The suits won this round. The audience? Hardly.

Emily Blunt was in talks to star as the Black Widow in “Iron Man 2,” slated for release next May. But a “scheduling conflict” forced the film’s producers to go with Scarlett Johansson.

Call me skeptical, but if a studio of a blockbuster franchise wants an actress for a key role, I’d assumed it would get her one way or another.

Now, Johansson will bring the requisite va-va-voom and has better name recognition, but Blunt would offer more sexual  friction – and better acting chops – in a film already overloaded with new characters.

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Woody Allen’s newest loves, Scarlett Johansson and the city of Barcelona, are front and center in his latest dramedy.

Allen shook away decades of complacency by hauling his cast and crew from New York to London a few years back for “Match Point.”

Now, he’s on the move again with “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” out this week on DVD. His latest city of choice serves him remarkably well.

The film follows two gorgeous women, Vicky (Rebecca Hall of “Frost/Nixon”) and Cristina (Johansson), as they spend a few carefree weeks vacationing in Barcelona.

Cristina instantly crushes on a flirtatious painter (Javier Bardem, wearing precisely the right amount of facial stubble) while Vicky bemoans her friend’s questionable taste in men.

But Vicky may be protesting too much, since she finds herself drawn to the swarthy painter as well.

Knotty relationships and dalliances ensue, and eventually the painter’s ex (Penelope Cruz) enters the picture like a whirlwind.

Despite some superfluous narration that smacks of Allen-speak, “Barcelona” doesn’t feel like a typical Woody Allen film.

That’s a very good thing at this point in the aging auteur’s career.

The story has a freshness and zing lacking in some of his recent work, and it helps to have the dynamite one-two punch of Bardem and Cruz elevating one of his more probing scripts.

Cruz is sensational, even if her character is nothing more than the umpteenth variant on the Latina spitfire stereotype. Working partially in her native tongue, she’s confident, alluring and ultimately the most complex character in the bunch. It’s her best American role … ever.

Allen’s affection for Barcelona mirrors his postcards to New York City. A gorgeous blond like Cristina walks freely through the city without ever getting hounded by flirtatious locals. it’s a city without flaws, but as the backdrop to this lover quadrangle it works like magic.

As much as “Barcelona” plays up the earthly charms of its attractive characters and their libidinous lifestyle, it’s ultimately a chaste experience. Vicky, her arms perpetually folded, remains a guarded presence, one who can’t resist Bardem’s tractor-beam charms. The film itself ends up favoring her approach over that of the other characters.

Yet “Barcelona” loses its footing during its final scenes. Cristina suffers a moral crisis that comes out of nowhere – even the clumsy narrator can’t make much sense of it. A critical scene involving Cruz’s character feels more like a telenovela resolution than anything out of Allen’s past masterworks.

“Vicky Cristina Barcelona” marks another impressive chapter in Allen’s film evolution, even if he shows his age via the story’s conventional conclusion.

(Photo: Woody Allen, right, directs Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz (seated) and Scarlett Johansson in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”)

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In Hollywood, Woody Allen is the guy at the beach who gets sand kicked in his face by the musclebound bully.

But in indie-land, he does the sand kicking.

Today’s independent films make a fraction of what most mainstream movies make, and we’re talking about a tiny fraction in the best-case scenarios.

“The Visitor” was one of 2008’s breakout indie hits. It’s total box office take? $9.4 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Other indies are lucky to crack the $2 million mark.

And then there’s the Woody Allen collection.

Take “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Allen’s latest film has earned $21 million – and counting. And while his previous film, “Cassandra’s Dream,” delivered a very ordinary $1 million, recent flicks like “Scoop” ($10 million) and “Match Point” ($23 million) greatly overachieved by indie standards.

The Allen brand, after all these years, still packs a wallop. Other indie films feature just as many good actors, and they often deal with themes far more pulp-worthy than Allen’s introspective fare. But people remain loyal to Allen and his neurotic storytelling.

(Photo: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson confer with Woody Allen, right, on the set of “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” – photo credit: Victor Bello/TWC 2008)

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