“Black Widow” marks the first Marvel movie release in the last two years. There hasn’t been as a long of a gap between Marvel movie releases since 2008's “Iron Man” and 2010's “Iron Man 2.” Now, don’t get me wrong, there has been a ton of Marvel content in-between to keep viewers interested and invested, they have just come to us in the form of TV Series on Disney+. In order to hold us over during the pandemic, Marvel has since released “WandaVision,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and its latest, “Loki.” All have felt like successful fillers, keeping us engaged into new content comes along and now, it finally has.
“Black Widow” is the origin story of Natasha Romanoff’s character (Scarlett Johansson). The Black Widow was originally introduced in 2010’s “Iron Man 2” and is finally receiving its full superhero treatment, her own origin story. It’s hard to believe that it took eleven years for the film to come to fruition, especially considering that she is one of the original Avengers, all who had received the origin story background and movie treatment. (A bit sexist, no?). While Disney may not ever come out and admit it, “Black Widow” probably would have never made it to the screen without the enormous success of 2017’s “Wonder Woman.” At least DC Comics has THAT going for them.
“Black Widow” starts off in 1995 where we find that Natasha has grown up most of her childhood with her parents Melina (Rachel Weisz) and Alexei (David Harbour) and her younger sister, Yelena (Florence Pugh). However, their lives in Ohio aren’t really what they seem. Her parents are actually Russian spies, working for Russian Crime Lord, Dreykov (Ray Winstone). Natasha and Yelena’s entire reality is altered when their fake parents complete their mission and Yelena and Natasha are taken away, recruited into the elusive band of assassins known as “The Black Widows.”
Many years have passed since Natasha’s departure from the Widows. Having believed that she killed Dreykov years ago, Natasha has left her old life behind and made a name for herself as an Avenger. The movie takes place between “Civil War” and “Infinity War,” where we find present day Natasha on the run from S.H.IE.L.D. after violating the Sokovia Accords. Seeking isolation in a remote destination in Norway, a message from her sister, Yelena, forces Natasha to return to her past and seek out the enemy she thought she had long ago destroyed.
SPOILERS BELOW. STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN "AVENGERS: END GAME."
The movie is everything that you want from Marvel, funny, witty, action-packed, it just felt too little, too late. The movie should have actually been released “Civil War” and “Infinity War” to give the audience time to connect with the characters in “Black Widow” and give us time to really explore Natasha’s background. While we know that Yelena will be involved in Phase 4 Marvel (most likely fitting in with Hawkeye’s daughter), we know that Natasha doesn’t come back. After sacrificing herself in “End Game” to save Barton, this movie feels more like a filler for new characters instead of a tribute to the original Avenger.
In the final moments we see Natasha once again escape from S.H.I.E.L.D. and plan her return to the Avengers by breaking them out of jail, right before “Infinity War.” When Natasha dies in “End Game” her death is massively overshadowed by the death of Iron Man. I wanted “Black Widow” to have more of a satisfactory ending or proper tribute to Natasha and the ending kind of left me un-satisfied.
Overall, it’s about time that we saw a Marvel movie specifically dedicated to the female Avenger, it just felt more like an after-thought versus a key investment into the story.
Still recommend to all my Marvel loving fans, definitely up there in terms of comic relief. Florence Pugh and David Harbour steal the show as I want much more from them in the future MCU.
Movie Score: 7.5/10
And that’s the sitch.
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