Released: 9th July 2021 (UK and US)
Length: 134 Minutes
Certificate: 12A
Director: Cate Shortland
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Ray Winstone and Olga Kurylenko
Of the original six Avengers, Black Widow was arguably the most short-changed. Despite making her debut in Iron Man 2 over a decade ago, the character never received her own film until now. Now she’s kicking off the MCU’s fourth phase with Black Widow, a long-awaited production that places in the lower end of the long-running series.
Set during the events of Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow sees Natasha Romanov (Scarlett Johannsson) on the run from SHIELD. She embarks on a solo side quest in Eastern Europe, reconnecting with her assassin routes in the process. The result is an underhanded plot involving secretive operatives kept in check by mind control techniques. While it starts out with a gritty flashback that sets up a darker feel, the film quickly pivots towards what we’ve come to expect from the series; chase and escape sequences flow into slower character focused moments. Thematically, it leans towards the thriller elements of Captain America: The Winter Solider with a few sprinklings of spy flicks thrown in. As Natasha ventures back into her roots, acquaintances both friend and foe make their presence felt. On a base level, it’s a standard offering, but the biggest problem with Black Widow is how it misses the mark for exploring its lead. In previous films, we saw glimpses of her sinister past, but here it’s treated as a background element rather than driving the action forward. There’s never a sense that Romanov is coming to terms with her upbringing or undergoes a personal journey.
Scarlett Johannsson slides back into the role effortlessly, but she’s rather limited by the material on offer. When compared to her fellow Avengers, there isn’t much depth added to Black Widow as a character; any backstory contained in flashbacks is quickly pushed aside for the leading action. Again, the potential for exploring the character’s past rarely translates into compelling character work. The same is true of the side characters; Florence Pugh is passable as Natasha’s surrogate sister Yelena and the film does give some time for them to bond; yet it falls very short of franchise pedigree. David Harbour and Rachel Weisz are both very talented actors, but they feel very underused here. As Red Guardian and Melina Vostokoff respectively, they don’t enter the scene until the halfway mark and despite some moments of charisma, you won’t find yourself connecting with them. In spite of its best efforts, Black Widow is unable to create a strong family unit and this severely hampers efforts to get you invested. By far the weakest aspect is its villains; with Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster being an emotionless husk and a very bland performance from Ray Winstone, the potential for ruthlessness is wasted on such lacklustre characters.
Bringing things back down to Earth, the action in Black Widow is less extravagant for the most part; though considering the lead character appears in other MCU entries, you won’t be as invested as you could be. The protagonist’s signature style of hand-to-hand fisticuffs is intact and every encounter is well shot for the most part. Some vehicular set pieces work well enough; in terms of speed and ferocity, the franchise has seen better. The climatic encounter on a crashing aerial base is the best the film has to offer; with some death defying skydives and acrobatic combat, it makes for an entertaining climax. The soundtrack by Lorne Balfe feels more foreboding than its contemporaries, marked by its Russian choir; unfortunately, the action rarely matches this tone. It needed to go a step further and establish a more visceral edge.
With its weaker story and characters, Black Widow is a mediocre start to Marvel’s newest chapter. In many ways it feels very belated and loses much of its dramatic tension as a result. With so many films under its belt, the common formula of the MCU is starting to wear thin. Future productions will have to do more to engage.
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars (Mediocre)
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