‘Black Widow’ Review

Black Widow has been a prominent character in the MCU for a long time and it’s about time she got her own movie. However, it does feel too late as the MCU continues to expand. Plus, Black Widow’s story appears to be overdue to the events in Avengers: Endgame. While Black Widow does feel oddly placed in the release schedule of the MCU, it’s still a thrilling spy adventure that manages to highlight a familiar face and introduce some new ones. 

Premise

Black Widow picks up after the events of Captain America: Civil War. Natasha Romanov (Scarlett Johansson) a.k.a Black Widow, finds herself on the run from governments all over the world. While laying low, she finds herself pulled into a more personal mission once she reunites with her estranged sister, Yelena (Florence Pugh). Yelena is also on the run from an old foe who Natasha also has a history with. The two go on a mission to take down their common enemy while also fixing past broken relationships. 

Review

Let’s address the elephant in the room: Why did this movie take so long to come out? Well, it’s hard to answer, but we should’ve received this movie sooner and unfortunately, the movie feels like something that should have come out a while ago. The events in this movie don’t have much to do with the current state of the MCU. In fact, if somebody is planning on catching up with the MCU, I’d recommend watching this after Civil War (except for the post credits scene).

However, this is the movie we are given and it’s still mostly solid. The strongest element to this movie is the family dynamic between Natasha and the others. Johansson is once again great in this role and shows that she completely owns it. The only downside is that this doesn’t develop her character that much. It’s supposed to give Natasha a redemption arc from what she’s done in her past, but we’ve already gotten that in the MCU. 

Pugh as Yelena is a character we are guaranteed to get more of in the MCU and I am glad for it. Pugh stole the movie for me and is great as this character. She is similar to Natasha in a way, but more sassy and with a more childlike excitement. Another new character is David Harbour as the Red Guardian. He’s the funniest part of this film, but still has many serious moments that enhance his likability. He isn’t just annoying comic relief. 

Rachel Weisz plays Melina,  maternal figure for both Yelena and Natasha. Weisz is always great, but isn’t given as many moments to shine as the rest of the three. The dynamic between the four characters is the heart of the film and provides the best moments. This part of Natasha’s life didn’t need to be explored, but because of the strong themes of family at the center of it, it made it feel worthwhile. 

The film can be funny at times, but don’t expect one of Marvel’s funniest movies. The script is often self-aware of itself, constantly making references to the MCU and even making fun of Natasha’s tendencies. Natasha being an Avenger becomes an interesting element as it impacts the relationship she has with others. 

The main downside to Black Widow is its villain and their motivations. The goal of Yelena and Natasha is to free the other widows from the control of Dreykov (Ray Winstone). While freeing the widows is a necessary move, Dreykov’s motivation isn’t clear and he winds up just being a power-hungry villain. He isn’t intimidating either, despite Winstone’s adequate performance. 

The other villain we get is Taskmaster and this character is completely wasted. Taskmaster is barely even a character. Taskmaster has a cool ability where they can mimic whoever they fight, but it is shown off incredibly briefly. I have enjoyed other versions of this character, so it’s underwhelming how much this adaptation of the character let me down. The twist behind who they are is also not much of a reveal. It ends up being anti-climactic. 

Black Widow is well-paced due to a high amount of action. The action is well-directed by director Cate Shortland, especially the hand-to-hand combat scenes. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough time to show it off. Many of the fights cut away while the characters are fighting. It cuts into the excitement since the fighting is good and it’s often between characters we want to see fight one another. 

The third act does suffer from being exposition-heavy as Dreykov monologues and explains his big bad plan. Once it gets away from this, the climax does get a lot more exciting with a bunch of cool explosions and fights. 

Final verdict

Black Widow does not wind up being one of the MCU’s finest entries, but it manages to be above the lesser ones. The family dynamic keeps it from being just a bland spy adventure. Unfortunately, the villain and his plot doesn’t do the film any favors. In the extensive library of MCU villains, these two are not going to be remembered fondly, if at all. It doesn’t do a lot to expand the MCU either, except for the post-credit scenes, which may wind up having a large impact on future entries. Still, I enjoyed Black Widow and I am honestly just happy to see another MCU movie in theaters. 

Final score: 3.5/5