Hawkeye? Hawk How? A belated discussion we should have had months ago.

A discussion with coworkers this brought this question to mind: Was the Hawkeye  and Black Widow story truly done justice in The Avengers?

Please think very carefully before you answer this. We ended up with a split house. While I consider Hawkeye and the Black Widow to be intriguing character arcs to the compilation of figures, I found that they felt a little tacked on in the film.

Yes, this is a little late to bring  up as the Avengers came out over the summer, but I view movie critique sometimes like a break-up: The real questions, doubt and musings don’t come until you are far away from the problem.

You don’t realize the full weight of your bad decision making until you can fully reflect on it.

No don’t get me wrong. I liked Hawkeye and Black Widow. They’re cool.

Double agent ballerina? Please do! Archer who can hit anything with arrows of awesome? Sweet! But right here? Right now? I feel like we moved too fast. Haven’t even gone on the second date.

I get that they are a part of Avengers and its momentum, however, them not having the full back story in film kind of mired me. I didn’t feel as though I had enough inter-character report to bounce off of.

Personally, I didn’t really know too much about their characters until recently. I know, I know, a little bit a faux pas there. However, because I had neither to fall back on, I felt . . . adrift.

That being said, having these two rather intricate characters thrown onto the story line was  . . . odd. Like people who should not have been on the invite list list showing up to the dinner.

They really needed their own movie. Maybe it opens with over sized shots of her jumping, leaping, diving, kicking and falling. Pan out, it’s her on a stage in Russia, finishing Swan Lake.

Then, BAM, swoop up through the rigging on top of the stage, through the rafters, onto the roof. Overlooking a snow swirling Russia is Hawkeye, bundled up against the cold and dusting ice off his gear.

Seems like it could be good.

Another thing I had not really considered until recently was how much did the actor fit the role? Sam Jackson as Nick Fury, while totally changing the character, lends it some aggression that I appreciate. I keep waiting for him to pop behind someone in a Marvel movie and say, “Say what, one more time!”

Jeremy Renner.

While I like him, I didn’t see him quite fitting the mold of Hawkeye. I felt he was . . . a little off. Is anyone here with me on this? Anyone? Am I an island?

He’s got the muscles, he’s got the acting . . . he just didn’t quite have the face. It didn’t work for me.

Maybe it’s because he is opposite Scarlett Johansson, who has a symmetrical face, but I felt like his hair and expressions made him look like a young Bill Murray.

Please, folks, make me not feel like I’m crazy. Let me know what you think.