Black Widow Review
Black Widow is the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, being unique in that it acts largely as a standalone while also being a prequel. It doesn’t necessarily add a whole lot to the overall universe, instead focusing on being a smaller family centered film and feeding into some of the series that are to follow. It also feels as though timeline wise it should have released many years prior, since it takes place right after the events of Civil War.
It follows Black Widow aka Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) as she’s on the run. She ends up getting a special message from her long lost sister Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and the two connect. There’s actually some stellar chemistry there, and I almost liked Yelena more than I did Natasha in this one which is interesting. Just keep in mind that it’s very much a Black Widow film. Then there’s their father Alexei (David Harbour) and mother Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz).
Together they make up one weird group, and it’s interesting to see them basically dealing with the late aftermath of a program started many years prior. They’re up against some high end opposing forces including that of the mysterious Taskmaster. There will be some surprises in this one in regards to how characters are handled, but overall not a whole lot of mystery as this really is rather straight forward for sure.
This was actually quite well shot and thankfully one of the best looking Covid productions when it comes to CGI. I mention that as other films on the Disney Plus service haven’t necessarily faired the best in that department, looking at you Cruella. It definitely has that distinct Marvel look, but tonally it’s quite darker with its material. It’s still very much on brand, but perhaps slightly more adult language and material is presented.
There was a really out of place joke about the female production system and how it’s handled within the Black Widows, that felt a bit stretched out and again really odd. It makes sense to describe the process, but it was really weird how that was done, felt jarring. That aside, the banter between Widows was great and I can’t wait to see what Yelena brings to the universe going forward. Pugh brought a truly stellar performance here.
I’d say the other members of the family did too, this is a Johansson led film after all. The pacing was also fine, but at times a tad slow but it was dealing with some harsher family issues. It almost felt as though this could have been presented in parts, but for most you already know the whole story here so it’s actually somewhat easy to miss in all honesty. Which is disappointing, because it’s a fine watch for sure. It’s just not really needed in the overall scheme of things, a bit too late one might say.
The Conclusion
Black Widow is a solid standalone prequel, it feels as though it’s a little too late in terms of when it was made available but still fun all the same. I liked the darker tone, there certainly will be some more mature aspects to this one in comparison to other entries. That being said, it walks along the playful side well.
It has some elements that felt a bit weak, and it could have tried to keep things a bit faster since it does pacing wise feel slower. It’s quite long and that will be an issue for some, again I felt it was fine in pace for myself but see others thinking it could have went along quicker.
The CGI quality is great here, some strong performances and interesting plot points. It sets up minor things within the universe, but is something most could skip if they don’t need all the finer details. That’s particularly the case with a character you already know is dead assuming you’ve watched the main continuity. By the end, a spy action thrill ride.
Black Widow Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Screening was Provided by Disney
Rating Overall: 7.4
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