Black Widow (2021)

By: Mike Ward on Thursday, July 08

PG-13 Running Time: 133 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • After multiple delays and two years since a Marvel film has arrived in theaters, this is one of the most anticipated movies in recent memory.

  • If you didn’t appreciate Florence Pugh before Black Widow, maybe this seals the deal for you?

  • Black Widow is a lot of fun - combining great character chemistry, action sequences and a grounded, more realism-based brand of storytelling than so many other Marvel films.

NO

  • The decision to make this about a half-in/half-out film on the “Black Widow” character is going to leave some viewers frustrated that they waited this long to see a movie ready to feature someone other than Scarlett Johansson’s character.

  • Introduces a larger problem within the increasing Marvel Entertainment Universe; casual fans who could keep pace with this story or that story are increasingly left behind as more and more things are bound together across multiple platforms.

  • The grounded aesthetic of suspense/thriller, and not a universe traveling superhero adventure, may make Marvel fans cold and resistant to what Black Widow offers them.


OUR REVIEW

For a time, many believed Black Widow would be the first female-led superhero film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). When it seemed like Marvel Studios was ready to move forward with a project focused on the lone female Avenger in around 2015 or so, a high-profile rollout of film announcements left Scarlett Johansson without a stand-alone movie. Since that time, the DC Universe has delivered two Wonder Woman films and Marvel introduced everyone to Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel, while also introducing us all to “WandaVision” on Disney+.

As the launch to the new Phase Four of the MCU, Black Widow is finally here. As a likely one-off, Johansson’s moment arrives as the first MCU film since 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. And while certainly the pandemic played a role in some of those delays, Black Widow also feels different in some ways. This half-origin story/half-spin-off movie looks and plays more like an action/spy thriller than a superhero spectacle, as Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff evolves from a 9-year-old orphan into trained assassin, before ascending into the role of an Avenger.

While Black Widow is a very well-made film, easily watchable and quite effective in balancing humor with action and suspense, issues begin to arise when the screenplay and story components take viewers for granted. For those viewers not intimately aware of how all the arcs, nuances, and connections are woven together across the 23 previous Marvel films (and now several Marvel television properties), I wish folks good luck in trying to contextualize everything that comes your way.

And while that speaks to an increasingly larger issue within Marvel cinema and television as a whole, Black Widow does give us enough to invest in when it comes to learning how Natasha becomes the “female Avenger.” We first see Natasha and younger sister Yelena in 1995 Ohio, riding bikes and living an otherwise calm domestic life. In an opening prologue, we see mother Melina (Rachel Weisz) tending to a scraped knee, making dinner, and the sisters bonding and enjoying the time with each other. When the girls’ father, Alexei (David Harbour), returns home with news that the family needs to leave immediately, we recognize that things are not as cozy for the family as they seem.

A well-choreographed action sequence reveals more realities about the conventional family Natasha and Yelena thought they knew. We then transition into an ill-fitting title sequence set to a dark, dreary remake of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which fails to match the overall tone of the film. When the story resumes, we find ourselves years ahead where Natasha and Yelena, as adults, reconnect in Budapest after being separated and trained as teenage female assassins - “Black Widows” - by a rather slovenly Russian baddie named Dreykov (Ray Winstone).

It is important to note that some may be confused as to where Black Widow stands in the chronology of the MCU. The film is positioned after the breakup of The Avengers at the conclusion of Captain America: Civil War. So, that places this around 2016 or so. References are made to films released prior to that time period and so shame on you, I guess, if you struggle to understand the context surrounding the timeline everyone is working with here.

Directed by Cate Shortland, an independent filmmaker landing her first substantial budget, Black Widow balances convoluted storytelling with moments of surprising humor and great action sequences. Shortland uncovers ways to help us connect to the sisterly bond of Natasha and Yelena, especially when Johansson joins with a scene-stealing Florence Pugh, portraying Yelena as an adult. The two women are great together, giving this particular story something different than what we have grown accustomed to in the male-dominant world of the MCU.

For all these years of fans wanting “Black Widow” to have her own film, Shortland and screenwriter Eric Pearson pull a subtle bait-and-switch. The film’s back half slowly shifts the spotlight away from Johansson and begins a transition of focus to Yelena. With minimal spoilers, if you are unfamiliar with what occurs during Avengers: Endgame, you will want to stay all the way through the credits to a very important teaser that explains more clearly why Yelena might step into Natasha’s spotlight. 

Nonetheless, it proves an interesting decision, regardless of what story has already been told, to feature one character for the first time only to then transition to another within the same film. On top of that, when the after-credits teaser ties Black Widow to a Disney+ television property, this all begins to feel like far too much to keep up with.

For most, Black Widow will prove quite entertaining. The character-focused direction and storytelling grounded in something closer to reality sets this apart from the super-serious, fantastical stories told by Iron Men, Captain Americas, and all the rest. Shortland’s film likewise checks many of the boxes that should make this appeal to a wide audience. 

In the end, Johansson waited a very long time for what equates to about a half a movie or so to focus on her before ceding the spotlight to Yelena. That Pugh takes the ball and runs with it is no surprise, and proves optimism for whatever this all may lead to. On the other hand, this is disappointing -  because you can see Johansson truly invested in making this portrayal and character something audiences will hopefully remember and revere. Black Widow, though, seemingly exists to launch something else; and maybe not even something housed within the MCU. 

As audiences prepare for nine new Marvel movies in the next 21 months, and upwards of 10 new television properties within that same timeframe, Black Widow might certainly be fun and entertaining. Its existence, however, ushers in a bigger potential problem: That the Marvel Entertainment Universe has become too vast and too complex for casual observers to follow for very much longer.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Ray Winstone, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Olga Kurylenko, Ever Anderson, Violet McGraw, Ryan Kiera Armstrong.

Director: Cate Shortland
Written by: Eric Pearson (screenplay); Jac Schaeffer, Ned Benson (story)
Based on the Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee, Don Rico, Don Heck
Release Date: July 9, 2021
Walt Disney Studios/Disney+