Maybe it’s the fact that the stakes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe were completed with 2019’s more-than-worthy “Avengers: Endgame,” but my interest wandered quickly as I was watching the latest addition to the Marvel canon, “Black Widow” (Disney Plus, 07/03/21).
The fact of the matter is that this origin story, which has Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow, confronting the darker parts of her past, has no real purpose to it. It plays like a money grab because, well, it is. Sure, director Cate Shortland directs the action with the full intent of having the viewer on the edge of their seat, but the stakes in this film are inconsequential. There’s nothing in it to fully grab onto and not let go.
Set right after the events of “Captain America: Civil War”, the film’s dramatic stakes hinge on a dangerous conspiracy (what else is new?) involving Romanoff’s family and dark forces. Are you bored yet? The film’s best moments come when our heroine not only has to deal with the villains, but also her eccentric sister Yelena (Florence Pugh sporting a distracting Russian accent), father Alexei (David Harbour), and mother Melina (Rachel Weisz).
My main gripe with this latest hot-aired Marvel extravaganza derives from the fact that it would rather concentrate on spectacle instead of character. The bombastic nature of the token Marvel movie is very much here, but what’s missing are fully-fleshed characters. What somewhat worked with the original MCU was the fact that it spread out through 23 movies, which gave us time to connect each individual character. In “Black Widow,” not even Romanoff comes off as relatable or fully-fleshed out.
SCORE: C