BLACK WIDOW: A Marvel Movie Trying To Be A Drama
From the debate over the timing of its release – since we all know about Natasha’s fate in Avengers: Endgame – to the film being delayed three times due to the pandemic, the conversation surrounding Black Widow has been a roller coaster. There hasn’t been a Marvel movie in two years. On one end, two years is nothing. Most franchises have to wait longer than that for a sequel. On the other end, Marvel churns out two to three titles per year, so a two-year gap feels like a tremendous break.
Black Widow, in many ways, feels like we’re thrown right back into the Marvel formula. On one end, the film feels like it’s more of the same that we’ve seen before – it’s predictable in plot and standard in its action set pieces. On the other end, director Cate Shortland and her cast of actors try their very best to bring a more character-driven, grounded story, which ends up being the film’s greatest strength.
Carried by Characters Instead of Fantasy Plot Elements
The first fifteen minutes of Black Widow may surprise you, because, in a good way, there is very little about it that feels like a Marvel movie. Characters are introduced early on, where we already meet David Harbour and Rachel Weisz’s characters, and the stakes become personal and directly tied to how Natasha is the way she is in the present day.
As the film progresses, she is quickly reunited with Yelena (Florence Pugh), a fellow Black Widow, and her childhood sister. Here, we get a glimpse at Natasha’s past missions and that a past threat she thought she terminated is still alive and running the Black Widow program.
But despite the spy conspiracy plot that lives in the shadow of every Jason Bourne movie, the film has several moments where the script is willing to slow down and just let the characters talk to each other. Even though Black Widow is full of action scenes, which are coherently filmed and edited, by the way, it is the acting, character development, and moments of dialogue that stay with me.
Lovable New Characters
Fans of Natasha’s emotional moments in Avengers: Endgame will adore Scarlett Johansson here. She provides a rare vulnerability to Natasha, where the cold mask she wears cracks and reveals the woman with a big heart underneath. It is further proof that Johansson is a star who is fully capable of carrying both an action blockbuster and an intimate drama.
Rivaling her and stealing the entire show is Pugh, whose cold deadpan demeanor makes for some of the biggest laughs in the film. But like some of the anti-heroes who carry Guardians of the Galaxy, Yelena’s personality is designed to hide bottled insecurities and fears, which makes for some heartfelt moments in the second act. With the two lead actresses being 9 years apart, Johansson and Pugh share a dynamite chemistry on screen.
Natasha is older, with past actions that haunt her, but she successfully escaped the Black Widow program and made a better life for herself as an Avenger. Yelena is younger, with less experience in the outside world, but because her whole life has been the Black Widow program, she has been through a lot more than Natasha has. On paper and on-screen, these two characters work incredibly well together. They never attempt to overtake the other. Instead, they share the same space and are both stronger people because they’re not alone.
Accompanying the two leads is Alexei aka Red Guardian (Harbour) and Melina (Weisz). Together, they bring that dysfunctional-married-couple energy from every Noah Baumbach and Philip Seymour Hoffman movie and give Black Widow a taste of awkward domestic drama.
Together, these four characters share a bizarre family dynamic, where the comedy comes from each person being broken and flawed in their own way. By the time the action starts – and I promise you, there is a LOT of action – you will be rooting for these characters to make it out alive.
Black Widow: Solid Marvel Entertainment with a Touch of Drama
Fans of Natasha getting her own movie will be satisfied with Black Widow. The film does more than enough on exploring the character and domestic drama while serving up the typical car chases and explosive third acts that we’ve come to expect from Marvel.
At the same time, this is not a good installment to convert a newcomer into being a Marvel fan. With a predictable plot and two underwhelming villains, Black Widow feels like a safer, less visionary installment. Then again, there is something great about a Marvel movie where all the characters are actually human beings and the object they’re after is not some cosmic entity capable of destroying the universe.
It is solid blockbuster entertainment that might even perform better on repeat viewings.
Did you see Black Widow? What did you think of the film? Share below!
Black Widow will be released worldwide in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on July 9th, 2021.
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