A fun movie (spoilers)

I genuinely enjoyed aspects of ’Black Widow’, such as the fight scenes, expensive special effects, huge sets (the Siberian prison rescue being a highlight), and the charismatic cast. Like ‘Star Wars’, those are the reasons to check Marvel movies out.

On the other hand, the simplistic plot, tone and characterization is ‘Jason Bourne’-lite, because the film is aimed at a teenage Disney+ demographic that I am not a member of.

If this were targeted at adults, I’d complain that Ray Winstone’s villain, methodology and geopolitical objectives were paper thin. I’d also be disappointed that the Red Room was so dumbed down after the build up in ‘Agent Carter’ and ‘Age of Ultron’. No Dottie Underwood? No Julie Delpy? Magic anti-brainwashing powder?

Let’s be honest, this movie isn’t really about the origin of Natasha Romanoff - we still have no idea what caused her to defect to S.H.I.E.L.D.. It also isn’t about giving the MCU’s first female superhero her long overdue solo mission. It’s about setting up Florence Pugh as Scarlett Johansson’s younger successor, introducing more characters (Dark Avengers?) and paving the way for the ‘Hawkeye’ series on Disney+ (which itself exists to pave the way for ‘Young Avengers’…).

But, as mentioned, ‘Black Widow’ isn’t targeted at adults, so I don’t have to evaluate it as rigorously as such. Purely as a showcase for cutting-edge demolitions and complicated action sequences, interspersed with some cute character beats, ‘Black Widow’ is a fun pandemic distraction and far better executed than journeyman efforts like ‘Captain Marvel’, ‘Ant-Man & The Wasp’ or the ‘Spider-Man’ movies.

--------------------------------------------
You can read all of my latest film reviews here: https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/about/Jake