Movie Review: Black Widow

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Action and fun

Cons: Earlier release would have been nice; slow prologue

The Bottom Line:

Black Widow spotlight

Does set up some new plot threads

With action, humor

“I Have Friends.”  “People Who Have Friends Don’t Call Me.”

While I’ve been watching the Marvel series on Disney+ as they’ve been released, I’ve fallen behind on the movies.  I’m trying to catch back up, so I sat down to watch Black Widow.

As those up on the franchise would easily guess, the bulk of this movie takes place before the results of Endgame.  After a prologue where we see some of Natasha’s childhood, we join her at the point in the Avengers saga after the events of Civil War.  While some of the Avengers have been arrested, Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) is on the run, currently trying to lay low in Europe.  She may have finally been able to drop off the map until she gets a mysterious package from her foster sister Yelena (Florence Pugh).

This package ties back into Natasha’s past in the Black Widow program, a program that she thought she shut down before joining S.H.I.E.L.D.  This new path might expose her to those trying to arrest her for her work in S.H.I.E.L.D. and will set up a painful family reunion.  Will Natasha shut down the program once and for all?

I’ve heard several fans say they wish this movie had come out when it took place chronologically.  I agree with that.  To be honest, I’ve struggled with the Avengers characters who didn’t have their own movies, so these stand-alone movies (and the shows that are showing up on Disney+) really help me with that.  Of course, if I watched these movies more than once and only when they were in the theater, I might be better at remembering characters.  Anyway, I felt like I knew the character better after this movie than I had from her previous appearances.

On the other hand, this movie also works to pass the baton.  Since I’ve already watched Hawkeye, I had already met Yelena.  I have a feeling she will be an important character going forward.  We also were supposed to meet a key new character in the post credits scene for the first time.  Because of how I watched things, that post credits scene was anti-climatic, but that’s partially on me.  Anyway, I can see how this movie works to set up one plot thread for the current cycle of movies, so it acts as a good bridge.

Enough about the timing of this movie’s release.  How was this as a movie?  Overall, I enjoyed it.  I did feel like the prologue was a little too long, but once we got to Natasha as an adult, I quickly got into the story.  As you’d expect from a Marvel movie, there is outstanding action, some quieter character moments, and then some more action.

The acting is all great.  The cast does a great job of bringing their characters to life and making us care about them.

And yes, those actions scenes work.  Many of them are over the top, but would we settle for any less?  I loved watching them.  Likewise, the special effects were spectacular.

I can’t leave out the humor.  I laughed at a few of the one-liners along the way plus a recurring gag that I won’t spoil.

All this did leave me with one question – why doesn’t Natasha have an accent when the rest of the core characters did?  But maybe if I go back and rewatch the movies, something will make sense.  Or it’s just because she’s spent more time in America.

Black Widow was a fun action movie.  I do hope we see more from some of the characters introduced here.  If you’ve skipped this particular Marvel movie, go back and watch it.