Review: Black Widow
On the run after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Natasha's (Scarlett Johansson) plans of laying low are interrupted when her sister from a past life, Yelena (Florence Pugh) gets her involved in a sinister plot involving the famed Red Room.
My family and I went to the theater again together for the first time since The Rise of Skywalker and boy did it feel great to see the Marvel logo on the big screen again. I have so many feelings about this movie.
I find myself at an awkward crossroads with Natasha. I love her, I still think her dying in Endgame was a big mistake, and that gives this film an air of too little too late, but Scarlett Johansson as an actress has proven so disappointing lately with her defense of Woody Allen among other things. I'm so invested in Natasha as a character it's mostly easy to look past, but it's never far from my mind.
I couldn't help but feel bitter leaving this, even though I enjoyed the first half immensely. The second half makes some dumb story choices and wastes its main villain, but let's not pretend the majority of comic book movies don't already do that. The villains rarely shine, but this one they could've done a lot more with. But I'm bitter because when I hear the Avengers theme play while Natasha does something heroic, I think back to how Clint should've been the one to get thrown off that cliff. It's such a dumb waste.
Nat in the first half of the film shows why she's an Avenger. She kicks an insane amount of ass. The stunts in this film are excellent. Every fight a woman is involved in is just choreographed brilliantly and all those stuntwomen involved should be very proud. I loved Nat's chemistry with Yelena. I hope we see plenty more of Florence Pugh in the MCU, she was the clear standout here. David Harbour was funny, but Rachel Weisz was a miss. Her accent didn't sound as consistent as the others and her character just wasn't as intriguing as the others.
I like director Cate Shortland, even though I didn't love her last two films. I'm glad she was given a huge tentpole like this and I hope it pays off for her. Even though the film itself falls in pretty mid tier Marvel for me, when I put my sadness aside for a character gone too soo, I enjoyed the majority of it. Though it's not free of problems.
Recommended: Yes
Grade: B
Memorable Quote: "I doubt the space god has to take an ibuprofen after a fight." - Yelena (Florence Pugh)
First off I love the new design. I've been toying with doing something different but I'm too scared of screwing everything up...LOL
ReplyDeleteI liked this one too and agree Pugh is the standout. I love Natasha's character and it's good to see her get a proper send-off.
Thank you! I switched it to something like this a few years ago, panicked and changed it back. Now I'm ready to commit lol. It was a nice send off, but I wasn't ready to say goodbye :(
DeleteHmmm....I’m still on the fence with this movie. It sounds like you are even after seeing the movie. I am unsure about the film. It looks like she does amazing stunts which is not possible to survive at least without a few broken bones but that’s normal in this Marvel Universe.
ReplyDeleteI still think it's worth seeing. They just have a high standard.
DeleteI like the new design of the blog as well. I enjoyed the film though the screening I went to was terrible. The projection screen went black not once but... 3 times. It ruined the film for me and I was enjoying it as I really liked what Florence Pugh did as I'm so glad she's part of the MCU as I just want to see Yelena watching sitcoms with Wanda, Monica, Sylvie, and the rest of ladies just having fun.
ReplyDeleteThank you!! I'm glad it's working out so far. I hate when there are projector problems. When I saw The Amazing Spiderman in theaters they had to start and stop the movie a few times and they always went back too far so we would watch the same scenes twice. It kills the mood.
DeleteI agree the villain is really weak in this one, but I really love the Natasha/Yelena dynamic so much I still had a great time w/ this one. I hope we see plenty more of Florence Pugh in the MCU too, and just more Pugh on screen generally as I think she's truly one of the best actresses working today!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Nice new blog design btw!
Thank you so much! I really liked their banter too. I'm sad we won't see more of it.
DeleteI came for some new MCU content, and I stayed for Florence Pugh. That girl nails every role she's given <3
ReplyDeleteLoving your new blog design by the way!
Thank you so much! I needed a spruce up. lol
DeleteAwe, lucky you for getting to watch this in cinemas. I think it will still be a long while until I get to go. The last one I watched was legit Little Women in early early 2020. I miss it ...
ReplyDeleteBut on to the movie, I get the whole "too little, too late". I like Natasha as a character, but am not a big ScarJo fan at all and that has tainted it all a bit for me. On top of that, this movie should have plain been done 5 years ago. They could have kept absolutely everything the same and just do a different post-credit scene.
However, I have to say I enjoy the cinematography of all Phase 4 productions so far. Despite it being different directors involved, everything feels a lot more grounded and natural in the way it is shot. Also, calmer in a way? Maybe that's just me projecting ...
Oh I know. This movie could've fit in any phase with a few tweaks. I've been enjoying the cinematography too. I think because it's smaller scale, it feels different? That's what I've been going with.
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