Black Widow – A Badly-Timed Spy Thriller (Early Review)

Ever since her first appearance in 2010’s Iron Man 2, fans have been clamoring for Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow to get her own solo outing, however, not many would have imagined that it’d come over 11 years later with the aptly-named Black Widow. A prequel between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, its impact obviously isn’t quite what it could have been considering everything else that has happened to the character since then while the subsequent 1 year delay caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic didn’t exactly do it any favors either but nevertheless, here we are with the film on the horizon and getting a theatrical and Disney+ Premier Access release. Though the film doesn’t throw anything particularly new at this point in the MCU, it still offers that same level of excitement in spite of the fact the eventual outcome of the titular character. In the end, what ties it all together was its performances, including a scene-stealing Florence Pugh as a character whose dynamic with Scarlett Johansson is an absolute blast.

Though Black Widow is a prequel to Civil War and Infinity War, this spy thriller is also sort of an origin story for the titular character as Natascha (Johansson), trying to make a life for herself while on the run from General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) and the US government after violating the Sokovia Accords, she was pursued by another dangerous force tied to her past tried to eliminate her. In order to survive, she would have to deal with her past before becoming an Avenger as a spy and with her estranged family for whom her relationship with them was a complicated one. Little did she know, her estranged sister and fellow black widow Yelena Belova (Pugh) was also a target by this conspiracy. Despite their complicated past, they had to work together and mend some of their differences. The contrast between the two made for a fun dynamic as it saw Yelena’s youthful exuberance up against Natascha’s old school approach. Luckily, they were not ones to shy away from having some fun and getting their hands dirty.

To move forward, Natascha had to reopen old wounds on the way to uncovering the truth behind her and her sister’s pasts in the Black Widow program in the hopes of finally putting an end to it and the forces behind it once and for all before they hurt any more innocent women. However, doing so proved easier said than done as an organization with countless resources that has lived in the shadows for so long to avoid being found would be difficult to locate and stop. Enlisting the help of their parents Alexei (Harbour) and Melina (Weisz), that dysfunctional family dynamic was put to the test once more as the four were also fun to watch as they worked together and tried to rekindle their fractured relationship. If only the film’s villain was actually developed to make all this buildup in trying to tie them to Natascha’s past more satisfying. Meanwhile in spite of one of the best scores in the MCU and some exciting and well-choreographed action sequences (especially the Taskmaster sequences), there was very little tension to be had being a prequel preceding several films as that predictability factor was hard to ignore not that this is necessarily Black Widow‘s fault.

Ultimately, the best part of Black Widow was its performances across the board. In her eighth appearance as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Johansson delivers another standout performance, getting the chance to show off her charisma and some chops while handling herself in an expanded action role compared to her previous outings. However, most viewers will remember Pugh who absolutely steals scenes as Yelena with her personality alone, just bringing a different energy to the fold. Similarly, Harbour was another scene-stealer, bringing a larger-than-life energy to Alexei and Weisz was a calming presence as Melina.

As many MCU fans know, their films like to end with post-credits scenes that either callbacks to the film or set up for future properties and this film is no different.

At the end of the day, a victim of bad timing, Black Widow may not reach the heights of the upper echelon of the MCU

still courtesy of Disney

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.