Movie Review: Black Widow - I, Spy

 

As one of the original six Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Scarlett Johansson's portrayal of Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow has consistently been a great part of each film she's appeared in over the last decade. From her sultry appearance, complex background, ass-kicking skills, and deep connections made with her teammates, Johansson has been able to capture all these aspects of Natasha. It's a shame that corporate politics kept her from getting her own solo film for so long, especially after the fact that the character sacrificed herself in "Endgame". After so much waiting though, the highly demanded and anticipated film is able to deliver a serviceable solo adventure and return to theaters for Marvel.

Set directly after "Civil War", Natasha is on the run for her actions during that film and soon finds herself drawn into a conflict that forces her to face family and enemies from her past. For what's meant to be Scarlett's swan song as the character, the film allows us to dive deeper into Natasha's past (good parts and bad) and see what made her the person we're familiar with, as well as feature some call backs to some of her best moments from previous films. I could also see how Nat needed to go through the events of this film in order to build up a spark of hope that she'd hold on to later on in "Infinity War" and "Endgame."

Probably the best aspect of the film is Natasha reuniting with the undercover Russian family she was part of as a kid.
Yelena Belova (played by Florence Pugh) acted as Nat's younger sister and went through the same Red Room training, unable to get out until the events of this film. While two decades had gone by since they last saw each other, the sisterly bond between them is clearly alive despite their misgivings surrounding the circumstances of before. They really do act like grown siblings with each other, with Nat still looking out and wanting the best for her while Yelena has a more bitter sweet attitude; she admires her "sister" but still likes to make fun of her tendencies, though there seems to be a sense of resentment considering Natasha's world famous status as a hero despite where they both came from. What I really like about Pugh's performance is a sense of innocence she's able to convey (especially in her eyes); as she was the youngest of the family unit, her time with them meant a lot more to her emotionally and stayed with her into adulthood. I really look forward to where the future takes her as the MCU establishes the next legacy character.
Alexei Shostakov (played by David Harbour) acted as Nat and Yelena's father and was Russia's only successful super soldier, going under the name "Red Guardian". This character reminds me a lot of Mr. Incredible in the first Incredibles film; he's someone who clings heavily to his past glory days and has to realize the significance of having a family. You can see he cares and has a sense of pride in his girls, but it's for the wrong reasons at first as he struggles to develop a true fatherly love.
Melina Vostokoff (played by Rachel Weisz) was the wife/mother of the unit, and while she does seem to have a strong bond with everyone and there were some good moments between characters, she didn't really stand out to me compared to Yelena and Alexei. If I can give the character anything, it's that I enjoyed the flirting between her and Alexei, hinting that their relationship did run deeper than a front.

While not our main villain and a little different from the comics (which we should expect from MCU versions at this point), I really did like the use of Taskmaster in the film. For a character that mimics others, they did a good job in how the character moved where you can clearly see the parallels to Captain America, Black Panther, Hawkeye, etc. When not fighting, the way Taskmaster acts is pretty creepy. Relentless on the mission and silent aside from breathing, it really reminds me of a combination Darth Vader and the Terminator. The character made for some entertaining fight scenes, even though the free fall scene in the film's climax could have took things a lot further, but it could have ran the risk of being too outrageous even for Marvel.

Though the film can be considered Marvel's version of a spy thriller, I see some elements of "Winter Soldier" and "Captain Marvel" on display here. Unfortunately, this is where I feel the film falters in my opinion. Unlike "Winter Solider", the twists "Black Widow" tries to deliver didn't really seem to have the impact they were hoping for on me. I kind of chalk this up to our main villain, Dreykov, not being that interesting. We already know he's bad and he's pretty much a stereotypical Russian villain; it felt like a poor attempt at trying to duplicate Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce. And while there is a feminist message, I honestly feel "Captain Marvel" did it better. They do do it in different ways with Captain Marvel being about "don't underestimate women" and Black Widow being "don't allow yourself to be subservient"; both are good lessons, but the message in "Captain Marvel" directly tied to Carol's arc while Natasha had long established herself as an independent person who already escaped her bonds.

While not one of Marvel's strongest, though certainly not their weakest, "Black Widow" nonetheless still delivers a film worthy of the character and should satisfy those who waited so long for it to happen, bringing with it a unique family dynamic and entertaining action. For Marvel's first theatrical release in two years, their return entry is surely a welcome one.