Okay, now we’re talking “Summer at the movies”! Yeah, yeah we’ve had the newest entry in a “tentpole franchise” with the mind- (and butt) numbing F9, but this Friday’s big release continues a now 13-year tradition. We’re going back to the multiplex (or a deluxe “single-screen palace” for those lucky few) for a deep dive into the Marvel Cinematic Universe! “Excelsior’, as our much-missed “king of cameos” would say. Oh, and this dive is so “deep’ you may get a bit of whiplash in your reclining theatre seat (or in your “Lazy boy” at home, which is now an option, but go out, please) since it’s a prequel to the film in which we said goodbye to this character, from 2019. But really, after her introduction in 2010s IRON MAN II, and roles in six other MCU epics, she, yes S-H-E, is long, long overdue for a solo showcase (heck, a team-up with her bow-wielding BFF would’ve been nice). And after countless release date changes, it’s finally time for film fans to brace themselves for the sting (or should it be bite) of the BLACK WIDOW! To quote Stan once more, “Face front!”, or you won’t see the screen, ‘natch’ true believers!
The film actually begins a lot further back with a prologue intro, as a fiesty preteen, her electric blue hair shimmering in the late afternoon sun, pedals her bike in suburban Ohio, circa 1995 (hmmm, on the west coast, an aspiring SHIELD agent is encountering a certain Kree-based warrior, so it’s a pivotal time in the MCU). As she joins her blonde kid sister and “mama” (Rachel Weisz), “papa” (David Harbour) bursts through the door to announce that they must quickly pack “for an adventure”. After eluding the authorities, they hop on a plane that lands in Cuba. There they meet daddy’s boss, Dreykov (Ray Winstone), who promptly (well, after getting a prized “floppy disc”) separates the two sobbing sisters. After the main title “history montage”, the story zips ahead to 2016, In the aftermath of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) believes that he has trapped Natasha Romanoff AKA the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), who gives him “the slip” and escapes to a secluded trailer “safe house” in Eastern Europe, which is tended by pal and “acquisitions expert” Mason (O-T Fagbenie). Far away, an elite squad of female agents led by now not-so-lil’-sis Yelena (Florence Pugh) tracks down a fugitive woman. She’s fatally injured, but before she expires she plunges a needle into Yelena’s leg. It’s one of a bag full of hypos filled with a glowing red liquid. Later, Mason gives Nat her accumulating mail, which includes a rather large case, which i contains those red needles. On her way to her Prague apartment, she is attacked by an armored high-tech assassin, Taskmaster.. After thwarting that killer, and holding on to the package, Nat is attacked again at her “flat”, this time by Yelena. After their reunion “workout” Yelena tells Nat that the needles contain an antidote to the mind-controlling chemicals used to create the “perfect killer agents’ at the “Red Room” (we saw a glimpse of that “school” that creates “black widows” in AVENGERS: THE AGE OF ULTRON). But Nat is confused since that “program” ended when she “liquidated” its creator, the despicable Dreykov, who is still “in business” at a hidden locale. The “sisters” must distribute that serum, but they’ve got to elude an army of agents with the same training. This necessitates a “family reunion” as Nat and Yelena track down “papa” Alexi AKA the Red guardian at a frozen gulag and “mama” Melina at her remote pig farm (wonder which place smelled worse). But can this quarreling quartet save the new “Red Room” recruits and thwart the power-mad despot, Dreykov?
After sliding into that unforgiving black bodysuit for the past 11 years, you’d think that Ms. Johansson wouldn’t have anything new to offer as the reformed “killer queen”. And you’d be very mistaken. Sure she handles the incredible action sequences with style and flair (you could consider LUCY and GHOST IN THE SHELL as more “prep”), but she surprises us with the emotional depth this new “old” story reveals in Nat’s complex story. In the quieter moments, there’s still that haunted, sad look in her eyes as she mentally flips the pages of the ledger “filled with red ink”, as Loki taunted her with in the first AVENGERS. In this outing, we see the maternal, nurturing side of the Widow, reminding us of Ms. J’s tender “indie” film roles that followed ENDGAME, nabbing Oscar noms for MARRIAGE STORY and JO JO RABBIT. This is brought out by the superb and inspired pairing of her with the very talented Pugh. Nat wants to protect her while also being frustrated by her in an honest exploration of the sibling dynamic (or even mother/daughter as their matriarch is often absent). Pugh proves she’s ready for the big “studio flicks” after her last big low-budget efforts in the recent take on LITTLE WOMEN (earning her own Oscar nom as Amy) and the creepy MIDSOMMAR as a mostly irritating heroine. Her “burns’ are almost as debilitating as her “roundhouse” kicks ( the delight in her eyes as she calls “big sis” a “poser” is priceless). And we can’t neglect the parents, especially when papa is played with a merry wink by the scene-stealing Harbour. The years between the “escape” and the “reunion” have “filled out” his character in both personality and, well, “physical”presence. He boasts of imagined triumphs to fellow inmates (“But wasn’t Capitan America frozen?”), and later barely squeezes into his old “fight suit” (we keep waiting to hear the latex split). But his blustery blowhard has his tender side too, as he yearns to be a true pater to the ‘sisters”. The same can’t really be said of Weisz, who’s far from the warm matriarch. In fact, she’s nearly as cold as her farm’s stables, as Melina dismisses the women as a long-ago “assignment’ she’s almost forgotten. She’s slow to “warm-up”, though her revived passion for her partner is hilariously endearing and a bit moving. None of that applies to the story’s ‘big baddie”. played by Winstone as a waddling barrel filled with bile. His Dreykov craves control and power as most would desire food and oxygen. He’s a mastermind most worthy of Nat and her crew, including Fabenle’s affable Mason, who complains but still deeply cares for his often brusque demanding “boss”.
Marvel Studios, once again, taps a talent that not a part of the “blockbuster brigade’ to guide this rousing adventure. Director Cate Shortland is mainly known for intimate character-driven “indies” like LORE and BERLIN SYNDROME, but can now add action/spy epic to her resume”. She keeps the tale moving swiftly with confidence in both the big stunt “set-pieces” (and big kudos to that stunt team) to the exchanges that reveal key elements of the main characters (the reunion meal is compelling as is the gas station verbal sparring of the sister widows). And oh, those action experiences, just as thrilling as anything in F9, but made more riveting by our interest in the heroines (and an out-of-shape hero). And as with the other MCU flicks, this isn’t set in a “bubble” as others refer to Nat’s recent exploits (Yelena wonders why she doesn’t send a call to that “god from outer space”). And I shouldn’t have to tell you to stick around through the end credits, should I ( a sweet “payoff’ for the fans)? And that’s who this globe-hopping romp was intended. The fans of the character are generously given a chance to say a proper farewell to the wondrous Johannson (she’s even an executive producer on this). Some are calling this entry unnecessary, but it gives proper respect to a comics icon that’s added so much to the Marvel heritage, letting a terrific teammate (a superb partner to all the Avengers, especially Cap in WINTER SOLDIER) ambling into one final sunset. Bye-bye and bravo BLACK WIDOW. And consider that “ledger” finally wiped clean.
3.5 Out of 4
BLACK WIDOW opens in theatres everywhere on 7/8/2021 and is available via Premier Access on the Disney+ streaming service on 7/9/2021
