"I doubt that god from space has to take an ibuprofen after a fight."
Marvel Comics introduced
Black Widow in
1964, and entered their popular films via
Iron Man 2.
Scarlett Johansson played the character well, but she's often been sidelined (even, notoriously, from much of
The Avengers merchandise) by more powerful characters and treated
problematically. Then they killed her.
In 2021 she finally got her own film, which tries to fill the blanks in her past and between previous movies while addressing, in-universe, some of the criticisms aimed at the handling of the character.
We begin in the 1990s. Natasha and her sister, Yelena are being raised by Russian agents: a scientist and the Soviet super-soldier, Red Guardian. They're forced to flee their double lives in Ohio, and the girls eventually find themselves in the "Red Room," a Soviet-era program to create female assassins that has taken on a life of its own.
Unfinished business reunites the two women for another MCU chapter that's overblown, has decent acting, treats the laws of physics as suggestions, and entertains if you watch with appropriate expectations. The script does a few interesting things with families (sisters, in particular), introduces a little more darkness than usual, and plays with how a superhero-filled world might function. As the first franchise film in some time, it features extravagant production. We get extensive globe-trotting, including sequences that could have been done far more cheaply near home, but pointedly weren't. In addition to the scenery and sororal bonding, we get lots of explosions and fight sequences. Both gals get to outrun fireballs.
The credit sequence teases the forthcoming Hawkeye TV show while hinting that little sister may take over Natasha's role in the franchise.
A good Marvel movie. Not the best Marvel movie.
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