Black Widow
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Black Widow is a 2021 American dramatic thriller superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It will be a prequel about Black Widow's origins set between Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018) as well as the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Cate Shortland and stars Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O. T. Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, and Rachel Weisz.
It premiered on June 29, 2021 at various events around the world, and was released internationally on July 7, and then in the United States on July 9, which will be simultaneous in theaters and through Disney+ with Premier Access. It is the first film in Phase Four of the MCU and was delayed three times from an original May 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Plot
After aiding Captain America and his allies to escape from the authorities in the wake of the Avengers Civil War, Natasha Romanoff goes into hiding and soon finds herself confronting a dangerous conspiracy related to her dark past. Chased down by someone who wants to bring her back to the place where she became a lethal threat, Black Widow must come to terms with her past before her membership in the Avengers.
Why It Rocks
- It finally tells the mysterious backstory of Black Widow prior to her first appearance in Iron Man 2 after many previous hints at significant events of her past in the earlier films.
- It also revealed various things that were mentioned in previous movies:
- What exactly happened in Budapest between her and Hawkeye. What exactly happened between her, Dreykov, and Dreykov's daughter, which Loki reminded her of in The Avengers.
- What happened during the flashbacks seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron in which it was shown how Natasha was sterilized as part of her training by Madame B and how the procedure traumatized her.
- What happened with Nat's parents after a deleted scene of Captain America: Civil War stated that she found their gravestones in Russia and that she learned that her father's name was Ivan in Avengers: Endgame.
- It has a more realistic story, in a way, it's like Marvel Studios made a James Bond movie.
- Good acting given the talents of David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, and Florence Pugh.
- Really neat directing.
- Good fighting sequences as expected from prior MCU films.
- It has some emotional and poignant moments.
- Epic musical score by The Lego Batman Movie composer.
- It had a lot of interesting characters. For example:
- Yelena is a very funny character, but she isn't a butt-monkey either, because she had some great moments, like commenting on Natasha doing "the pose" and doing it herself (only to become disgusted) for example.
- Alexei is also very funny, being the awkward loving dad, and his hate towards his rival, Captain America, further solidifies that fact.
- The cover of "Smells like Teenage Spirit" by Think Up Anger ft. Malia J. makes the opening credits creepy, which could be intentional since it shows how kids were kidnapped and made into Black Widows of the Red Room against their will.
Bad Qualities
- Taskmaster is a disappointing villain, even those who love the MCU cannot deny how disappointing the character is.
- Not only was the character rewritten from male to female, but there were very little hints as to who the identity of Taskmaster is as well and the character never speaks until she says three words at the end of the movie.
- While it would make sense in terms of the movie, many audience members would disagree with that statement.
- While Alexei was funny, his character was never really treated with respect.
- Unlike the other characters, his grief and tragedy were just ignored.
- For instance, when he was trying to genuinely apologize to Natasha and Yelena, the scene was treated as a joke. Compare that with Wanda, who got the chance to have a final and sincere conversation with her kids.
- The opening scene could be confusing for many, mainly due to it being hard to tell it's actually Black Widow until the opening credits play.
- It may drag on for too long at times, just like Cruella.
- Some scenes may be considered unfunny.
Reception
Black Widow received generally positive reviews, with praise for the performances and action sequences.
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 81% based on 239 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Black Widow's deeper themes are drowned out in all the action, but it remains a solidly entertaining standalone adventure that's rounded out by a stellar supporting cast.".
On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Videos
TBA.