Admittedly, I haven't read the comics. But a few days ago I rewatched all the MCU films in chronological order, so I have them fairly fresh in my memory. All of them have their ups and downs, but for me the key is their entertainment factor, combining the superhero lore with some deep emotional moments and also some good comedic bits. On that base, my favourite installments are Guardians of The Galaxy, Thor Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
That being said, I can't see the appeal that many people see in Black Widow. I guess it's a matter of personal expectations and I guess I was expecting something darker, stronger, more tormented, that would get into the skin of the character, which, admittely, is not one of my favourites of the MCU. Not having read the comics that inspired them, and judging solely from the movies, BW is quite limited to be the pretty, sexy, if cold, female presence. She has no super powers that we are aware of, other than her undeniable beauty (although sometimes she seems to have a disproportionate strength for her size) and an amazing capacity to calm the Hulk. A lot of cartwheeling and pouting, but little else. I wonder how popular the character would be, if it wasn't portrayed by the amazing Scarlett Johansson.
If, like me, you want to know more about Nat's life before the Avengers, you won't find much in this film. We get to know little about her past, through glimpses about her indoctrination as a Russian ¿spy?, Red Sparrow style, which is mostly told and not showed. The movie focuses more in the dynamics of her stranged and bizarre family, but this is also showed passingly. We don't get to see how she grew up or how she turned up to be so skilled and lethal.
I was also expecting to know more about her relationship with Hawkeye and what transpired in Budapest, but I guess we will never know.
And then there is Florence Pugh, an overrated actress, if you ask me. She is not, by no means, a bad actress, but she is certainly no Meryl Streep. I don't understand all the praise she is getting.
Her character in BW has the spotlight because that's Disney's marketing choice, but it is underdeveloped. We don't know anything about her or her motivations, other than "I want to save the rest of the BW". For someone who has spend almost all of her life under a rigorous and cruel training and indoctrination, she seems quite childish and immature. And of course, there's no hint of the seductive skills attributed to a female Russian spy, because, you know, this is Disney.
Scarlett, by the way, seems to be bored and tired of her character and there are some scenes when she seems to be on autopilot. It is barely noticeable, though, since she is such a great actress, altough this kind of films are clearly not the vehicle to highlight her acting chops.
As for action lovers, there are a couple of motorcycle chases and some fights, but don't expect to be surprised or amazed by any of them. There are some implausible scenes that require an absolute suspension of disbelief and that, frankly, look quite ridiculous.
In short, I wasn't moved or shocked, there are no strong emotional moments or powerful scenes to remember, no shocking revelations or game-changing discoveries regarding the character. I still feel like BW owes her fan love and adoration only to Scarlett Johansson and this film has done nothing to change that perception.
Special mention for the debatable casting choices (in spoiler)
Spoiler
The villain, really? Don't get me wrong, Ray Winstone is a wonderful actor, but his days of inspiring fear are gone. You will expect someone who elicits a sense of inminent danger and evil or, at least, someone with surprise/ novelty value, as the previous MCU films had (Mads Mikkelsen, Josh Brolin, Tom Hiddleston, Andy Serkis, Jake Gyllenhaal , Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, to name a few).
David Harbour as comic relief becomes annoying after 5 minutes and Rachel Weisz looks sleep deprived. The Russian accents are caricature level.
And I don't even want to start with Taskmaster, but I'll just say that Olga Kurylenko has finally found a role that suits her acting skills.
In another note, what's with all the shots of SJ's rear end, for no apparent purpose? I get it, she's hot, but it feels like a poor stylistic resource. Thank God BW is directed by a woman ...
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