i want you to hit me as hard as you can after over a year of delays marvel is finally back on the big
screen with their first movie in over two years can you believe it two years since a marvel movie
my god how did the world ever move on of course this was never the intention with black widow
initially set for a may 2020 release with toys and merch having already hit shelves only to be
delayed over and over again thanks to a little thing called covet 19 in fact it's a sign of the
times that black widow is the first marvel movie to not debut exclusively in theaters
with it getting a simultaneous pvod release via disney premier access black widow of course is the
long-awaited solo outing for scarlett johansson's natasha romanov despite the fact that she famously
gave her life for hawkeye of all people midway through avengers end game as a result this is a
prequel set in the immediate aftermath of captain america civil war as it opens romanov is on the
run from william hurt's thaddeus ross a nice call back to earlier marvel installments wanting to lay
low she receives a package from her long estranged sister yelena balova played by florence yolena
wants to bring down the red room the russian spy organization black widow escape from pre-iron man
2 which is being run by rae windstone's drakov the movie makes the most of this opportunity having
black widow on her own by letting us finally get her character's fleshed-out backstory where
she along with the elena was part of a cell of sleeper agents as a kid not related by blood their
mother figure was rachel rises molina vostrov another black widow while their surrogate dad
was david harbor's russian super soldier red guardian black widow was a departure from
marvel and that it eschews the normal end of the world stakes for something a little more personal
romanov is reckoning with her past which includes abandoning her surrogate sister and her conflicted
feelings for her parents or rather her surrogate parents it's the vehicle johansson's deserved
for a long time and director kate shortland who also directed a really good movie a couple years
ago called berlin syndrome makes the most out of johannes skill by further humanizing what's
always been a very compelling character she's helped along by florence pugh who it seems is
being set up for a major role in the mcu as elena more cynical smartmouth than her adopted sister
pew gives the role both humanity and a surprising amount of humor with her mocking natash's sexy
fight poses well alas in the climax she can't help but knowingly try out a few of her own she's the
kind of character we'll want to watch for years to come and this is a great introduction rachel weiss
is also very good as the original black widow and certainly looks the part but it has to be
said the movie is all but stolen by david harbour as red guardian digging his teeth into a role he
seems born to play he's russia's answer to captain america and a true believer in the cause viewing
himself as much of a good guy as cap likely does the movie picks up with him in a rush in jail
out of shape and forgotten but pleased this punch to be reunited with his girls despite essentially
abandoning them years earlier their dynamic is complicated but he's given a lot of pathos
and humanity as well as some hilarious bits such as when he tries to fit into his old uniform
hybrid also nails the action aspect but then again so does everyone in fact black widow's
action scene seem to come from the john wick school of badassery johansson pew and harbor
all seem to be participating in the action and are believable in their roles both physically and in
terms of acting skills shortland gives the film a highly polished look that's a little different
from the usual mcu outing appropriate as this is a more earthbound entry while lauren bouff's score
is top 5 marvel for me in fact the only thing i was kind of let down by is the fact that i felt
that rachel vi's character got a bit short-shifted in the end and didn't really have too much of an
arc of her own i also didn't really care for ray winstone as the main villain drakov he seemed
like kind of a glorified second banana we do get taskmaster however although the character i think
is quite different than it was in the comics but very effective all the good guys in this movie are
great the bad guys not so much all in all though i was surprised by how much i like black widow
i'm not always a massive marvel fan mostly just because i feel like the movies can be assembly
line at times although they've been extremely successful and people really do love these movies
as much as you know when i was young i probably loved the james bond or indiana jones movies
but i have to say this was an installment that i really enjoyed i give it a strong 8 on 10.
good action good acting and a good story what more can you want in a blockbuster 3 2 run action
black widow is something that the marvel universe has never experienced before the action in this
film is real you these huge armored vehicles going through these iconic streets in budapest
budapest itself is so important to whom natasha really is and what drives her and she finds this
family from her past there so we're gonna talk like grown-ups is that what we are
within like two days of knowing scarlet i was just ramming her into a door frame
all the fighting in this film is so emotional and about not knowing how to say what you feel
it's good to see you too sis there's some of the most
intense fights that we've had in the mcu there's this big fight scene in this
enormous prison there were 400 extras this doesn't feel like a movie it feels real
i wanted to create something really visceral and fun but to talk about natasha as a human being
to let audiences see a sign of her that they had never seen before
i've spent a decade of time with this character and she's finally able to write her own
story i'm done running for my past
how much do you really know about the elusive natasha romanov before i worked for shield
i made a name for myself when it was time to assemble the avengers
who did shield call let me put you on hold
former kgb assassin agent of shield and avenger she fought through the battle of new york squared
off against the winter soldier defended the world against ultron she signed the sokovia accords
dealt with all that fallout and beat back the forces of thanos
when all seemed lost she held the team together but
how well do you really know her it's time for her story i've lived a lot of lives
you've been waiting for this
you