Black Widow - Movie Reivew

With the defeat of Thanos in Avengers: End Game, some people consider the MCU finished and time to move on. But Marvel is continuing to tell more stories and I personally am both excited and nervous. There hasn't been anything spectacular since Iron Man dying and Steve Rogers handing the shield off to Falcon and I'm a little worried. Saying that there have been some shining moments that have happened since and we might just be ramping up the story to find our next big villain/ plot after the Infinity Stones. But before all of this though we need to go back in time to explore the adventures of an Avenger who hasn't had a time to shine: Black Widow.

Black Widow is the newest feature film for the MCU (in like two years) about the last Avenger who has not gotten their own stand-alone film. Taking place soon after the end of Captain America: Civil War, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) is on the run from the law. But her troubles quickly grow out of hand as a blast from the past lands in her lap. The old organization she used to work for, The Red Room, has resurfaced and she decides to go back and end their evil once and for all. With the help of her "sister," Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), another former Black Widow; Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour, the Russian's attempt at their own Captain America named "The Red Guardian"; and Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz), a scientist and former mother-figure to Natasha and Yelena, she might have just the team needed to stop another world-wide threat to planet.

This film has been delayed for a long time, even before the COVID pandemic began to delay everything. To make a long story short one of the heads of Marvel in the early 2010s had one of his emails leaked about how he believed female lead superhero films aren't worth making because they're not very profitable. Soon after that email though Wonder Woman came out and smashed that ideology to dust by being very highly praised and making a ton of money. Those opinions on superhero films though kept delaying the hidden story one of the primary members of the Avengers. Until now. But the fact it took so long and it finally was released after the main character of the film died in Avengers: Endgame is just... Sad. Sad and incredibly frustrating.

But how is the film though? Was all those years of waiting worth it? I'm sad to say that while Black Widow was not a bad film it could have been better. I'll be explaining in detail how the film feels more like an obligation instead of something worth watching because even being so delayed it feels like it was only made because all the other Avengers got their own stand-alone movie and Black Widow would need one as well. A film series like the MCU should be made with passion, make something that really tells a lot about the characters and their journeys and struggles. But this... this wasn't one of them. Again, it's not a bad film in my opinion, but there are elements to this movie that feel... half-hearted. And so I have to warn you all there will be a few spoilers in this review. You have been warned.

First though let's start with one of my positives: The character interactions, especially between Natasha and her "family." We learn at the start of the film through a long flashback that Nat, Yelena, Alexei, and Melina had a close family bond despite none of them being related to each other. It was cute and they all really care for one another. Maybe it's because we've known Natasha for a long time, but her conversations with other characters felt really well done. There were some interesting conversations that I enjoyed with her and she was able to shine throughout the film. There was some great drama throughout the movie and these characters got a bit of emotion out of me.

Oddly the most interesting character in the film though was not Black Widow, but her Yelena and Alexei (with more learning towards Yelena). Natasha does not go through any big changes in her adventure and most often was being pulled about by other characters in it instead of taking charge. But Yelena went through her own journey and struggles. Not saying Scarlett Johansson was not trying, it's just the script did a lot more for Florence Pugh's character. Florence also had some great moments that made me smile and chuckle, like how she questions Natasha on why she poses every time she lands. She is also the one that starts the whole adventure by uncovering the antidote to the new Red Room's new Black Widows.

As for Alexei, I was continually interested in Russia's own super soldier program, but we don't it that much. Instead he's just a very fun character with some funny moments and who can kick a lot of ass. When he finally puts on the suit he feels like he's cool again, that he was stuck in a hole and wanted to feel appreciated after the Russian government threw him in jail after his years of service. David Harbour does an excellent job as a superhero and this is a character I would like to see more of in the MCU. We have focused a lot on the super heroes of America we should see more from the rest of the world. Besides Wakanda there isn't many other places on Earth with super heroes... as far as we know.

The action of Black Widow is a mixed bag for me. There are a lot of moments with tension and stakes, but there are also problems with how safe Black Widow and her allies has in the film despite getting hit with things that would kill a normal person. Maybe that later part is the definition of plot armor. Either ways while there is some pretty good action throughout the film I felt like there were moments where it felt a little ridiculous. For instance, near the very end of the film there is a lot of debris falling from the sky and none of it hits our heroes. But all the small villain grunts get easily hit it and I could immediately tell that was going to happen. I mean they couldn't kill Black Widow in her own film since she dies in End Game, but that doesn't mean we could see her in danger.

My main issue with the film though is the script. It felt like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but very light, with a messy tone, and plenty of plotholes. The director of this film was Cate Shortland, a woman who only had three films under her belt before Black Widow. Two of the three films were drama and the third was a horror film. All of them received pretty good reviews, but taking on the MCU for her fourth film is a big step and I don't know if she was ready for it, especially with her expertise. But even with a director that isn't the most knowledgeable or experienced on the subject their working on a well written script can still make a film shine. As stated though this film felt like The Winter Soldier, but dulled down. Secret organization that the main character knows comes back, a super soldier villain that isn't the main villain, finding allies since the main character can't do it alone, and more are shared between these two films. I would have like a more original storyline than an accidental rehash(?) of my favorite film in the MCU.

Even though this takes years before the current time period that the MCU is in though there could still be effects from that film that go on into the current story. Nothing really happens in this film that effects the future of the MCU. It is just a big adventure for Black Widow and nothing else. Not just that, but there is also one of the dumbest moments for a villain in the whole MCU. The reason for why the main villain of the film cannot be hurt and is so powerful is so stupid I almost laughed out loud in the theater. I'm pretty sure even the most dedicated fans of the MCU are/ will be face palming themselves at seeing that reveal. This writing choice might have been done to make a metaphor for female abuse and human trafficking, but it still feels really stupid because the villain was so unimpressive.

Black Widow was a pretty decent film. I definitely don't think it's a bad film, as there is some pretty fun action scenes and there is great acting throughout the film. However the writing could have been better, we should have seen more danger to Black Widow and her allies, and the whole film felt half-hearted. Even with my complaints I could still recommend the film as people who aren't as meticulous with films as me will ignore these issues and have a blast. Plus I still liked it more than disliked it and Black Widow didn't do anything ridiculously over the top and stupid. Unlike Wonder Woman in her sequel film.

Tentative Score: 6.5/10

Okay, time for a big spoiler I want to talk about now that I've gotten my grade out:

Taskmaster. Apparently in this film they are the daughter of the main villain. That isn't the problem I have with her though, it's that she's basically mindless attack drone of a character. People have made comparisons of her to Deadpool from X-men Origins: Wolverine, which is one of the worst character portrayals in a super hero movie. This is such a massive downgrade apparently from what they are like in the comics that it's causing a lot of uproar. I'm not a Marvel comic nerd, so I can't really give an opinion on that comparison to the comics or them being suddenly a woman, but removing all their personality is just... I really don't like that. It's a stupid trope.