would settle before actually going to court?  That's also true of most cases like this, so this isn't a surprise.

[bosk1]

No, it isn't surprising.  But the fact that it settled so quickly would tend to indicate that, as the lawyers here predicted, the goal of both sides from the getgo was likely to reach a mutually-agreement resolution rather than to use litigation to beat each other into submission.

[Orbert]

It seems like a bizarre way to resolve things, but yeah I know it happens all the time.  There's a disagreement.  You try to work it out, but eventually one side doesn't just threaten to sue the other; they actually do it.  Let's get a few million-dollar lawyers to fight it out.  Oh, on second thought, let's not.  Next thing you know, things are settled.  That's good, sure, but couldn't they have done that without taking legal action?

[bosk1]

Yeah, but when you have contracts that are (1) as complicated with so many different terms as these likely are, and (2) have as much money at stake as these like do, it isn't something you just hash out together.  Even if you could agree on all the terms without the lawyers (which is unlikely because of so many moving parts), you still need the lawyers to make sure everything you are doing is legal and doesn't cause some other unintended consequences.  Suing in this type of situation does not always necessarily mean contentiousness.  It just means that you are triggering some processes that, for practical reasons, are necessary to get to a resolution.  Yes, it is inefficient.  But it is what it is.

[Dream Team]

Awesome, sounds like bridges weren't burned beyond repair. Looking forward to more Black Widow in the MCU.

[lonestar]

Awesome, sounds like bridges weren't burned beyond repair. Looking forward to more Black Widow in the MCU.

Yup..too bad they can't unburn that bridge in Endgame, though it wouldn't be below a comic universe to do some extreme mental gymnastics to bring someone back to life.

[Adami]

Awesome, sounds like bridges weren't burned beyond repair. Looking forward to more Black Widow in the MCU.

Yup..too bad they can't unburn that bridge in Endgame, though it wouldn't be below a comic universe to do some extreme mental gymnastics to bring someone back to life.

I don't see it happening. Bringing someone backs in the comics costs nothing. Bringing back Scarlett will cost Disney a pretty penny and she's not exactly RDJ in terms of how many people she'll bring to the theaters for her revival.

[lonestar]

Oh I don't see it happening either, just wistful thinking.

Im sure both sides are happy that she's still viable as a Disney actor in general though, she does have some solid marketability.

[Stadler]

Awesome, sounds like bridges weren't burned beyond repair. Looking forward to more Black Widow in the MCU.

Yup..too bad they can't unburn that bridge in Endgame, though it wouldn't be below a comic universe to do some extreme mental gymnastics to bring someone back to life.

I don't see it happening. Bringing someone backs in the comics costs nothing. Bringing back Scarlett will cost Disney a pretty penny and she's not exactly RDJ in terms of how many people she'll bring to the theaters for her revival.

Yeah, but Ronnie James Dio is dead too, so I'm not sure why that's the comparison.   

[Adami]

Awesome, sounds like bridges weren't burned beyond repair. Looking forward to more Black Widow in the MCU.

Yup..too bad they can't unburn that bridge in Endgame, though it wouldn't be below a comic universe to do some extreme mental gymnastics to bring someone back to life.

I don't see it happening. Bringing someone backs in the comics costs nothing. Bringing back Scarlett will cost Disney a pretty penny and she's not exactly RDJ in terms of how many people she'll bring to the theaters for her revival.

Yeah, but Ronnie James Dio is dead too, so I'm not sure why that's the comparison.   

Swing and a miss!

[Orbert]

Yeah, but when you have contracts that are (1) as complicated with so many different terms as these likely are, and (2) have as much money at stake as these like do, it isn't something you just hash out together.  Even if you could agree on all the terms without the lawyers (which is unlikely because of so many moving parts), you still need the lawyers to make sure everything you are doing is legal and doesn't cause some other unintended consequences.  Suing in this type of situation does not always necessarily mean contentiousness.  It just means that you are triggering some processes that, for practical reasons, are necessary to get to a resolution.  Yes, it is inefficient.  But it is what it is.

Yeah, I guess it does make sense.  The lawyers are gonna get involved anyway since the contracts are so damned complicated, so you might as well make it official.

"I'll see you in court!  Or have your guys stop by my office next week.  We'll chat."

[Stadler]

Awesome, sounds like bridges weren't burned beyond repair. Looking forward to more Black Widow in the MCU.

Yup..too bad they can't unburn that bridge in Endgame, though it wouldn't be below a comic universe to do some extreme mental gymnastics to bring someone back to life.

I don't see it happening. Bringing someone backs in the comics costs nothing. Bringing back Scarlett will cost Disney a pretty penny and she's not exactly RDJ in terms of how many people she'll bring to the theaters for her revival.

Yeah, but Ronnie James Dio is dead too, so I'm not sure why that's the comparison.   

Swing and a miss!

It was funny in my head. 

[ZirconBlue]

It is probably confidential.  Most settlements are.

Not official, but Hollywood news outlets (like Deadline) are reporting that she got $40 Million out of the settlement. 

[Zook]

I finally watched Black Widow, and while I didn't hate it, I was kinda bored, and had a feeling of emptiness. The characters were entertaining, but the comic relief never really got me to crack a smile. It was just kind of there. I like the Black Widow character. She was cool. I'm looking forward to seeing Yelena in future movies, but this movie didn't really do anything for me.

Also, Why did William Hurt look like a CGI robot?

[lonestar]

Gave this another go now that it's on D+, and can confirm I still have a massive crush on ScarJo.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

So I finally saw this since it's on Disney+, and I loved it. I'm kind of surprised people have been somewhat lukewarm on it; honestly I'd put among the best MCU films so far. The first half of the movie is especially good, it's a bit smaller scale and grounded, kind of slower, and the interactions between Natasha and Yelena when they meet again are fantastic; funny but not over the top and genuinely heartfelt. If the entire movie was as strong as the first half, I think it might have even been the best MCU film overall. But even though the second half does turn into the obligatory Marvel huge action thing, it's at least fun to watch since I enjoy the characters so much. It really made me kind of regret that there'll never be another Black Widow film since this one worked so well.

I do hope that Marvel learns slow + small scale doesn't necessarily = bad, but I guess I won't really hold my breath on that.

Oh I forgot to mention I loved Crimson Dynamo too. Rachel Weisz was alright but I don't feel like they really gave the character enough breathing room for us to start caring about her.

[Skeever]

Finally got to head to watching this, mostly because I wanted to watch Hawkeye in time for Christmas.

I was really going in just a check the box but it actually was a pretty decent movie. Not great, but a lot of fun.

[Dream Team]

I finally watched Black Widow, and while I didn't hate it, I was kinda bored, and had a feeling of emptiness. The characters were entertaining, but the comic relief never really got me to crack a smile. It was just kind of there. I like the Black Widow character. She was cool. I'm looking forward to seeing Yelena in future movies, but this movie didn't really do anything for me.

Also, Why did William Hurt look like a CGI robot?

He was getting close to being dead in real life . . . maybe they had to touch him up a little.

[bosk1]

Finally got to head to watching this, mostly because I wanted to watch Hawkeye in time for Christmas.

I was really going in just a check the box but it actually was a pretty decent movie. Not great, but a lot of fun.

Nice!    I agree that it was a fun movie.  I went into it with low expectations, just feeling like, although BW has been such a great character, this was just a movie that few wanted and nobody needed.  The thing about Natasha is that she is a great supporting character.  There was really no need to try to make her a compelling lead character.  That aspect of the film was actually handled well, IMO.  For all intents and purposes, Natasha was practically a co-lead in what ended up being a small ensemble movie, and that worked well.  It was great to title it "Black Widow," because it wasn't a Natasha movie--it was a movie about black widows.  And while this film didn't end up making me love Yelena, it gave us a great arc and lots of development for her that is making her a great character moving forward. 

There were basically three things that bugged me: (1) Taskmaster was poorly written and a wasted opportunity; (2) the action in the final act was so over the top that it kind of took me out of the moment; and (3) the editing/writing at the very end between Natasha giving herself up and about to be taken into custody, and then mysteriously being free and about to go break everyone out of The Raft made no sense.  On point #3, I say "editing/writing" because I don't know which.  I don't know if it was actually written well, but crucial information was left on the cutting room floor, or if it was just badly written from the beginning.  But it made no sense and still bugs me.  We know from Civil War, Infinity War, and the beginning of this film that Ross was really hot to have her locked up.  It makes no sense for her to be just about to be locked up, and then mysteriously free.  Either don't have her get caught in the first place, or have her make a comment about getting caught on purpose and having contacts that will help her break everyone out from the inside, or something.  This ending bugged me.

That said, again, I agree with your overall feeling.  I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would, and would put it somewhere in the middle of the pack for the MCU individual hero films. 

[The Letter M]

The more and more I think about it, Thunderbolts is shaping up to be a sequel to Black Widow, with the inclusion of Yelena, Red Guardian, and Taskmaster on the titular team, plus Val being there bringing them all together, it feels like a sequel to Black Widow (but also a follow-up to Captain America: New World Order, since it comes out right after it).

-Marc.