This will contain light spoilers.
I wish this movie came out right after Captain America: Civil War because it would have been perfect. With that being said, the movie brings you back to a time before Thanos’ snap.
The character arc of Natasha Romanoff has been an interesting one.
When she initially showed up in Iron Man 2, it was a breath of fresh air; in Avengers, it became clear she could hold her own with GODS, and by the time we got to Endgame, she was the anchor of the team.
In Black Widow, you see that all play out over one movie.
While Scarlett Johansson does an excellent job, as always, it is her “Family” that makes the movie for me.
What is a regular home like for a bunch of spies, super soldiers, and trained assassins?
The movie’s foundation is based on family and that you don’t have to be blood relatives to become one. If you believe it is real, then it is real.
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova is the breakthrough star of the movie. I know many people were worried about the legacy of the Black Widow since Natasha is deceased in the main timeline.
I can tell you that you have nothing to worry about.
You might even end up loving Yelena even more because as the “baby sister,” her story is even more tragic. In the movie, she is the character who says what the audience is thinking and keeps everything grounded.
There is a joke she makes that I guarantee will stick throughout the MCU.
It wouldn’t be an MCU movie with big action shots, and let me tell you, they do not disappoint.
It was like a mix of Jason Bourne with Fast and Furious. Each scene was so well done that even though it was insane, you never felt it was impossible (which is a hard thing to do in a Superhero movie).
BUDAPEST!!!
Yes, you finally get your answer about what happened in Budapest, I won’t spoil it, but it now makes sense why Natasha and Clint always talk about it. Also, you will have to tell me when you watch the movie what you thought about a particular subway scene that puts Clint and Natasha’s relationship in a different light.
If I had one critique of the movie, it would be Taskmaster.
The MCU has had a run of great villains, but Taskmaster won’t be added to that list. If anything, Taskmaster was a secondary villain to Ray Winstone: Dreykov, a much more compelling villain that I wish got more screen time.
Overall though, that was a small critique in an otherwise excellent MCU film.
There is an end-credits scene that ties into Falcon and The Winter Soldier and sets things in motion for the future of MCU, so don’t leave early.
The million-dollar question is if this is the last we will see of Johansson’s Black Widow.
I have zero insider information, but if I had to guess based on this movie and what else we have seen on Disney Plus, she would return at some point.
4 out of 5 BSO stars.
