Over the years, Scarlett Johansson has become one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood. The New York-born actress wanted to be a person when she grew up, and she even made her film debut when she was only nine years old in 1994’s North. As a youth, she also made appearances on the theatrical stage and even was in an Off-Broadway play with Ethan Hawke early on in her career. Johansson continuously landed roles as a child in movies and television, solidifying her acting prospects pretty early on. But when she transitioned into adult roles, such as in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation and Peter Webber’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, Johansson quickly became someone to watch.
She not only became known for her cinematic collaborations with Woody Allen, but Johansson’s fame skyrocketed after she was cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Black Widow. She has continued to appear in this role ever since, but her career has been remarkable for the depth of roles Johansson has portrayed ever since she first started acting as a child. Not only is she capable of playing more serious roles, as seen in Jojo Rabbit and Marriage Story in 2019, but she has proven she can be an action star outside of Marvel. These are her best action movies so far.
9 Eight Legged Freaks
A monster comedy that was released in 2002, Eight Legged Freaks came out early on in Johansson’s career. In the movie, the setting is an old mining town in Arizona, and, in the beginning, nothing happens here. But when a truck driver comes through town with chemicals, he ends up almost getting into an accident after spotting a rabbit on the road.
A barrel from his truck lands in a pond, expelling toxic waste, and a local spider farmer collects crickets from the pond to feed his spiders. That leads to a strange set of circumstances when he feeds the spiders these crickets, as they begin to mutate, growing massive, and they end up killing their owner. When they escape, those living in the town have entirely new troubles to deal with.
8 The Man Who Wasn’t There
2001’s The Man Who Wasn’t There was directed by the Coen Brothers and had a heavy-hitting cast. Johansson was joined by Frances McDormand, Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Shalhoub, Michael Bahalucco, and many other big names to tell a story that takes place decades ago in 1949. The movie’s protagonist is Ed Crane, a barber who lives in California with his wife, and he has suspicions about what is going on behind the scenes.
He thinks his wife is having an affair with her boss, and a new fellow comes into town with a concept called dry cleaning — he’s looking for investors to make this idea happen. Ed decides he needs to get money through unethical means, blackmailing his wife’s boss, and this can only end in tragedy when violence becomes one of the few answers to the problems this causes.
7 The Island
Ewan McGregor and Johansson star in the 2005 movie The Island, which is a science fiction action movie set in 2019. Back then, 2019 was over a decade in the future, but the movie imagines the year to be one where a dystopia potentially exists. People are living in compounds and are told that the outside world is too contaminated to enter, leaving them forced inside the four walls they are trapped within.
There’s one exception: those who win a lottery system are allowed to leave for an island that is rumored to be the only non-contaminated spot in the world. When the protagonist begins to suspect everything going on, he realizes the outside world isn’t what they were told and they must now fight for their lives knowing the truth.
6 The Spirit
Frank Miller directs The Spirit, which is a neo-noir superhero movie based on a newspaper comic strip by Will Eisner. The protagonist is Denny Colt, who is a superhero that goes by the alter ego of “the Spirit.” When he learns of a new case on the horizon involving one of his greatest enemies, the nefarious Octopus, he decides to pursue the case on his own. When the detective who gives him cases ends up injured by new threats, a completely different kind of battle emerges.
The cast of the movie consists of not only Johansson, but also Eva Mendes, Gabriel Macht, and Samuel L. Jackson, among others. Unfortunately, the movie was not well received when it came out and failed at the box office, deeming it a commercial failure when it comes to grosses.
5 Iron Man 2
In Iron Man 2, Johansson made her first appearance in the supporting cast as the now-beloved Black Widow. Iron Man 2 was a sequel to the original Iron Man, and it takes place six months after the events of the first movie. Tony Stark is enjoying worldwide attention for his efforts in Iron Man, and the technology behind his suits is highly sought after by the government.
But Stark has come to a new realization: the core that powers his armor and keeps him alive is also the reason he is dying. Preparing for his inevitable death, he begins to make plans for his company if he is to die soon, but a new threat has appeared in the form of a Russian son of a former Stark Enterprises employee.
4 Ghost in the Shell
Released in 2017, the film adaptation of the beloved anime Ghost in the Shell hit theaters and was controversial in its casting of Johansson. Johansson portrays the main character who, in the original anime and Manga, was of Japanese ancestry, causing a rift and division of opinions of those around the world.
But in the movie, which is set in a world that utilizes technology to merge humans with robots, Mira Killian is chosen as a test subject for putting a human brain into an artificial body. It works and as time passes, she works her way up in the government to gain more power. When Killian begins to question her past and why she’s working for them the way she is, it leads to more trouble and revelations for her.
3 Black Widow
The role of Black Widow is what launched Johansson’s career to all-new heights around the world, and in 2021, the character got her solo movie, titled Black Widow. The film is set after the 2016 movie Captain America: Civil War and Natasha Romanoff is on the run. She violated the Sokovia Accords and is a fugitive because of it, but when she escapes from the U.S. government officials, she finds herself in a completely new set of problems when she arrives in Norway.
Romanoff’s past is catching up to her when she gets ahold of a set of antidote vials that prevents the Red Room’s mind-controlling agent from working. Forced to go back to the scenes, memories, and people of her past, Romanoff goes on one final adventure before the character is retired.
2 Lucy
A French science fiction movie that’s in English, Lucy features an eclectic cast. Johansson portrays the lead role of Lucy, and she is joined by Morgan Freeman, South Korean actor Choi Min-sik, and the Egyptian actor Amr Waked. In the movie, Lucy is a girl who is studying abroad in Taiwan when her boyfriend tricks her into working for a Korean drug lord. When delivering drugs for him, she ends up becoming the human carrier for the drugs after it’s sewn into her body.
But when the bag breaks inside of her, releasing the drugs, Lucy gains abilities like no other. She not only has telepathy and telekinesis, but also is capable of time travel. Now driven by revenge and the desire to become normal again, Lucy will use her new abilities to achieve her goals.
1 The Avengers
Perhaps one of the most iconic movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers is a classic in the genre. The 2012 film brought together an ensemble cast of superheroes coming together to stop Loki, Thor’s brother, from his proposed attack on planet Earth. At the beginning of the movie, Loki isn’t able to access Earth easily, but when a wormhole opens, he comes to the planet and begins enacting his plans.
Nick Fury gathers the Avengers to combat Loki and his army, but now it’s a race against time to get everyone together to fight in time. The movie spawned three sequels, which were equally, if not more, successful than the original The Avengers.
Comments
Post a Comment