We made it to Black Widow!
Finally Natasha Romanoff gets her own movie and also finally… we get to see it! Overall I enjoyed it very much but I can’t help but think she deserved a stronger entry into the Marvel canon and also maybe Marvel TV is ruining things for me.
SPOILERS BELOW!
There were such good threads that where dropped in- like the intentional collateral damage thing. Wow. I would have loved to see what Hawkeye knew about that. And it does tie into the end of the movie but by the time we got to that act everything was moving so fast there was no real time for the emotional impact.
I thought Taskmaster was underused. And I’m not sure how I feel about the overall use of the Red Room. (I know how I feel about the you can’t hurt me cause of my pheromones bit- eyes rolled.)
The most effect part of the idea of actual mind control was the look on Yelena’s face when Milena (the only mother she ever knew as she said) was happily having the poor mind control pig suffocate itself. I also liked her pointing out that she had cycled through the Red Room 4 times before Natasha was even born.
Though I still thought certain things with her moved too fast and it seemed a little strange she wouldn’t have any idea what her research was being used for.
That’s what I mean about enjoying the movie for what it was but also the shows ruining the films cause I couldn’t help but think- it’s all there it just needs to dig deeper. Natasha’s past and the Red Room and its inhabitants scream dig deeper.
Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh nail the sister dynamic and I do think in terms of emotion Yelena surprisingly stole the show. Because she gets to be the little sister, the baby of this fake family (as they were undercover in America when she was young and before the Red Room sunk it’s teeth into her)she has fantastic reactions even when she’s not where the camera is concentrating and can pack a ton of emotion into a simple line like, “I kept waiting to hear Steve Rogers had taken down the Red Room.”
Plus she managed to bring the humor- actually more so than David Harbour as Alexei I honestly thought they needed to tone him down a bit.
But again with his character the difference between the opening scenes and after they break him out of prison its like… missing a whole lot. I can happily make it up but that happens again with Ross at the end of the movie. I assume Natasha cut a deal and he “let” her get away but why leave it so open?
The Avengers kind of suck where Natasha is concerned.
It felt incredibly moving at what we know is nearly the end of her life Natasha was able to reconnect with this family and for them all (fucked up as they are) to come through for her and Yelena and take down this new James Bond style Red Room. Not too mention to hear that her mother had wanted her, had searched for her to the point she became such trouble they killed her.
(A one off I’d love to see or read.)
And then at the end she tells kindly Mason (an utterly wasted O.T. Fagbenle) oh she has two families and I’m just like with the exception of Hawkeye eh, go with your sister Nat! Live! Have awesome butt kicking adventures with her and her puppy and while you’re at it go find Wanda first you three will be great 🙂
But no Marvel never gives us nice things. Instead thanks to the end credit scene they make damned sure I’ll be watching Hawkeye but I’ll babble about that in another post.
Recommend: Yes.
I was satisfied too. It easily became my second favorite female led superhero movie, but there are things I would’ve changed. I thought there was a lot of talking in some places and not enough in others. You’re right that there are a lot of things left open ended.
It’s too bad they waited so long Black Widow’s life would have been perfect for a trilogy.
Yesssss! Even though I’m not Black Widow’s biggest fan, it was so great to finally see her get her own movie. It was many years too late, but I enjoyed what Marvel gave us 🙂