Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2 hours, 13 minutes
Director: Cate Shortland
Quick Impressions:
We watched Black Widow on Sunday, and I was hoping to write about it Monday. Then we got our minivan serviced to make sure it was safe to drive on a road trip through the desert and the mountains. The mechanic basically told us, “It wasn’t even safe to drive here! Get out immediately before it explodes!”
Okay, those were not his actual words, but he did say, “The repairs will cost $11,000. Buy a new car.” With a sigh, my husband reflected, “I said we were going to drive it until the wheels fell off…and I guess that time has come!” (A broken axle was one of many problems they found.) We ran into a slight snag when the first dealership we visited didn’t have any cars, I guess. If the guy who sold us our last two cars still worked there, I’m positive we would have left with a couple of bicycles, his own car, or at least a box of Girl Scout cookies, saying to ourselves, “They must have low inventory new and used because everyone loves their cars so much they fly off the lot, and then nobody wants to sell them back because they run so well that they want to keep them forever!” But no such luck.
Fortunately, the salesperson down the road obligingly walked us past an expensive car, then showed us the one that didn’t have all the features we wanted, then showed us the expensive one. (It was almost like he wanted to sell us a car, which made me more inclined to buy one from him!) He even listened to me tell anecdotes about playing Jeopardy! and attentively asked questions about Alex Trebek. When we left with our new Jeep, he said altruistically, “Now if you know any other Jeopardy! champions who need a car, be sure to have them call me! I love hearing stories about Alex Trebek!”
(When I related that to our 2021 ToC group while we were playing Zoom trivia that night, someone suggested that they all call him, each in turn, throughout the day, not to buy a car, but just to tell Jeopardy! anecdotes. “No!” I cried, laughing. “He was the good salesman, the one who sold us a car!” We only have one! We need it!)
At any rate, I spent two entire days buying a car and couldn’t write about Black Widow until now. I almost skipped the review because it’s been so long since I’ve seen the movie. But it was a good movie. It deserves to be written about.
The Good:
My daughter and I have wanted a standalone Black Widow movie ever since the first Avengers came out in 2012. Honestly I’m kind of shocked she wasn’t featured in a standalone film before now. (I realize this movie should have come out last year, but I’m surprised it didn’t come out much, much sooner. Is there anyone who didn’t want a Black Widow movie?)
I’ll admit that initially I was not thrilled when Scarlett Johansson was cast as Natasha Romanoff in Iron Man 2, but that’s only because I loved Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada and got really excited when she was cast. That contractual obligations prevented Blunt from accepting a role she wanted seemed so sad to me. But then I saw Iron Man 2 and had to admit that Johansson was just fine. In The Avengers, her take on the character grew on me. It helped that my (then three-year-old) daughter was borderline obsessed with her. Her three favorite characters were Black Widow, “the Green Goblin” (aka The Hulk), and (as she then pronounced his name) “Yoki,” which aligned so well with my own tastes that we always enjoyed sitting next to each other at Marvel movies.
We watched Black Widow at home on Disney Plus (because it’s so convenient when your six-year-old refuses to sit through movies). But watching it, I felt an intense sense of regret almost immediately, knowing that others were enjoying it in a movie theater, eating popcorn with an audience. I’m not as invested in the Marvel franchise as my eighteen-year-old son. (To him, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is almost as fundamental as Star Wars. I like Marvel movies. But I was a child in the 80s. Star Wars means something more to me.) Still we’ve seen so many of these movies together as a family. They’ve served us so well. Even my six-year-old liked Miles Morales as Spider-Man. My husband gets so excited by post-credits scenes and Easter eggs. And that rift the Avengers went through was eye-opening for all of us. We all thought it was so obvious whose side to take. (It wasn’t until after the movie that we discovered my eighteen-year-old sided with Steve (obviously), and I (obviously) sided with Tony!) My mother always cheered hardest for Thor since she thought Chris Hemsworth was the most irresistible man in the world. We used to go to the movies together so often in the summer.
At any rate, as the Avengers movies dragged on and on, my daughter and I found ourselves increasingly emotionally invested in Natasha. We think of her as Nat. When she played an unexpectedly huge role in the second Captain America movie, we were like, “Oh good.” When the time came to retrieve the soul stone in Endgame, we were like, “Oh no!” Johansson is captivating as Black Widow. One thing that helps her is that though her character is often sexualized to an extreme degree (the Joss Whedon movies are particularly male gazey), using her sexuality (and any other asset) to her advantage is part of Natasha’s character since she was trained as a Russian spy. To Johansson’s credit, she makes the character work despite the weird costumes and camera angles that sometimes seem designed to reduce her to her physical attributes.
I also like Florence Pugh. Somehow my daughter forgot that she played Amy in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women. I was like, “How did you possibly forget that?” She makes quite an impression as Amy. I never exactly believed she was twelve years old, but she was so adamant about convincing us that I began to feel like, “Well, okay, if you insist.” She’s also memorable in Midsommar, one of the very few movies that both my sister and I like equally. (When discussing it, we jokingly whispered, inspired by Magneto in X2, “Kill all the grad students. Kill them all.”) “Wait, Florence Pugh is in that, too?” exclaimed my daughter who hasn’t seen Midsommar but has heard vague descriptions. “Well isn’t she just versatile!”
I don’t see any reason that Scarlett Johansson should stop playing Black Widow. (Yeah, I know, Natasha’s dead, but in a comic book franchise, that’s not much of a reason.) If someone had to replace her, though, Pugh seems like a logical choice (and a good addition to the MCU in any event). So we were already pretty determined to like this movie before it ever started. (Though I knew I might not readily accept Pugh as the new Black Widow, I also knew that I would enjoy watching her efforts to convince me that I should. Her performance in Little Women taught me that much.)
We also went in (eagerly) expecting Rachel Weisz and David Harbour (two more people we were happy to watch) but surprised when the opening credits also included Olga Kurylenko, Ray Winstone, and William Hurt (whom we should have expected since he’s just playing Secretary Ross, as usual). “Is anybody not in the movie?” I asked. For a Marvel movie, it’s actually a reasonably modest cast (in terms of size), but it’s been so long since I’ve watched a new release that was intended to be a big screen summer blockbuster.
Since I’m now used to watching movies at home with my daughter and talking through them, I made a lot of stupid jokes at the beginning. (After I refreshed her memory about Little Women, we enjoyed imagining how funny it would be if Florence Pugh herself had played the very young Yelena in the film’s opening sequence.) Still, we quit incessantly commenting pretty quickly as we became more and more aware that this movie is one we should have paid to see in a theater. (Part of me kept thinking, “Is it really true? Will we go back to the movie theater soon? Is life actually about to return to normal?”) Because it does feature some riveting action sequences, Black Widow probably would have been better on the big screen, but its story is strong enough to enjoy at home.
Avengers fans should like this movie just as much as the others. In fact, though I was recently complaining about comic book movie fatigue, even I now want to watch Infinity War and Endgame again after finally learning just exactly what did happen in Budapest. (I’m not an expert on every last bit of Marvel trivia, but they’ve been stringing us along, piquing our curiosity about what happened in Budapest for a very long time. Now that I know, I’d like to see the events of several movies again, Endgame at the very least.)
Johansson and Pugh work well together, and most of the movie features the two of them, puzzling through their unusual relationship while working together to thwart a specific enemy. As an origin story of Black Widow, this film is fairly inventive. I remember when Jennifer Lawrence starred in Red Sparrow and then Luc Besson made Anna (which despite featuring intense action is not unlike a parody of Red Sparrow). Both of those movies provoked a bunch of people on the internet to say, “This is what the Black Widow movie should be. Now we’ve already seen it. Marvel is too late. There can never be a good Black Widow movie now.”
But what Black Widow gives us is so much more creative (and more fun) than that. I’m not trying to insult those films, just noting that this is an instance of the filmmakers having more imagination than the fans when so often the opposite seems true (at least to the fans who complain online that they would have done it better). The one thing we know about Natasha is that she’s an orphan with no family, so it’s kind of cool that Marvel takes this opportunity to center her story on her (in some ways stereotypically) dysfunctional “average American” family of four.
Most of us aren’t Russian operatives trained in espionage and combat since young childhood (I assume). So that part of Natasha’s story is pure fantasy for us. But the behind-the-scenes look at the “average” American family takes viewers into much more familiar territory. Not only does this create natural opportunities for comic relief (that simultaneously offers human drama and relatable, rewarding character interactions), but it also gives the audience the fun of being able to identify with the spies. Without even consciously reflecting on it, you could watch and think, “Oh yeah, my dad could be so oblivious. He always tried to fix things with his badly timed, awkward jokes. I am just like these highly trained Russian operatives who pose perfectly while fighting evil and easily outsmart all the supervillains.”
David Harbour (playing “Dad” Alexei) is really good with all the comedy. He’s actually funny. In fact, the more exaggerated his character’s buffoonery becomes, the funnier he gets (which is rare). His delight in outsmarting people by doing something kind of dumb is one of his most appealing qualities, actually. And Rachel Weisz (as “Mom” Melina) makes her part of the story so moving without losing any of the comedy inherent in the situation. What’s better is that we can see how their parenting helped to shape the Natasha we have always known.
We also get a trope frequently used in dramadies about dysfunctional families, the old, “I now realize it’s not your fault, after all, Mom; it was grandma,” thing. The adult Natasha and Yelena see the flaws of their former “parents” very clearly, but they’re also able to recognize the real enemy, the unabashedly evil spymaster who made them all into what they are (Ray Winstone’s Dreykov). (If you need an actor who unassumingly projects an aura of, “I’m so dangerous that it’s no longer a big deal to me,” Winstone is always a good choice.) His Dreykov is one of those reassuring villains. No matter how much you screw up, he’s reliably there for you, eager to do something one million times worse. (Natasha may kill people. Dreykov destroys them.)
Black Widow makes clever use of its other major antagonist, too. Throughout her entire cinematic life, Natasha is haunted by what happened in Budapest. Now she’s given a nemesis (created by this Budapest incident) who can copy her every move, instantly learning her fighting style and using it against her, a villain who is literally dogging her steps. She’s also given a “younger sister” who grew up trying to copy her every move, who knows her interaction style (and can use it against her), and who shows the potential to do everything she does but better. (Perhaps she’ll even replace her as the Black Widow!) I enjoyed this conflation of Natasha’s two driving storylines and the implication that she herself is the creator of these two adversaries, through her own past behavior. Throughout the film, she’s beset on all sides by these two enemies attacking her at once (and tormented by the realization that she has created her own enemies and is her own greatest enemy). It’s emotionally rewarding to watch her work through these similar and complex relationships until in the end, none of these enemies remains.
If this film had been like Red Sparrow or Anna, it would have been a pretty dull Black Widow origin story. But like the Black Widow herself, this origin story tricks us, not giving us what we expected. (That’s pretty much Natasha’s signature move—besides the posing thing Yelena calls her out on then imitates. If Black Widow does nothing else, she lulls people into accepting the most obvious thing, thinking they’re clever and have the upper hand. Then she subverts their expectations and reveals she’s had the upper hand all along. They’re probably not even looking at her real face!) (Seriously, this is like the main thing she does. She’s been doing it for years. It tricks people every time.)
So instead of a more run-of-the-mill origin story of how Natasha Romanoff became the Black Widow, we get a different kind of origin story that shows us how a Russian operative became Nat. (You know Nat, Hawkeye’s friend, the one all the Avengers know and love? They’re always going out for shawarma all the time?) But at the same time, we’re also getting a more traditional origin story, showing us how Nat’s younger sister Yelena became the Black Widow. (If you haven’t seen the movie yet, don’t worry. That’s not a spoiler. You already know, right, that Pugh could be the new Black Widow? I’ve seen the entire movie, and that’s what I know, too.)
This is a highly effective way to pass the torch (if that is what the MCU plans). I think most people like Johansson as Black Widow. (I do, my family does, and I haven’t asked anyone else, so I’ll just assume they all agree with me because that’s convenient for finishing this paragraph.) After audiences get attached to one version of a popular character, it can be hard to see some other random person take over the role. But now Pugh isn’t some other random person; she’s Nat’s sister, Yelena. And we’re not just told that and expected to believe it. We get to watch an entire movie that shows us how their relationship works and develops in practically every scene. So even if Johansson does retire from the role permanently (which I wouldn’t take as a given at this point), she’s still present in the story. We’ve watched her shape Yelena. She’ll always be Yelena’s sister. No matter how well we get to know Yelena, when we see her, we’ll remember that she is a part of Natasha’s story.
I do think it’s kind of cool that while Natasha seems to show up everywhere in practically every other Avenger’s movie, nobody takes over her movie like that. She gets it all to herself. Instead of sharing time with other known Avengers, she takes the entire movie to show us her relationship with her sister (even though she doesn’t actually have a sister). (As I watched the very slow opening credits, the cast seemed huge. But it’s actually quite pared down for a Marvel movie, which enables the film to focus on adequately developing the characters who are present.) Part of me wishes the whole film had been a long aside during Endgame, like a digression in Beowulf. My daughter and I would have loved it if when they went to get the soul stone, there was suddenly a two-hour digression focusing exclusively on Natasha.
Black Widow also has captivating cinematography. “I want to go to Norway,” I kept saying at the beginning.
“It probably won’t be like this,” my husband noted.
But my daughter told him wisely, “It will if Mom’s there.”
This whole film is kind of like a tourism commercial for leaving your house. Maybe pushing back its release date will have the unintended benefit of making people brave enough to venture out into the world again.
Also, Black Widow is the first movie I’ve seen in quite a while that didn’t prompt me to ask, “Isn’t this movie kind of long?” Telling the story properly seems to require the entire runtime. If anything, I would have watched another half hour of Natasha and Yelena and family.
Best Joke:
Yelena’s comments on Black Widow’s posing are pretty funny (and certainly apt). Obviously Black Widow poses like this because people really are looking at her (the movie audience) (and also the people making the movie) (including the director whose joking self-references to his male gaze and “latent heterosexual tendencies” do not dismantle and negate the fact that he’s overly sexualizing the character beyond all logic as much as he hopes). (I’ve loved so much of Joss Whedon’s work, but I do wonder if he just got lucky with Black Widow working as a character in the way he wanted to present her. That presentation style certainly didn’t work with Wonder Woman, a very different character.) I like the way this movie calls out the ridiculous posing then conveniently reinstates said posing, now making it done ironically and by choice.
(Also, it’s not a joke, but Olga Kurylenko’s character is an edifying one for young girls to see. A young girl herself, my daughter thought so and kept mentioning it.)
I was also strangely delighted when I asked my husband, “Is this going to turn out like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?” and then it did. (If you’re making a movie about estranged, unconventional families trying to work out their differences, it never hurts to make us think of other engaging movies like that.)
Best Action Sequence:
I love the prison break. David Harbour is so much more entertaining in this film than I expected, and I like him (so I don’t know why I would have low expectations!).
Best Scene Visually:
At the end of the movie—the part with all the plummeting—I began to wish (more than ever) that I were watching the film on the big screen. With a tear in my eye, I thought, “Oh I remember Avengers movies. You drink your Icee and eat your popcorn, and at the end, everyone and everything starts plummeting, and you can’t tell down from up!”
Scene Engaging in the Most Self-Aware Way to Pass the Bechdel Test:
Natasha and Yelena have so many conversations together in Black Widow. Early on, they spend a long time talking about their male antagonist Dreykov. Then they take the opportunity to have a chat about utilitarian clothing with ample pockets. (Keeping track of this article of clothing is another reason I want to watch Infinity War and Endgame again.) (Fake spoiler alert: I will not actually watch them again. I will only intend to re-watch them for the next two years, never finding the time.)
Best Scene:
This is really tricky. I do like Black Widow’s showdown with Dreykov, though I can’t explain why without spoilers. Not only does this encounter showcase a very Black Widow thing to do, but it also subverts a lot of movie tropes in the process, using familiar interactions in inventive ways.
I also love the scene around the dinner table and wish it lasted longer. Harbour and Weisz are so good as the parents. He talks incessantly, providing a lion’s share of the humor in the movie, but also manages to play poignant moments well. She has much less to say yet manages to be so genuinely moving; and then she’s funny, too. These two supporting performances are better than the lead performances in many other movies.
Best Cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”:
I love the song in the opening credits.
The Negatives:
The worst thing about this movie is that we didn’t see it in the theater. “This is a step up from a lot of stuff we’ve been watching,” I couldn’t help noticing. I’ve seen good movies during the pandemic, several, in fact. But they’re not as plentiful as they were pre-pandemic, for the obvious reason that so many big releases were held. This is one of those big releases that was held, and you can tell. It’s a different caliber of popular movie than we’ve been getting recently. Again, it’s not that the other movies haven’t been good, but it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen a movie like this. And I think any frequent movie goer who watches Black Widow will know what I mean immediately.
My husband says, “This movie should have come out before Endgame.” I see his point, but I’m not sure that I completely agree. I do think, though, that this will turn into one of those ongoing pop culture debates, like when people ask, “My child has never seen Star Wars. In what order should I introduce them to the movies for the first time?” It would make more sense to watch Black Widow before Endgame (at the very least). But to me, it also makes sense to learn this information later. As I said, besides the posing that Pugh calls out, Black Widow has a signature move. She tricks people. (She tricks them in a very particular way, but I don’t want to go into it too much because she does it in this film.) It’s in keeping with her character that the audience would watch her go through with a significant action without fully understanding her reasons for it at the time. With Black Widow, you never know what’s going on until she chooses to reveal it to you.
I also wish that Rachel Weisz’s character got back into the movie a bit sooner. For quite a long interlude, the film starts to feel like The David Harbour Comedy Hour (which is fine. He’s quite entertaining. And we kept trying to work out the timing and joking that it might be a Stranger Things crossover. Maybe Alexei and Hopper were actually the same character). I just wish we saw Melina again sooner.
I wanted to see more of O-T Fagbenle, too. My daughter was thrilled that we didn’t see a needless romance between him and Natasha. (And, I mean, she’s right. There’s no need to have a torrid affair with everyone who brings you a helicopter.) At the same time, though, I also thought he was just awkwardly hanging around a lot. I realize he was there to show us 1) Natasha doesn’t have a torrid affair with everyone who brings her a helicopter, and 2) Natasha is less emotionally closed off at the end of the movie than she was at the beginning, more willing to admit she’s a human being. But still, I found that while I didn’t dislike the character, I wanted to see either more or less of him.
Overall:
My family has always liked Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and in this film, Natasha Romanoff gets the family she deserves. They’re all just as captivating as she is. As usual, Florence Pugh is conspicuously present in the movie. (In every movie, she seems to scream, “Pay attention to me,” and I, for one, am delighted to oblige.) Pugh’s performance as Yelena is a highlight of Black Widow. This is the best (and only) Marvel movie we’ve seen in a long time, and I must say that my comic book movie fatigue has been somewhat cured by not going to a movie theater in over a year. Black Widow is good. If you like the character, you should watch it. I personally, would watch a million more Black Widow movies as long as at least one member of this unconventional family stars in them.