It’s been just shy of two years because I last saw a new marvel Studios film, the last being Spider-Man: far From Home, the film that closed out ‘The Infinity Saga.’ because then, we have been blessed with WandaVision, The Falcon and the winter season Soldier, and now Loki. all of these shows are, technically, the “start” of the fourth phase of MCU stories. When Black Widow was announced, I was both confused and not all that excited. While I was pleased that Natasha was finally getting her own movie, my non-fiction brain realized this was probably just a kind of parting gift (not say it was unearned) for her actor Scarlett Johannsson. It also seemed like a terrific way to introduce some new characters to tee up for future films and crossovers. However, having now seen the first MCU series, I better understand why, thematically, Black Widow would have been the ideal film to kick things off.
To be clear, we’re not spoiling anything for this movie, though references will be made to the Black Widow final trailer (both of them). So, if you’ve been avoiding all marketing and want to go in cold, just know that Black Widow both a satisfying story about Natasha Romanov, and continues the theme of recent MCU stories in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame.
Of course, anybody who saw that film knows that this is, technically, a prequel. In fact, one way this film sets itself in the timeline best after Captain America: Civil war is with the use of very similar location identifiers. The cities and places they travel pop up on the screen in big block letters, just like in the second marvel film from the Russo Brothers.
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Until Now, Black Widow Was just a Cameo character for the MCU
We first met the live-action Black Widow in Iron man 2, where she was assigned to keep an eye on Tony Stark in the wake of his “I am Iron Man,” business. Essentially, she was there to look amazing and kick ass. Yet, over the next few films she appeared in, she recognized herself as both a capable operator with a good moral compass and sense of responsibility greater than even Captain America’s. That is what the Black Widow film is about, how this woman became the one who saved the entire MCU. We get a better look at how the Red room shaped her and her fellow “Widows” than we did in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Yet, what this film is really about is what WandaVision, The Falcon and the winter season Soldier, and (probably) Loki are about: handling the sorrow and trauma that comes with being a world-famous superhero.
Now, let’s be clear. This film is full of the kind of gigantic, destructive CGI action that marvel films are known for. The automobile chase scene we’ve seen in every trailer is pretty great, and I am not usually a fan of automobile chases. In fact, the ending of that chase was maybe my favorite automobile chase ending in all of cinema. It was equal parts thrilling and silly, which I personally believe is the comic book/action-movie sweet spot.
The other good thing this film does is recontextualizes where Black Widow is when we see her again in Avengers: Infinity War. how did she go from being on team Iron man to being team Cap’s right-hand woman? This film doesn’t give you a bullet-point rundown of how that happen, but shows Natasha’s state of mind from the end of Civil war to when we next catch up with her.
Like the fast & Furious Franchise, Black Widow Is All about Family
image through marvel Studios
We’ve known from the jump that Florence Pugh would play Yelena, Natasha’s sister, Rachel Weisz played her mother figure, and David Harbour would be her dad figure. The way these relationships shake out are probably not going to surprise you. Yet, what did surprise me was how these relationships landed with me. It’s the rare case of where a prequel story is served by the audience knows how it’s all going to shake out. This is Natasha’s last chance to remove any red left in her ledger, and it’s as red as Red Guardian’s suit.
Honestly, the most significant grievance I see fans having about this film is a familiar one from phase 1 installments. The villains aren’t really analyzed beyond they’re bad and need to be stopped. Taskmaster is terrific in this movie, but this version of the character is, essentially, original to the MCU. What’s terrific about this film is that we meet numerous (many) other characters that could explore this in a different story. Black Widow is less about the MCU as a whole and much more about getting Natasha to the place we find in her Endgame. She’s committed fully to the Avengers, being a hero, and that implies saving lives, not taking them.
If this is the last time we see this version of Natasha Romanov, it’s still sad but less so than it was two years ago. In the interest of full disclosure, I am doubtful that there is any argument that could sway me that Natasha ought to have sacrificed herself instead of Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton. The forthcoming Hawkeye series could have just as easily been a prequel like this film was. However, part of being a fan implies accepting the story you get rather than the one you wrote in your head.
The end of Natasha in the MCU, but Not the end of the Black Widow
image through marvel Studios
Even thought this is a unusual film to kick off the feature side of phase 4 of the MCU, Black Widow does what a marvel Studios film is expected to do. (Meaning: Stick around after the credits.) The future for at least some of these characters is hinted at in the last moments, and connections are drawn to other MCU projects we’ve seen recently and that are coming soon. Yet, these elements of set-up, in my opinion, do not detract from the larger story. like Captain America, the mantle of “the Black Widow” will be taken up by someone else. In fact, if the title were Natasha Romanov rather than Black Widow, it would work just as well. because while this is all about what it implies to be a ‘Black Widow’ in the MCU, this is Natasha’s story. The audience is, like Natasha herself, asked to reckon with her as an Avenger and her past as an assassin.
Perhaps a fair criticism of the film is the choice Johansson made in her performance throughout her tenure. Natasha has too modes: stoic and quippy. The emotional journey she undertakes is left to subtext, but nothing you’ll need a Lit Crit minor to pick up on. In what feels like a subversion of what’s come before, it’s the older figures in the story who speak their emotions. There could have, perhaps, been a few much more moments of Natasha being a “feeling human being,” but that’s saved for a character that the audience may or may not really care about. Yet, this character is one that Natasha cares about very much, and saving this person is the last thing she can do to get her ledger to black.
Black Widow hits theaters and Disney+ Premier access on July 9, 2021.
What do you think of Black Widow, and what this film suggests about the future of the MCU? tell us in the comments below.