When it comes to the entertainment industry today, few entities have the level of recognition that Marvel Studios possesses. The Kevin Feige-headed company struck gold over a decade ago when it kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man. Since then, the series has amassed a large fanbase and earned billions of dollars at the box office. Despite all of that though, the movies do get criticized for one reason or another. The latest to call them out was a potential Black Widow directing contender, who believes certain aspects of the films are usually done in “poor taste.”
2020’s Black Widow was helmed by Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland but, before she landed the gig, a number of others were in the running for the job. One of those people was Lucrecia Martel, who’s known for directing smaller films like The Holy Girl and The Headless Woman. Martel recently caught up with The Film Stage and, during the discussion, she was asked about missing out on collaborating with the machine that is Marvel Studios. While revealing that she has still yet to see the film in its entirety, Martel also mentioned some technical gripes she has with the movies in the interconnected franchise:
No, no, no. I didn’t see ‘Black Widow.’ I tried to. It turns out some of the Marvel films are available on planes so I’ve seen a few. I find the sound in them is absolutely in very poor taste, the visual effects, and the sound of the effects.
Those certainly aren’t the most blunt thoughts that have ever been aimed at MCU fare, though they are still brutally honest nonetheless. Sound and CGI are incredibly important when it comes to blockbuster films, especially as far as major action sequences are confirmed. While making her argument, the Argentine director got a little more specific about why she doesn’t think the two things mesh in Disney’s superhero flicks:
It’s the selection of the sounds that they’re connecting to the effects, which is actually very ugly. And the way the music is used is actually horrible.
Marvel Movies In Order: How To Watch The MCU By Release Date And Chronologically
Coincidentally, visual effects in MCU movies and TV shows have been widely discussed as of late. Much of this is due to allegations of poor working conditions for VFX employees, who claim that they’re given unfeasible completion deadlines by studios like Disney and Sony. An Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania animator even claimed the movie suffered due to that very thing. Black Widow is (somewhat) one of the more grounded stories in the cinematic universe, though it did have its share of CGI-heavy sequences. The film’s effects team even revealed one sequence that they wish they’d had more time to work on.
Even some of the most devoted fans have called out the visual effects and sound mixing in some of the MCU productions. That may even presumably include those who enjoyed the Scarlett Johansson-led spy thriller. So Lucrecia Martel’s comments aren’t exactly out of left field, and she’s certainly entitled to her opinion. With that, I’d say that the chances of her trying for another collaboration with Marvel Studios are probably slim. Though if I’m being honest, I’d love to see what she could bring to the massive franchise.
Black Widow is currently available to stream with a Disney+ subscription, and you can read up on upcoming Marvel movies as well.
