Scarlett Johansson finally gets her Black Widow movie to the big screen after the global pandemic put the brakes on for over a year. Sitting between the events of Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Black Widow takes us back to a story that will ultimately enable the crossover of several plot stands between the movies and the various TV series on Disney+.
Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy, and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
Maybe it’s because of the delay or maybe it’s because Marvel has a formula and sticks to it no matter what, but at times Black Widow feels somewhat a perfunctory addition to the MCU. Almost as if, Johansson had it in her contract to have a solo movie. Nevertheless Black Widow is a welcome addition with a superb cast (Johansson, Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz and David Harbour) with varying degrees of Russian accents. Unlike Ray Winston’s Dreykov accent… He clearly has been to the Kevin Costner Robin Hood school for accents. However, the film itself has an interesting premise with a Red Sparrow-esque feel, that is dropped about a third of the way in for the usual Marvel shenanigans (Explosions, chases, big bad villain face-offs) before rounding it all out in a neat bow, before the post credit scene raises a few eyebrows.
Taskmaster (Not the TV Show on Dave, but a popular villain in the Marvel-Verse), smashes their way through proceedings offering some real threat, however if you’ve been following the MCU, you will know that ultimately Natasha is never in any real danger. The reveal of the identity of Taskmaster is telegraphed early on in the film if you’re paying attention and will come as no real surprise. Although it maybe a surprise for some of the more hardcore comic book fans…
Overall Black Widow isn’t the best of the MCU, however it’s nowhere near the worst either. It’s a functional additional story that may have worked better as a series on Disney+ as the story could have done with a bit more space to breath, despite the 2 hour + run time seems to feel a little rushed. It’s a solid addition and gives Scarlett Johansson her last hurrah in the MCU and it’s at times a lot of fun. The post credit scene, will require some additional viewing of Falcon and the Winter Soldier to connect the dots, but that’s all part of the immersive fun of the MCU since Disney+ came along.
So it’s finally goodbye to Natasha Romanoff, hello to the brilliant Florence Pugh and Yelena Belvova as Black Widow kicks some serious butt, but in a perfectly Marvel fashioned way.
Black Widow is out now at cinemas and available on Disney+ Premium
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