Black Widow

Well, Endgame came and went, we got a Spider-man sequel and then COVID happened and everything got pushed back, Black Widow did eventually come out but about a year after it was intended to, its release continually delayed thanks to movie theatres being shuttered over the pandemic. Even then, the release was a partial release as a premium film on Disney+, which Scarlett Johansen, whose contract gave her a portion of box office receipts, was not happy about.

But that’s a matter for a different discussion. Black Widow is the first true film in the phase 4 slate, made up of both films and TV shows in the Disney+ Sphere. The timing though is a bit weird; Black Widow had died following Endgame and she’s been a presence in the Marvel-sphere since Iron Man 2, she was long overdue a headline role, but now it couldn’t be in a movie taking place in the present.

It's hard to attribute exactly the amount of money Black Widow made following its release, it made just shy of $400m in theatres, and $66m in its opening weekend on Disney+, though how that translates into revenue I’m not sure. But let's take a look at it and see if it holds up.

Set not long after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Natasha Romanoff finds herself on the run but her past is not done with her yet as through a sequence of events she discovers that the Red Room, which is the torture hell that creates Black Widows, is still operating, now using chemicals to subjugate their brains. With an antidote in hand, Natasha must reunite her family to battle the Red Room.

There’s a good amount to like in this movie. Scarlett Johansen and Florence Pugh give great performances in particular. David Harbour’s Red Guardian is fun to watch and there’s plenty of entertaining action scattered throughout the movie. The film doesn’t entirely shy away from Black Widow’s more violent and destructive history, whilst also showing how much her character has grown over the years.

The film has what you’d expect in terms of visuals and although some of the action scenes have a bit more shaky-cam than I’d personally like, it’s well shot enough that I understand everything that’s going on. The plot is relatively basic, there’s a McGuffin the good guys need to get into a base full of bad guys and hijinks ensue but that’s not really a major issue, it’s 2 and quarter hour run passes quickly helped by decently choreographed action and a decently paced script.

There dialogue is mostly decent, and occasionally can get witty, particularly with stuff involving the Red Guardian. I feel like I’m mostly iterating stock praise, so let’s move to my criticisms.

The major problem with this film is the villains. I said the story was basic, but man I wish they’d built up Dreykov a bit, his plan is stock, control the world through imbedded agents, not dissimilar to HYDRA really. His means through chemical brainwashing are different but honestly it being done through chemicals gives the good guys a means for a chemical antidote.

Despite attempts to make him intimidating, he doesn’t come across as much of a threat on his own, so much that they have to incorporate him having pheromones that stop his agents from harming him, even Natasha who got out before they started using chemical subjugation. I know it’s a super-hero film where suspension of disbelief is part of the package, but I just have trouble taking this seriously. He emits a scent that stops people from fighting him, you can see why that’s funny, right?

Taskmaster is also a disappointment. They got the base concept right, (s)he’s [she's a woman in the film, man in the comics, but that isn't important in the slightest] someone who uses tech to mimic the fighting styles of others. All great, I just wish they made her a mercenary like she is in the comics. I get wanting a symbol of an innocent caught in the Red Room crossfire but it’s undone by the fact that she’s not acting of her own volition, she’s chemically subjugated like everyone else. In the unlikely event she turns up again, maybe she’ll go down that path but I doubt it. [Note: I hear she's in the Thunderbolts movie, neat]

Then I suppose there’s the big elephant in the room. Black Widow’s death in Endgame make it feel like none of the story ended up mattering. All those scenes with Rick Mason where he hints at possible romantic involvement, won’t matter, she’s dead. Her restoring relationships with her ‘family’ doesn’t matter, because she’s dead (I know Yelena’s gonna come up in Hawkeye, and it’s hinted in a mid-credits scene, I will get there soon)

Also, Melina’s turn against the Red Room feels really out of nowhere. Up until the plan comes into motion, she’s still on board with it all, even subjugating pigs in her own house.

Nonetheless, Black Widow is a solid way for the character to go out on, tying up loose ends from the past with some decent action and entertaining characters. I found it lacking when it came to the villains and feels somewhat hollow in the wake of Endgame but is still an entertaining watch, regardless.

Rating 65/100