09 Jul Nerdy for Thirty #23: Black Widow

BLACK WIDOW

dir. Cate Shortland, starring Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachael Weiss, et. al

What’s the best way to handle a movie where the lead character has already died in a previous film? Why should audiences care about the stakes when we’ve already seen some form of resolution? Black Widow as a film is a slippery story to shoehorn into an interconnected universe where the narrative is mostly moving forward, not stopping to give pause for past adventures. Some could say this circumstance is of Marvel Studio’s (read: Ike Perlmutter) own doing: had we gotten a Black Widow film sooner, it can be almost conclusively agreed on that the story would’ve hit in a different way. While the movie serves to fill a gap of time between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, there’s still some odd decisions made in the telling of the story, especially in the final scenes. Bracketed by scenes featuring the seemingly ever-present Secretary of State General Thunderbolt Ross, Black Widow is a story firmly centered on Marvel’s second greatest spy: Natasha Romanoff. After being contacted by Yelena Belova, another product of the same Red Room we get glimpses of in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Natasha must simultaneously flee capture at the hands of Ross while working to bring down the establishment that made her.

At its core, Black Widow shares most of its DNA with the other spy thriller in the MCU, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (which also stars Johansson). No world-ending event, no invading aliens, no angry gods to be smote in this film, just some good old fashioned bad guys: Black Widow is a pure action spectacle from beginning to end. Incredible chase scenes, strong character work, and a bit of clever storytelling make this one of the stronger entries into the overall MCU canon.

With this likely being her swan song in the MCU, Scarlett Johansson brings her best portrayal to the character ever. With almost a decade of time and numerous appearances large and small to hone and perfect the character, Black Widow has her at her most locked in and nailed down. As Johansson is easily one of the finest actors within the MCU stable (she was nominated for an Oscar twice in the same year, a rare feat), she’s finally given the opportunity to shine as the lead, handling the weightier moments of the film. Conversely, Florence Pugh’s first entry into the universe lands her a huge splash as audiences are introduced to Yelena Belova, another member of the infamous Red Room. While Pugh’s Belova doesn’t quite have the same amount of screen time as Natasha has, it’s clear that part of the purpose of this movie was to introduce Belova as a potential ally/foil for another character later on down the road. While some are upset that Johansson has to share large chunks of the screen with her replacement in her final film, the interactions between the two are some of the most enjoyable moments of the movie. Belova is used to remind Johansson not just of who she used to be, but what she’s become and how far she’s progressed. Rachael Weiss and David Harbour as Natasha and Yelena’s parental figures each get a little time to shine on their own as well.

Unfortunately, Black Widow falls into the same trap as some Phase 1 and Phase 2 MCU movies did of having a weak villain. Ray Winstone’s Dreykov, head of the Red Room isn’t revealed until late in the second act and when he is, there’s little about him that sets him up to be a worthy adversary for Natasha; in the end he’s mostly all talk and swagger and easily dispatched of, similar to Iron Man’s Obadiah Stane or Ant-Man’s Darren Cross. Possibly the largest disappointment of the film was the lack of Taskmaster doing what audiences came to see the character do: kick ass. As one of Marvel Comic’s beloved lesser-known villains, Taskmaster’s ability to mimic any movement that results in Natasha having to basically fight any possible combination of her Avengers teammates is a concept that falls flat of being fully explored. While the character is a fun watch in the action scenes we get, the possibility of getting some real juicy stunts featuring the moves of heroes we’ve come to love seemed to be chopped, perhaps due to trimming down the runtime.

Director Cate Shortland has become yet another in the staple of MCU directors either plucked from obscurity (Chloe Zhao’s name did not have the heat it does now when Eternals was announced) or a complete surprise (“the guys who did Community?“). Even more incredulous, each one of her three previous full feature length films failed to recoup their production budget, making her nomination to helm a long-awaited film set in an unprecedented box office bonanza franchise one of the riskiest decisions Disney and Marvel Studios have made yet. Shortland’s direction on Black Widow is nothing short of top notch. Beautiful imagery, meticulously planned action scenes, and character work both subtle and overt all weave together to make the 134 minute runtime feel like a fun breeze. The assignment to give Natasha a good sendoff as well as introduce Yelena Belova into the overall world was a tricky task to handle and Shortland delivers. The interactions between Romanoff and Belova are believable and heartfelt and the underlying theme of a family strongest when together isn’t preachy or heavy-handed. Amazing cinematography from Germain McMicking includes both dazzling shot compositions as well as chaotic action that’s still easy for the audience’s eye to follow. Great editing which leads to a good pace for the film keeps viewers interested and invested throughout.

Overall, Black Widow stands apart as one of the finest standalone movies within the MCU. While this only increases the frustrations of previous year’s wondering what took us so long to get it, the film was well worth the weight. Dynamic action setpieces, strong acting, and sure, confident directing from Shortland combine to create the feeling of an old school spy thriller set within the superhero universe. While Black Widow has no overall earth-shattering impact on future events of the MCU (that we know of yet), it still serves as a refreshing breather after the events of Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Even with the elements that don’t fully work, the overall enjoyment of having an MCU flick back on the big screen and the pleasure of hearing the flipping pages over the opening fanfare herald a return to form for the juggernaut that dominated our theaters for a decade. If this truly is Scarlett Johansson’s final performance as Natasha Romanoff the Black Widow, the character went out on an explosive high note that is sure to delight audiences the world over.

Review by Darryl Mansel