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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Disney’s multi-billion dollar franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, returns to the big screen after two years. Even with the influx of Disney+ content to keep us occupied, it still feels like a long time. We’re finally back, and I enjoyed their return with Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson’s first and only solo film as the main character!
In this film set after the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), the Black Widow is on the run from the U.S. government and must confront a conspiracy connected to her past. Eric Pearson serves as the screenwriter for this film, while Cate Shortland is its director. Additionally, Jac Schaeffer (WandaVision) and Ned Benson put together the story for the narrative.
I will be discussing this film in this review. Although, no spoilers will be present, as this article’s title suggests. Please beware if you spot anything too revealing!
Plot Summary
According to the official Marvel website, here is the synopsis for Black Widow.
Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
Scarlett Johansson plays the main protagonist of the film. Romanoff’s “family” consists of the following. Florence Pugh plays her younger sister figure, Yelena Belova. David Harbour acts as her father figure, Alexei Shostakov aka Red Guardian. Meanwhile, Rachel Weisz portrays her mother figure, Melina Vostokoff. Ever Anderson plays a younger version of Natasha, while Violet McGraw plays a younger Yelena.
Ray Winstone plays General Dreykov, the head of a secret base, the “Red Room”. William Hurt and O-T Fagbenle make appearances as Thaddeus Ross and Rick Mason, respectively. Olga Kurylenko has a major role as a secondary villain, with Taskmaster also making an appearance in the film.
The Other Widows
The other women who portray Black Widows also deserve a lot of love. Here is a list of the performers’ names:
- Simon Zivkovska
- Erin Jameson
- Shaina West
- Yolanda Lynes
- Claudia Heinz
- Fatou Bah
- Jade Ma
- Jade Xu
- Lucy Jayne Murray
- Lucy Cork
- Eniko Fulop
- Lauren Okadigbo
- Aurelia Agel
- Zhane Samuels
- Shawarah Battles
- Tabby Bond
- Madeleine Nicholls
- Yasmin Riley
- Fiona Griffiths
- Georgia Curtis Svetlana Constantine
- Ione Butler
- Aubrey Cleland
Discussion
Let me just start by saying, “Wow!” Black Widow is simple with its storytelling, thanks to Pearson, Schaeffer, and Benson. Once the film started to play in the theater, the prologue had me thinking the story would be similar to Pixar’s The Incredibles. Then, as the audience progressed into its second act, I thought of adventure films such as the Indiana Jones franchise. Dreykov’s black-suited goons (the male-looking ones, not to be confused with the Black Widows) reminded me of Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe. It was when the movie concluded that I realized that the story was almost formulaic with the likes of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014).
For the most part, I appreciated seeing Lisa Marra’s visual effects production along with Geoffrey Baumann’s VFX supervision. More so, I liked Lorne Balfe’s musical composition, Gabriel Beristain’s cinematography, and Leigh Folsom Boyd and Matthew Schmidt’s editing. This also couldn’t be an acceptable film without the help of Jany Temime’s costume design and Charles Wood’s production design. Additionally, the characters are the way they are because of Rob Inch’s stunt coordination and Paul Gooch’s hair and makeup. Although, I’d like to see something stronger for them if they ever return to the MCU’s future.
Performances and Character Development
I felt the family aspect of the film to be much more reasonable and believable than, say, last month’s F9. I loved Johansson’s performance as Natasha Romanoff, although we all know how her character development ends… However, I wouldn’t think the writers do a great job of making her the main focus. Then again, the film’s title is Black Widow, which would make Johansson’s character just a synecdoche for every woman who is given that name.
Pugh is great as Belova. Like the characters from F9, she’s always consciously aware of the heroes existing within and outside of her own story. She criticizes her sister and her Avengers teammates, and, like Deadpool, she points out the small things that the heroes do.
I also loved Weisz’s and Harbour’s performances as Romanoff’s parent figures. If it weren’t for me growing up on The Mummy films and Stranger Things, they probably wouldn’t be as impactful to me. They play the roles of parent figures pretty well, and we get to see how they develop from when they first had Romanoff and Belova to when they reunite as a family. I’d love to see them again in the near future.
Taskmaster deserves a lot of love, and the character’s costume does not deserve all the disparaging comments it’s been getting. In terms of how the character is written, I personally had no issues with it whatsoever. In contrast, I know I’m not the only person when I say that Hurt and Fegbenle’s respective characters should have had more screentime. Even if it were five to ten minutes each at a minimum, it would be fine. I can also say the same thing about Winstone’s Dreykov, who delivers well with what he’s given.
Final Thoughts
I love the film’s connection to the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We have Schaeffer, the creator of WandaVision, and we have Sarah Halley Finn, a casting director from Loki. Not to mention Victoria Alonso, who is an executive producer for over one dozen MCU films alongside Louis D’Esposito. There is also a The Falcon and the Winter Soldier reference in a later part of the film. In terms of the Bechdel Test, the writers do seem to create a good balance between talking about men and talking about literally any other subject matter.
Aside from everything tied to Dreykov and the Red Room (and also Rick Mason), this doesn’t feel so much of a Marvel movie. Maybe, that’s what makes it so special. Black Widow is set up to be just one film because we already know Romanoff is going to die in Avengers: Endgame. It just takes some steps to head in that direction. While it doesn’t reference the Multiverse aspect of the MCU, it does add to the little socio-political end of things. The story is set up so that we can see the rest of the family (and maybe Taskmaster and the Black Widows) in the future. Who knows when the next time they’ll show up will be!
Cate Shortland’s Black Widow is now in theaters and on Disney+ Premiere Access!
What are your thoughts on it? Let us know! For more action, superhero, and thriller-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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