“Black Widow” Film Review

By Quinn Marcus

Oh man, I missed the MCU, didn’t you guys? I was always hyped to see a Marvel movie, hoping for a big, intelligent blockbuster crafted with skill. I wanted to theorize again, grip my seat, preparing myself for a compelling post-credit scene, and gasp in awe during the action. The pain of not having an MCU film for two years was almost too much to bear, and after delay, after delay, after delay, Marvel is finally back, and I’m very pleased to say, they haven’t lost their touch. I’m not what you’d call an MCU fanboy, I don’t go fucking berserk whenever a character gets a haircut or something, trust me, I know people who have. However, I’ve always loved this universe of movies. It’s pretty amazing if you think about it, 24 films in 13 years, and the vast majority of them (in my opinion) have been really solid. It’s kind of unprecedented, to be honest, and the MCU has helped bring the superhero genre to new heights, even claiming a best picture nomination for Black Panther back in 2018. These guys have made history, that’s not something many superhero franchises can say, and while there have been mediocre, and sometimes really bad films here and there, I’ve had fun with almost every single one.

Black Widow takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War, in which Natasha Romanoff is on the run for disobeying the Sokovia Accords. She decides to quit fleeing from her past, and assemble her family to take down the “Red Room,” a hidden training facility that mind-controls women, and turns them into Black Widows.

I went into Black Widow feeling pretty skeptical, these doubts were powered by the reviews I’d read calling it “bland” and “dull.” Also, I was very worried it was going to feel like a film strictly for the fans, that it wouldn’t honor Natasha’s story, and just be a Black Widow movie for the sake of making one. And yes, while I still believe this is a film that should’ve been made a decade ago, it does more than enough to justify its own existence today. Black Widow carries the monumental task of making an impact on the MCU’s storyline, we all know that Natasha died in Avengers: Endgame, and this film, for the most part, seemed to give her the story she deserves, whilst setting up future projects. Alright, right off the bat, is it the MCU’s best film? No, no it is not. However, it doesn’t need to be, we don’t need Marvel’s next masterpiece immediately after they completed their beloved Infinity Saga, an epic, consistently interesting journey topped with potentially the most satisfying superhero film ever, Avengers: Endgame. Soon after, Spider-Man: Far From Home dropped, and it served as one of those MCU palette cleansers, and it was a pretty decent summer film.

Black Widow reminded me of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a darker, spy thriller-styled MCU film filled to the brim with awesome action sequences. Obviously, it’s not as good, and Cate Shortland is clearly not as well-versed in the action genre as the Russo’s, but damn, Shortland did a badass job directing this film. What surprised me about the film was the visual style, Shortland directs some of the most aesthetically pleasing action scenes to ever come out of the MCU, particularly a breathtaking skydiving scene that blew me away. Her use of shaky cam is apparent, and it could get annoying at times, but what I appreciated was that the action didn’t try to be more than what it is. This is the type of action I expect from a Marvel standalone adventure, Far From Home went overboard with its action, but Black Widow dialed it down to an appropriate amount. It never felt exhausting, and the parts of the film I loved the most weren’t the action scenes, but the family ones. The family dynamic in the film was brilliantly handled, often reminding me of The Incredibles, and it’s easily the best aspect for me.

The supporting cast is stellar, especially Pugh and Harbor, carrying most of the comedic force in the film. Once again, like in most of Marvel’s films, the script’s joke’s landed, but the drama was undoubtedly rich as well. The conversations Natasha’s family had were fascinating, and emotionally resonant, letting the pacing breathe, and the tension ease out for a bit, but not in a boring, side-plot type of way, it really felt authentic. Scarlett Johansson has been rocking this role since Iron Man 2, but this is probably her best work as the character to date. My guess is that she finally felt as if she knew Natasha’s character, that she had a backstory, and it clearly worked because she was quite good in the film as well.

Let’s talk about the villains for a second, so Taskmaster, wow, talk about an overhyped villain, the whole “evil plot” of the story felt horribly rushed, generic, and lesser to some of the MCU’s greatest villains such as Killmonger in Black Panther, another standalone film. This is unfortunate because, from the opening, bone-chilling montage of Natasha being taken away from her family, the adversary of the film felt pretty intriguing, but he’s easily the weakest part of the film. There’s another evil character I won’t name in order not to spoil it, but he had some of the most laughable, half-assed dialogue I’ve ever seen come out of a villain’s mouth, you'll see for yourself. It’s a cool thing to have a Terminator-like Marvel character in your film, but if you’re going to underuse him, and his “boss,” at least give us something more to hate them for. There were also quite a few plot holes here and there, like the fact that there are several scenes where Natasha should have died, not being a superhero. The script was great the whole way through, but it definitely got a little iffy towards the end, as the classic evil speech is given. Besides that, I had a great time with Black Widow, the familial aspect of the movie really carried it the whole way through, as well as Shortland’s very well directed action, and the main ensemble brought a whole lot of heart to level with the quick pace. Black Widow is the type of Marvel film that restores my hope for phase four’s lineup, and while I don’t think they’ll ever recreate the magic of the first three phases, Cate Shortland suggests the beginning of a bright future for the MCU.