Black Widow

I know the might of the Disney+ shows has well and truly thrust us Marvel-ites into Phase 4 but, in filmic terms, it’s nice to take a little step back and have a film focusing on one of our original heroes: the long (long) awaited Black Widow.

Sure, she sadly won’t be with us across the rest of this next Phase (or so we think) but the character was always crying out for a solo endeavour and the chance to explore a little of that 'red in her ledger.'

Sadly, this prequel isn’t quite the ‘proper’ origin story you could have maybe expected. Perhaps its thunder was stolen a little by the Jennifer Lawrence-starring Red Sparrow which basically nicked the concept and delivered it effectively right under Marvel’s noses back in 2018. Instead, it’s a mostly self-contained standalone adventure set after the events of Civil War, when Natasha was on the run.

Like Ant-Man & The Wasp and Guardians… Vol 2, this could be classed under the ‘A Marvel Story’ category but the beauty of this latest film is, by focusing on such an interesting character (and one with no ‘super’ powers at that) we get a proper, Bond-like, globetrotting spy adventure in what is another genre-exploring masterclass by Marvel.

You can play a drinking game to the Bond and spy movie clichés (Natasha even watches Moonraker at one point) and, with its tongue a little in cheek as you’d expect from the MCU, this is an enormously entertaining blockbuster action film that doesn’t suffer from the relative lack of stakes that a prequel brings at all.

Sure, it would have been nice to tie a little more into the threads of the MCU at that stage (and a few more cameos wouldn’t have gone amiss) but this is very much the showcase that Natasha, and Scarlett Johansson, deserved and pulling the focus on her and delving more into the many shades she brings to the character is brilliant.

We explore her sleeper cell family background and it’s the addition of these three characters (her ‘mum’, ‘dad’ and ‘sister’) that’s the other shining light of the film. Expertly played and perfectly pitched as characters who could fall either side of the (admittedly pretty blurred) good/bad line expect to see them all again at some point in the future. In fact, Florence Pugh steals so many scenes as Natasha’s quipping ‘sister’ Yelena that she could easily take on the Black Widow mantle.

Ray Winstone’s big bad falls a little flat due to a lack of screen time, lack of motivation and slightly suspect accent but at least the plot is clear and decisive and the action set-pieces are absolutely jaw-dropping. Whilst riffing on other films they are spectacular.

Absolutely worth the wait, and very much the film that the character deserved, Black Widow is glorious entertainment as we’ve come to expect from the blockbuster masters that Marvel have become. Its placement in the canon is sure to unfortunately knock its placement in the ‘best of the MCU' rankings but placing her as the opener to Phase 4 is thoroughly deserved and it’s a great leadoff into an exciting slate of films to come.

Natasha may be dead but long live Black Widow and the MCU.

4 stars ****