Black Widow

After a delay lasting 19 months; the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has returned to the big screen with “Black Widow”. The film takes place between “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Infinity War”; audiences get more of the backstory of Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), as we are introduced to her early life before the Red Room. This is not to say that the film is an origin story as it uses her backstory through a clever introduction that establishes her “family” as sleeper agents in Ohio before they escape and she and her cover sister are tuned over for conditioning and training. Since Natasha is on the run from the authorities; she finds a remote location in Norway to bide her time. This does not last as a dangerous adversary known as the Taskmaster arrives and sets a chain of events into motion. Natasha has been sent a package from her cover sister Yelena (Florence Pugh) who also went through the Red Room and became a top assassin in the years since she and Natasha last saw one another. Despite her mixed feelings; Natasha ventures to Budapest and confronts Yelena who in turn reveals the package she sent her contains a compound that can free the other B

Rewatched for the Once Upon a Franchise podcast. Listen to the full episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7i1gu7ICOTWQG3GFXTZli5?si=429741a57c354daf Rating: A- BLACK WIDOW is a satisfying, overdue send-off that finally treats Natasha Romanoff as a fully-realized lead rather than a supporting piece, anchored by a found-family dynamic that's as funny as it is quietly devastating. Florence Pugh's Yelena is the film's MVP and very nearly runs away with the whole movie, the hand-to-hand action is some of the most brutal and tactile the MCU has produced, and the choice to update the Red Room mythology with a sky base and a chemical mind-control agent feels like a genuinely clever evolution of the comics rather than a lazy shortcut. My real frustrations are less about what's on screen and more about timing and polish: this should have been Natasha's film a decade earlier, and the third act's green-screen work occasionally undercuts an otherwise grounded, Bourne-inspired thriller. But it all comes back together for that final shot — sun on Natasha's face, a warm, bittersweet goodbye that this character, and this actress, absolutely earned.

The first half of black widow was very strong and emotional. Florence Pugh was stellar in this movie. She was brilliant in action sequences and I like the fun elements in her character. Yelena and Natasha's chemistry was too good. David Harbour also performed very well. The action sequences were good but CGI was too weak in the 3d act. Also, I didn't like the changes in Natasha's character. She has no superpowers like other avengers. Her strong brain and mind combine to make her a lethal weapon but they showed her over powerful in this movie. The inner wounds of Natasha were beautifully delivered in this movie. I liked the movie but because of Florence only.