Movie Review - Black Widow

Watching an MCU movie in a packed theater again. Just like old times. We wore our masks throughout the movie (COVID Delta variant ain't no joke.) so it's not all back to normal, but good enough for the time being.

Was the movie worth the year-long wait? Hard to say, but it definitely didn't disappoint. Going in I was expecting something in the B- range and my expectations were exceeded because there's a lot to like in this movie.

7:42●●● 95%

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The chemistry between Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh was great.  I can't wait to see them interact more... Oh wait. Nevermind. :-(

The dialog delivered many enjoyable moments that had the theater laughing. Not too many were hilarious really, just good fun.

I'm really pleased that Disney/Marvel is taking a stand on timely topics such as black rights and white entitlement, in Falcon and Winter Soldier and in Black Widow they address the worldwide mistreatment of young girls. I get it that a lot of people think these are controversial topics that should be left out of our entertainment. In my opinion, they are doing their job of presenting causes that are worth standing up for. I say kudos to them.

The fight scenes were well choreographed and remained enjoyable throughout the movie. I would like to have seen a little more in the skydiving scene, but it's better to be left wanting more than wanting less.

I'd have to see Black Widow again to really start to appreciate it and see where it falls in the MCU pantheon. My first impression is that it's solidly on the top third of all the MCU movies, but that top third is getting really crowded. Head to head I'd say I enjoyed this a tiny little bit more than Black Panther but not as much as Thor: Ragnarok.

Leave a comment below and let me know where you would drop this in the MCU pantheon.

Grade: A-

A second take from Rob Williams

Black Widow finally here! It was originally meant for release in May 2020 but that’s not what I mean. The first smoldering of the creative flame started in April 2004 when Lionsgate started developing a Black Widow film with David Hayter attached to write and direct following his work on X-Men; he even named his daughter Natasha when she was born while he was working on the project. But it was put aside until the character started appearing as an extra in the MCU with a debut as one of the best bits of Iron Man 2 in 2010. Since then she has been in another six films while definitely deserving of a solo outing. And it’s here! Is it what she deserves? In my opinion, I’d say it’s a conditional rather than a rousing yes.

I went into Black Widow in high spirits. The only other thing I’ve seen in the cinema this calendar year is Peter Rabbit 2 because I can refuse my granddaughter nothing. That and I’m not a fan of the Fast & Furious franchise so couldn’t be bothered heading to the fleapit for that. The trailers looked fun… yes, I know they’re supposed to, I like the character, I like the actors, and I like the stuff the MCU puts out and am looking forward to the rest of the phases that are still to come. The cast I was particularly looking forward to seeing wasn’t just limited to Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh as Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova. I’ve been a fan of Rachel Weisz (Melina Vostokoff) since The Mummy and Enemy At The Gates and Ray Winstone is always good value.

Why did I give a conditional yes as the answer to the question of this being the film? Let’s be honest… I thought it was going to be a fairly nonstop action fest. I thought I was going to have difficulties finding Peetimes because I don’t like to pick action sequences that take ages to try and describe, I prefer talky bits which can be summed up in a few sentences.

I was quite surprised when there were masses of talky bits. Now the talky bits aren’t boring. They are entertaining, amusing, and informative; I’m hoping that this is the start of another branch of the Marvel franchise and future outings won’t need so much exposition. When the action arrived it was what you’d expect, big, loud, and amazing.

I’d say that it was a good start to Phase IV of the MCU. Especially after seeing the end credits scene.

Rob's grade: B+

Who was that woman in the end credits of Black Widow?

Read Rob William's Black Widow review: Grade B+