Black Widow

After all these years, Black Widow finally gets her own standalone movie and... it's okay. I actually found Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Rachel Weisz to be entertaining additions, but the story felt cobbled together and it was riddled with plot holes. I know Natasha is a very skilled assassin, for instance, but she's almost invulnerable in this. It probably would have been better to give Black Widow her solo film a year or two after Iron Man 2 came out.

This was overall a good movie. Florence Pugh added some amusement with her funny accent and Scarlett Johansson was cool as always. I liked the jokes, many of them, but they're still not in the same class as the avengers movies. However, if you still haven't seen this film, do it. It was good enough and a whole lot better than the new Eternals-junk!

This is a super solid, fun, well choreographed action entry in the Marvel universe. Very similar feel to the winter soldier and civil war. Acting is great, fight scenes are awesome, and the humor is well timed and refreshing.

I was expecting a typical, CGI-infused Avenger movie, and it certainly is that. Black Widow, though, has a lot in common with James Bond movies. There's even a scene in which 007 is playing on TV. The Black Widow must stop a Russian General called Dreykov, a sort of SPECTRE czar megalomaniac who "rescues" unwanted girls and turns them into super assassins, called widows. Widows go through extensive training. A select few get chosen. The rest are killed. This makes Dreykov a monstrous misogynist, in a movie, directed by a woman, Cate Shortland, which has unmistakable feminist themes. There are two main Black Widows: Scarlett Johansson's character, and Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh. Belova is impulsive where Romanoff is introspective. The two are sisters only in that they grew up as part of a Russian cell, in an Ohio suburb, along with Rachel Weisz as their brilliant scientist mother, and David Harbour, as Red Guardian, Russia's version of Captain America, as the dad.

The action set pieces, and fight scenes were good, but no better or worse than your typical Marvel Avenger movie. There are the standard wisecracks, as Johansson and Pugh riff on each other. Yelena teases Natasha's signature landing move, with one arm extended behind, the other hand on the floor, and legs spread apart, a fighting stance Yelena finds diva-like and pretentious, and is disgusted with herself when performing the same pose. The chemistry between Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh is nimble and enjoyable. The scenes with David Harbour, arm wrestling people in a gulag prison, are also very funny. In summary, this is a solid, fun Marvel movie, with a hint we will be seeing more of Black Widow Yelena Belova.

Rewatching this film was something I needed-because now I appreciate it far more than before, despite all the flaws working against it.

The CGI, for example, hasn't aged well at all; it's still bad. Some scenes needed more polish, and it was even used for things that felt unnecessary.

As for the story, the villain should've had a stronger presence throughout. The transition from the second to third act was anticlimactic. Alexei's character honestly struck me as annoying, disruptive, and completely pointless. And the Red Room's metaphor for human and child trafficking of girls was something I wish it had been explored more deeply across the entire narrative.

Despite that, I've grown to appreciate the action and characters far more: Natasha and Yelena shine. The action truly excels in the hand-to-hand combat scenes, which were the highlights.

Florence Pugh as Yelena was the perfect casting choice. They gave her character so much charisma, personality, and layers that it was impossible not to love her-and to want more of her in future MCU films or shows. Her chemistry with Scarlett as sisters is heartfelt and portrayed flawlessly.

Natasha Romanoff feels like a completely different character compared to her past MCU appearances-and that's a good thing. Here, Natasha has far more depth: her vulnerability, regret, anger, determination, sadness, tastes, goals, and dreams are all explored. This version of Natasha was a joy to meet, and I'd have loved even more of her. With her rich backstory, she deserved a full trilogy. We'll miss you, Black Widow.