Black Widow is the latest instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, starring beloved character Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) aka Black Widow. In the film, Romanoff is reunited with her estranged younger sister, Yelena (Florence Pugh), after the latter was released from her puppet-like state, induced by villain Dreykov (Ray Winstone). The sisters grew up in a Russian sleeper cell in Ohio, with fake-mother Melina (Rachel Weisz) and fake-father Alexei, ironically portrayed by Stranger Things’ father figure David Harbour. When their cell was discovered, Natasha and Yelena were separated from their “parents” and put in the Red Room, Dreykov’s widow factory, where female orphans receive forced hysterectomies and are turned into apparatchik-assassins for the Red Room.
In pursuit of Dreykov, the sister-duo is reunited with the rest of their fake family: they break Alexei out of a Russian prison, who is still reminiscing about his old times as an exceptionally strong Soviet super soldier and opponent of Captain America. Melinda, a Red Room scientist and Dreykov’s dearest, is less forthcoming in helping with their plan to bring Dreykov’s organization down.
The film was highlighted by the comical remarks of Yelena, often mocking Natasha’s fighting pose so popular in the previous Marvel films, and Alexei, who just really does not fit in his Soviet hero costume anymore. The first half of the film is up there with the best in the MCU, maybe because it is so different from the typical Marvel film. This is certainly due to the involvement of Jac Schaeffer, who is behind the successful WandaVision series, also praised for its comic value. Sadly, the action scenes in the second half of the film very much resemble previous Marvel films and don’t measure up to the otherwise fantastic film.
Overall, Black Widow is a worthwhile, funny stand-alone movie and leaves hope for future films starring Yelena and Co. And, as always with Marvel movies, don’t forget to stay for the extra post-credit scenes!
4 stars
Image Credit: The MovieDB