It may have taken an extra year for Scarlett Johansson’s long overdue solo film to arrive but if Black Widow proves anything it’s that not even a global pandemic can halt the Marvel machine. From the moment she first appeared in Iron Man 2, Natasha Romanoff became a fan favourite and a pivotal character throughout the franchise, with a shady past before her tenure as an Avenger that was never fully addressed until now. Well, sort of anyway. Black Widow is less of an origin story than it is a placeholder and prequel rolled into one – set between the events of Civil War and Infinity War – that adds a few new layers to the first female Avenger but never enough to fully justify its existence or give Johansson the send-off she deserves.
Of all the stories and fragments of Natasha’s past that we have gleaned from previous movies, what the super spy did following Civil War never seemed high on many people’s list. She returns in Infinity War with Cap and a new hairdo and everyone accepted it without much questioning. That’s the biggest hurdle Cate Shortland’s solo film finds itself needing to overcome. Is this story essential to the character of Black Widow? No, not in any way that makes the previous films anymore impactful. Is it essential to setting up new characters who will carry the franchise forward replacing her? Yes, and for a film audiences have been clamouring for years to see, that feels like a pretty bad reason to make it.
Now a fugitive from General Ross (William Hurt) and the Sokovian Accords she helped establish, Natasha is living off the grid when she is attacked by a mysterious masked assailant, codenamed Taskmaster, in search of a package sent to her by adopted sister Yelena (Florence Pugh). Drawn back into a life she thought she had put behind her, Natasha and Yelena seek out their adoptive father Alexei (David Harbour) – Russia’s own super soldier answer to Captain America – and mother Melina (Rachel Weisz) in an attempt to put an end to the secretive Red Room – the shadowy organisation responsible for the creation of the Black Widow’s – led by mastermind General Dreykov (Ray Winstone).
As far as its standing within the rest of the MCU canon goes, Widow aims for the gritty spy-thriller style of series highlight Captain America: Winter Soldier. For the most part it hits the mark, with some brutal hand-to-hand fight scenes including a stellar first encounter between the estranged sisters, but as was the case for recent MCU series WandaVision (the two projects share writer Jac Schaeffer), the third act devolves into an almost nonsensical explosion-fest without much substance at all or even a final climactic fight scene.
It also brings the film’s biggest problem to the forefront and that is the fact that we know what happens to Natasha in the larger scheme of things. Any tension raised by the possibility of her dying is quickly extinguished by the fact that we know she makes it through. Add to that a third act twist that the film seems to thinks makes the previously silent Taskmaster character into a sympathetic villain (it doesn’t) and you’ve got a film oddly devoid of stakes. A well paced, fun in the moment ride to be sure, but nothing we haven’t seen before or that fleshes out Natasha in any meaningful way.
This should be the perfect time to explore the murky goings-on in Natasha’s past, specifically the horrific atrocities performed on her and all the Black Widow program candidates that have been referenced numerous times in other films. We’re talking about little girls ripped away from any chance at a normal existence and forced to murder people for a living. It’s heavy stuff and the brilliant opening credits sequence makes you believe that this is exactly what we’ll be getting into. But every time we come close to a breakthrough emotional moment; some semblance of catharsis or an even an acknowledgment of the trauma Natasha faced, the film is broadsided by an action sequence; never providing any satisfying conclusion to the questions we all have. One of the most egregious of these problems comes in the form of a horrifically awkward joke about the involuntary hysterectomies the Black Widow subjects suffered. Marvel films have always preferred to hit a joke beat in a story rather than to address the uncomfortable and it usually works, but this particular instance is in very poor taste.
Where the film really succeeds is in the new characters it introduces. Florence Pugh is terrific, easily the best part of the film alongside David Harbour, who really gets to bare her soul as the hard-done-by sister of Natasha. Having grown up believing Natasha was her real sister and not knowing they were part of an undercover mission has deeply affected her, with Romanoff’s sudden return and unwillingness to acknowledge their time together as anything more than a mission pouring salt on the wound. Pugh masterfully demonstrates the pain Yelena is going through, bickering with her sister constantly and making snide remarks about her time with the Avengers. She might be as adept at Natasha in her fighting skills, but in burying her emotions she is not so well equipped. Pugh also carries the film’s comedy well, with a fun little running joke about Natasha’s superhero poses sure to please longtime fans of the character.
David Harbour’s Alexei, AKA Red Guardian – the Russian counterpart to Captain America – is a riot, quite literally at times, tearing through enemies with a wicked temper and sense of humour. Harbour’s performance is all scenery-chewing Russian stereotype in the most fun way, swigging Vodka as he tells his war stories in a hilariously thick accent and he is clearly relishing the chance to play this insanely over-the-top character; a far cry from Stranger Things’ Hopper. There is more to Alexei than meets the eye, namely a deep sense of insecurity and failure buried under mountains of fake stories of combat with Captain America and despite only having met him and Yelena in this film, the emotional beats hit surprisingly hard.
Both characters are written in a way that ensures they instantly fold into the MCU’s blend of comedy and action hero bravado, as if we’ve known them for years. The post-credits scene sours this a little (no spoilers) as the pieces begin to click and you realise that the movie seems to have only been made as a launchpad for these new characters to take on a bigger role going forward. While the MCU has a long history of doing this it doesn’t change the fact that this is a film that fans have long clamoured for, and to only make it as a way of furthering the franchise whilst pretending it is some loving ode to the character of Black Widow isn’t the best look. Sure it fills in a few gaps in the franchises history, and fans of the original Avengers film will be pleased to learn more about the infamous Budapest mission, but Black Widow had a perfect, emotional send-off in Engdame and to trot her back out now without a purpose almost seems disrespectful to Scarlet Johansson and the work she did establishing this iconic franchise.
Whilst it packs all the humour and action that fans of the MCU have come to expect and love, Black Widow ultimately feels a bit disposable; a throwaway story that would have worked much better if it had actually been released chronologically following Civil War, fleshing out the character before her final appearances and adding more weight to those scenes. Still it is fun to see Scarlett Johansson return to her iconic role and the additions of Florence Pugh and David Harbour to the MCU are two huge wins; yet another example of the exciting, talented actors Marvel continues to win over, that promise to be a breath of fresh air going forward. As for Natasha Romanoff, that red ledger has finally been wiped clean.
Black Widow stars Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Olga Kurylenko & Ray Winstone – In cinemas now and streaming on Disney+ with Premier Access.