Black Widow feels out of place. As the 24th film in the sprawling Marvel Cinematic canvas, it is the first to focus entirely on Scarlet Johansson’s super-spy-turned-Avenger, Natasha Romanoff. Technically a prequel, Black Widow follows the solo adventure of Romanoff while on the run between 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War as she is pulled back into a conspiracy from her past. It moves at a brisk place, features decent-to-thrilling action, and boasts a charismatic cast. Black Widow succeeds as a competent, entertaining, action flick—but as a curtain call for Scarlet Johansson or a compelling further exploration of Romanoff, it lands with a shrug.
Here’s what Black Widow does right. The cast is the standout and the clearest reason for admission. Johansson, returning for her 8th and final appearance, is confident and assured in the title role. Johanssan’s Romanoff has been popping in and out of other Marvel features since she made her first appearance in 2010’s Iron Man 2. Johansson has spent a decade developing Romanoff from a bland femme fatele to a complicated, nuanced, ever-adaptable recurring character. She remains as compelling as ever a screen presence.
Johansson is surrounded by a surrogate family and fresh faces to the Marvel brand: Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, and David Harbour. Weisz and Harbour are having a blast with over-the-top accents and injecting much of the movie’s humor (although your mileage may vary with Harbour’s bits), but Pugh is the highlight as Yelena Belova, fellow spy and graduate of the Black Widow program. Given plans for her character, this movie feels more like a back-door pilot for Pugh than a proper farewell to Johanssan. But Pugh deservedly steals the spotlight; she is energetic, sympathetic, and fun to watch. (And I know that Pugh is getting credit for lampooning the impractical superhero pose, but I regret to inform you that Deadpool beat them to the joke five years ago.)
The movie does its best to explore darker themes within the limitations of delivering a family-friendly Disney movie. Black Widow is very much a story of confronting past trauma, exploitation, and abuse, and I was surprised at how blatantly that was stated in the text, especially in an effective and harrowing opening credits sequence.
The movie also does right by the action, with the usual caveat for Marvel’s penchant for overblown finales. Black Widow is very much indebted (probably too much) to the style and rhythm of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Director Cate Shortland has an ability to utilize more interesting framing and angles to capture the action than we’re used to in other Marvel fare. It keeps us oriented and engaged in the action, and underscores the more visceral and brutal choreography. Some fans will bristle at the on-screen portrayal of Taskmaster, one of the film’s primary villains. Taskmaster’s gimmick is an ability to mimic any fighting style, including any of the several superheroes present at this point in the Marvel world. Fans will appreciate watching the abilities of Captain America, Spider-Man, etc., reappropriated by Taskmaster in some dynamic, albeit brief, sequences. Shortland doesn’t utilize this gimmick as much as she should have—although they do give Taskmaster a fantastic, propulsive Russian score as the villain pursues the Widows through the streets of Budapest.
The biggest issue with Black Widow is the feeling that we’ve all seen this before. Prequels can be hard because knowing where the characters are already going can rob some of the dramatic tension of a story. To its credit, Black Widow mostly avoids this by focusing on all-new characters and emphasizing emotional stakes instead of wondering if Romanoff will survive the night. But we don’t delve deeper into Romanoff’s character than we have in past appearances, or explore enough of her relationship with this surrogate family, to fully justify the film’s necessity. Black Widow’s story doesn’t do much to recontextualize the character in a way that makes the film essential viewing. The movie feels too much like an afterthought, and there’s no good reason we didn’t have this story years ago. As one of the earliest prominent female characters in this Marvel enterprise, Johansson’s should have been the first female solo film. In the end, we have 2021’s Black Widow—a decent, entertaining, Winter Soldier-lite thriller to officially close the book on Johannson’s tenure in the Marvel franchise. It’s not a better farewell than what we got in Avengers: Endgame, and is only required viewing for true Marvel completionists. But there are worse ways to spend an afternoon.
Black Widow is currently in theaters and available to rent on Disney+. It runs 134 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence/action, some language and thematic material.
