Although I already had my much-needed dose of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) content with the arrival of the Disney+ series (WandaVision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and Loki you’ve been great!). Going to the movie theater last night to watch Black Widow was an experience that I missed a lot. The Marvel Studio logo at the beginning of every single one of their projects is among the few title sequences that are entertaining and worth the time.
The film takes place right after the events of Captain America: Civil War, where we see Natasha on the run after her actions in that film and later forced to reunite with characters and events from a very dark chapter in her past that now pose a new threat to the world.
So basically the story works both as an origin and a stand-alone story for this character that we have known for a little more than 10 years.
The story takes you back to this part of the universe that deals with spies and terrorist organizations, which some fans will say is the type of stories where the MCU shines best. But unlike before, I would say that this time around we are given something much darker and closer to real-world issues. It may start off like any other Marvel movie, but the second the opening credits start showing you little girls being trafficked, experimented on, and trained to become assassins, all while being accompanied by an almost disturbing cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit, you know this isn’t going to entirely be a “high budget comedy” or an “amusement ride”.
Scarlett Johansson, who worked very closely in the development of this film, has stated that she wanted it to have women who have shared traumatic experiences get through that by coming together and supporting each other. That is the soul of the movie and what moves it forward. Natasha is helping her sister Yelena, other women that have been turned into Black Widows, and any future innocent girl who may suffer the same fate as her.
Speaking of Johansson, to me she’s always been great at portraying Natasha and she’s done the work required to make her an essential part of the MCU. We know she’s one of the most skilled fighters in the world and smart enough to always have an ace up her sleeve when confronting her enemies. There’s honestly nothing new added to her skill set, so the movie ends up serving more of a compilation of her best action moments, there’s even a joke about her signature pose thrown in there for fun.
But what we do get is a better understanding of the inner struggles that a character like Natasha has and has been dealing with since she was introduced. We know her as the spy and as an Avenger, and I remember her having sincere moments before with characters like Clint, Steve, and Bruce. But there’s something different from seeing her as an older sister figure towards Yelena and interacting with her and other characters from her past.
Seeing Nat’s origins after already seeing her be an essential piece to this immense puzzle that only keeps expanding, made me appreciate her character more and see her 10 years long journey in a new light.
Origins stories are essential, and the MCU knows how to do them very well.
The new additions to the MCU were fun to watch, enough for me to want to see more of them again in the future. The supporting cast works very well and they all had their moments. I was surprised by Rachel Weisz’s character. I wish they had done more with O-T Fagbenle’s Rick, he’s one of the characters I want to see more of in the future of the MCU, and it is very likely that will happen. David Harbour pours out likeability no matter what character he’s playing or how grumpier they make him, he’s also another character I wish to see more in the future especially because of all of the backstory that comes with the character of the Red Guardian.
But, out of all the new characters that were introduced, for me, the highlight was Florence Pugh’s as Yelena Belova.
While this isn’t the literal version of the character that I know from the comics, Pugh’s charisma and charm managed to retain key elements from the character while at the same time creating her own version so it can be likable for all audiences that didn’t know who the character was.
Sadly we already know that it is very unlikely that we’ll see Johansson back again as Natasha, so if this franchise needed someone to pass on the mantle of Black Widow, then Pugh is the perfect choice to continue with the character and lead this new franchise.
She has experience with action and fighting scenes, she can deliver with heavy dramatic moments, and as stated before her performance as Yelena was likable enough to capture the hearts of Marvel fans. Luckily if you are one of those fans and you stayed after the credits ended, as you always should, you won’t have to wait for much longer to see her again.
Now the villains of the MCU can vary on whether they are considered good or bad, and it’s hard for me to properly determine if the bad guys in Black Widow were a hit compared to their predecessors. For this film, we got two villains: Ray Winstone’s Dreykov and Taskmaster, whose real identity will still remain secret.
Both characters convey this coldness when they appear on-screen. With Winstone, what I liked about him was that he’s a perfect representation of a man moving behind the scenes with a political agenda and someone who only sees women as tools to get what he wants. The sad truth is that men like him do exist in the real world so this could be one of the very few cases where we see an actual villain in a Marvel movie.
Taskmaster on the other hand is much more complicated. On one side, pretty much all of the scenes involving the character were cool, and I enjoyed seeing this person deprived of any kind of human emotion that gets the job done no matter what because that makes him much dangerous and menacing, and he can easily stand on its own against the most skilled fighters in this universe so it would be fun to see more of him in the future. But on the other side, while I don’t mind the changes that were made to fit the character in the story, I’m worried that the franchise has wasted one of its most interesting villains from the comics. Again, the changes worked for me, but if this ends up being a one-shot appearance for Taskmaster then I’ll be deeply disappointed. But Marvel has a history of redeeming their villains in future projects, so there’s that small light of hope that Taskmaster will get justice.
Speaking of the action. I’ll be honest, I have never seen any of Cate Shortland’s work before this and yes that’s on me, but I’m impressed by what she was able to accomplish with this film.
The way that she directed the action sequences can easily be considered among the best in the MCU and very close enough to the level that we’ve seen in the last Mission: Impossible movies. Black Widow (2021) is known for her close-up fighting style, and Shortland knew how to best showcase it, not just with Natasha, but with Yelena and the other members of the Red Room. But Shortland also managed to get really emotional moments from the characters. This is one of the things I mentioned before regarding Natasha’s inner struggles. Whether the characters were talking about something serious or having some friendly bickering, it all helps towards the characters having this family dynamic that works very well for the journey that Natasha’s character is going through in this film and what follows.
A few months ago I wrote an article here where I talked about how having female directors in charge of superhero movies can show their talents behind the camera to a larger audience, it can also prove that they can handle a bigger budget, and it can give them access to other big franchise or the support needed for whatever story they want to tell on the big screen. I’m glad that is the case for Shortland and I’m confident that we’ll be seeing more from her in the foreseeable future whether it’s in another Marvel movie, a different action-centric franchise, or even something out of her own mind that gets her more recognition.
Like I said before the story takes you once again to the corner of the Marvel Universe that deals with spy and secret organizations, which serves as something fresh for the loyal audience members. But there are still a few things that never change in a Marvel movie. We get the same comedy that makes it enjoyable to audience members of all ages, although I’m aware that some hate it. As already stated, great action and character development, and also some awesome visual effects. The only thing that is sadly missing here is the classic Stan Lee cameo, although we didn’t get one in Spider-Man: Far From Home and we haven’t gotten one in the Disney+ series, it’s one of those things that was always fun and somehow you knew you could count on always appearing…hopefully Marvel can find a way to keep that tradition alive while at the same time honoring this wonderful man.
Although it was just a year of waiting to see this movie, it felt longer. But I actually believe that the delay ended up helping the movie. Not only because it built up the anticipation of wanting to see another entry in the Marvel collection, but the fact that this film arrived at a time where we have seen this universe do everything from time traveling to reality being told as a sitcom, makes everything that happens in Black Widow fresh and also believable.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has reached a point where the connections between its films, and now including its series, are mutually beneficial and can excite us for what is to come and at the same time appreciate more what has come before.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t entirely excited to see Black Widow a year before, and a part of me thought that it wasn’t going to be as good or successful, but I’m glad that I was proven wrong. Because going to the theater and seeing it was an experience that I didn’t know how much I cared for, and it also affected how I see previous Marvel movies with Scarlett Johansson. It is because of all of that I can consider this as one of the best of the year.
Score: I could definitely watch it again, as a matter of fact, I watched it again today.
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