FILM REVIEW: Black Widow (2021)

Disclaimer About Bias

I’ve been following the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since its beginning in 2008 with Iron Man, and I’ve faithfully watched every major film and TV release including Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, and all of the Disney+ shows. Therefore, it’s easy to say I may be biased to look for the best in a Marvel movie and to act as an apologist for it.

That being said, as both a storyteller and a filmmaker, I try to find the best in every piece of media I consume, not just Marvel content. After all, I’m interested in replicating “intentional successes” as one of my BU professors used to say. With that in mind, no film or piece of media is without flaws, including the MCU.

Spoiler Free Review

Due to a recent bout with bronchitis, I was unfortunately forced to view Black Widow from the comfort of my home and with the absence of my friends; so, the standard opening weekend experience of an MCU film was something I was deprived of in this viewing of the film. Perhaps, that has impacted my review of it. But after taking a night to sleep on my thoughts about the film, I think not.

As other critics have stated, Black Widow is certainly an entertaining MCU movie; however, it feels like “too little, too late.” Given its placement in both the release timeline and the timeline of the MCU between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, it’s difficult to appreciate the stakes of the film given that we know the ending for Johansson’s Romanoff in Avengers: Endgame.

Strictly in terms of three act structure, whether this is a flaw of screenwriting, editing, or studio release, remains up to debate in my eyes. Without getting into spoilers, the film’s title and billing leans the answer towards being a combination of all three. Regardless of how one views the film, I believe that you will walk out of it with just three words, “Interesting… I think?”

That being said, the film certainly fits within the genre and the franchise quite well. Johansson excels with her portrayal of the character and the casting for the new characters is quite spot on for the most part. Florence Pugh’s Yelena fits right into the MCU mold as does David Harbour’s Alexei. That being said, as a long time fan of Rachel Weisz since The Mummy (1999), I’m inclined to say her performance was well done, but her Eastern European accent fluctuated as much as Elizabeth Olsen’s throughout her initial entry into the MCU until it became more stable in Civil War, and at times it was distracting. However, this was a fun cast to watch and Ray Winstone’s Dreykov was just what I was expecting.

There are some great quips throughout the film, and the screenwriter was certainly not afraid of using Pugh’s Yelena as an occasional comedic foil to Johansson’s Romanoff, which I enjoyed immensely. Additionally the action sequences are what one could expect from a standard MCU film, and are well lit, entertaining, and easy to follow. The third act “final battle” is not quite to the scale of what we see in Endgame, nor should it be, but it certainly has the feel of the final act of a Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible film, and it works fairly well.

All in all, I would recommend viewing of this film, however, I would say that you should temper your expectations. As I will explore below in the spoiler filled section of this review, this film may not be what you expect. Additionally, given the timing of its release and placement in the MCU timeline, you may find that this film is not everything you want it to be if you’re both a die hard MCU fan and a die hard Black Widow fan. However, I will say it is a fun picture, and a welcome continuation of the MCU in theaters as we exit the era of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Spoiler Filled Review (DO NOT READ BEYOND HERE IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS)

Returning to the idea of three act structure, the biggest flaw of this film for me was that it didn’t seem like Johansson’s Romanoff was our protagonist. Given the billing and marketing for this film, that was what I expecting when I began viewing this film, and frankly I was initially disappointed to find that this was not the case. In fact, as proven by the film’s post-credits scene featuring Julia Louis Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the film points more towards Pugh’s Yelena as the protagonist. However, in terms of how the film is structured overall, that doesn’t seem to be the case. The film somewhat presents itself as an introduction to how Yelena will be taking over for Natasha in the MCU, which I don’t have a problem with, however, given the timing of the release of this film, it draws the big red circle around the largest complaint of the critics of this film— “it’s too little, too late.”

Additionally, in my opinion, die hard Johansson fans will be disappointed to find that the titular character doesn’t get her due in her first standalone film. While Romanoff is able to experience some growth as a character, it doesn’t quite seem to fit into how we’ve seen her in the rest of the franchise. In Endgame, Tony Stark asks “Do we know if she had a family?” to which Steve Rogers responds, “Yeah. Us.” Up until the release of Black Widow, in the MCU we were led to believe that The Avengers had become Romanoff’s family, and Johansson’s character addresses in Black Widow’s final scene before the credits roll, in which she says she realizes that she has two families. As a fan of the character who was deeply saddened by her death in Endgame, it was wonderful to see her make amends with her “first family” from her days before she was an Avenger. That being said, for such a beloved character, it was disappointing to see this character development executed so late in the timeline, and arguably, so simply.

To elaborate, there are countless examples throughout the history of storytelling where the protagonist’s journey is as simple as finding family. Sometimes a simple execution is best and when done well, it can be absolutely brilliant. However, it’s a tale as old as time. When it comes to Marvel and modern films in general, we hope to see something new, or if a classic tale is being retold, we hope to see it told in a new way. Black Widow sort of does this by blending the superhero and super spy genre along with the classic feel of an MCU film, but the timing in which we have been told this story is way off. Furthermore, given some of what we already knew about Johansson’s character prior to viewing this film, I believe that fans, myself included, would have wanted more.

On a penultimate note, regarding the film’s title and billing, the argument could be made that the film’s title refers to a passing of the torch from Johansson to Pugh. Given the film’s storyline, execution, and post credits scene, that would certainly seem to be the case. Viewing the film through that lens, a lot of my issues with this movie begin to dissolve. However, given the film’s billing and marketing, we’re not led to believe that this is the case. Which begs the question, is this an intentional subversion of expectations to put a twist on the overall film experience? I don’t think so. If it is, I must say it’s quite original and I applaud it, however, I think it could have been executed better.

For my final thoughts on this film, I can’t help but wonder why this movie was produced and released when it was (There’s likely a larger issue here that is greater than this simple blog review). I get the feeling if we had been able to see this movie prior to the release of Endgame (or even Infinity War) with the film’s final scene as its post credits scene, that I would have written a somewhat different review. It’s truly a shame that we had to wait this long for a Johansson standalone film. It was really entertaining and I enjoyed it, but I would have enjoyed it more if it had been released two or three years ago.

Post Review Thoughts

My views on movies tend to change with multiple viewings. With this new lens in mind, I’ll be interested to see what I think on a second or third viewing of Black Widow in addition to discussion with other fans and viewers. Maybe I’ll write a follow up post…