Black Widow (2021)
2.5/4
Recently, and rightfully, there’s been more female-driven superhero films, such as the last two DC Wonder Woman films, DC’s female team-up Birds of Prey, and Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel. What made these films stand out are their strong messages about the importance of female empowerment, and the power of the female performers in their films. Now, the long-delayed Black Widow movie from Marvel has emerged from pandemic hell with the same intentions and, for the most part, it does measure up to the high bar these other films have set.
First, the good stuff: the highlights of the film are the performances. Exactly like the other Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films, Scarlett Johansson is amazing as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow and through her performance manages to convey Romanoff’s key qualities—her vulnerability, her humour, and her undying loyalty to her friends and family with ease.
But as amazing as Johansson is, the real star of the film is Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova. Belova is Romanoff’s half-sister, and the two maintain a love/hate relationship throughout the film. Pugh does a fantastic job showing Belova as a multidimensional Russian spy who knows how to kick butt. By doing this, Pugh gives the audience a brand-new Marvel character to love, and I can’t wait to see more of her further down the MCU road.
Indie film director Cate Shortland also proves to be a great choice for this film and does a marvellous job in directing her actors as well as the action scenes.
Now, the bad. Note to Hollywood: please stop making fan-driven films. A studio should be making the movie it wants to make; it should exist not because of the power of its franchise’s fanbase or how much money it will make at the box office. It should exist because of the power of its storytelling and the strength of its messages.
Clearly, Marvel Studios had nothing of the sort on its mind during its decision process regarding this film and just decided to lean into the notion of needing to please certain fans that have spent the last decade banging down its doors to beg for this film’s very existence. Focusing more on cramming in easter eggs that only fans will get than taking the time to craft a strong story is just lazy filmmaking to me.
I also wish the movie had more of a clear, strong, cohesive theme. But despite the lack of a cohesive message, Black Widow is a fun action romp with terrific performances that is sure to please fans of both the franchise and the title character.