I was immediately intrigued by the character of Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch after the credits scene in
Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Just in the little amount of screentime that she had, I thought Elizabeth Olsen made quite the impact with her performance. She conveyed quite clearly that there was something 'off' about Wanda...but at the same time she was very dangerous (given what she did to those blocks she was making float).
I quickly became a fan of Elizabeth Olsen's portrayal of Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch in
Avengers: Age of Ultron, and thought they really should’ve gone to the movie’s title straight off of her somewhat creepy grin – as it was unnerving/had a sense of foreboding about it (like she may have succeeded in offing an Avenger or two). It would’ve been a very strong moment to go to the film’s title...but, no, it naturally happened after a Tony Stark moment (of course).
I enjoyed the character journey Wanda went through in the movie. She started off as someone filled with so much hate (considering it was mainly directed at Tony, I didn't really blame her for it). Yes, she and Pietro were on the 'wrong side', but they were working from the information they had. As soon as it became clear to them what Ultron was really all about, they chose the 'right side'.
Although I figured out straight away what was causing Wanda to be screaming whilst on her knees in the trailers for the movie (ie. that she'd lost her brother), the moment still had impact in the film itself, I found. They might not have had much screentime in the movie, but I thought both actors managed to build a believable sibling relationship between their characters. I also liked their dynamic (separately and together) with Hawkeye.
I was just so pleased to see more of Wanda's character again in
Captain America: Civil War. I liked that she was one of the first people we saw in the movie and how she was working with Steve, Sam and Natasha. They made quite the team. I loved seeing them work together, using each other’s skills/powers, and especially how Steve interacted with her. I’d gotten a big brother/younger sister vibe from Hawkeye and Wanda in AoU (which she sorely needed, after what happened to her
actual brother - my favourite moment from the movie would have to be when she steps out that door and unleashes her powers after Hawkeye's pep talk with her), and it was good to see this continued when Hawkeye eventually showed up in Civil War. However, I was kind of getting a similar vibe from the Steve/Wanda relationship in this movie too. The way he talked with her and she responded positively showed that he understood her and how to treat her (unlike certain other characters in the movie). If there was one thing I wish we could’ve seen more of, it was her and Steve interacting, closely followed by her and the others on his team (especially Hawkeye).
I thought Elizabeth did an excellent job of showing all of Wanda’s conflicting emotions on her face. On the one hand, I could sympathise with how she felt after the way she was being treated by the populace, but it was also obvious how guilty she felt about the unintended consequences of her various actions in both this and the previous movie she was in. And it was certainly unfair the way she was being treated, given that she was saving not only Cap’s life, but also everyone else in the immediate vicinity of the explosion on the ground by sending it up into the air. Yes, it had the unfortunate result of detonating into the corner of a building and there were casualties...but what was she supposed to do? Let there be casualties on the ground instead? I think it was clear that if she’d had more time, she would’ve risen it up using her powers until it was safely out of the way, but it was taking effort and she didn’t have enough time (it was lucky she even got it as far away as she did, really). So those pointing fingers/blame at her really shouldn’t have been, I thought. She was punishing herself enough for it anyway.
One moment I really liked between her and Steve was when he noticed her reaction to watching the footage and stood up for her (I was especially glad that he stood up for her against Tony). Steve could obviously sympathise with her and didn't judge her as harshly as others.
I did enjoy her scene with Vision in the kitchen. It was a nice moment, and I have seen it mentioned before that they had a thing in the comics, so I guess this was kind of a nod to that.
I did, however, understand her being forced to go against him when Hawkeye came to free her. And, again, she clearly felt great remorse about what she was forced to do. I liked that she saved her teammates and they returned the favour. It was awesome to see her kicking so much butt and holding her own, but she wasn’t overpowered – ie. there were times she needed help/saving. By the way, I think Elizabeth Olsen deserves praise for all those weird witchy dance-like moves she performs as Wanda when unleashing her powers. It makes for very interesting viewing (much more than just seeing someone hold out their hand and blast things).
One thing I hated seeing, though, was her broken down, locked in a cell and stuck in what was basically a straightjacket at the end of Civil War. Honestly, the only time I think Tony got what Steve had been saying regarding her was there at the end when he saw her imprisoned with a collar around her neck like she was an animal.
She’d more than proven she could work well/be an asset in a team with Cap at the start, so to see that (and her freedom) taken away from her at the end really ticked me off. I wish we could’ve seen her freed again at the end of the film, and her returning to some form of normalcy.
It will be interesting to see where they take her character/relationships with the other characters from here in the next movies. I’m hoping that she manages to survive the next two films (given how powerful she is, I could just see them throwing people off-guard by having her, as one of the most powerful of the Avengers, winding up an unexpected casualty in the Infinity War movie to demonstrate just how serious the stakes are (since, really, there have been no major casualties as yet and I have a feeling they might try to make up for it in the next two movies – though that’s just a hunch).
Of all the Avengers, Steve/Cap, Thor and Wanda/Scarlet Witch are my faves - so if any of them are offed in the next movies, I'm not going to be able to enjoy them very much.
These^ are all just my views/opinions of the character, I realise others will disagree.
