Directed by : Cate Shortland

The truth rarely makes sense when you omit key details.

Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh in a still from 'Black Widow'

Spoilers ahead .. 


Set at some time after the events of Captain America : Civil War, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) is running away from the authorities for violating the Sokovia Accords, the one where the Avengers had divided opinions on. Hiding at a safehouse in Norway when she is forced back into her past that she believed was over having killed Dreykov (Ray Winstone). She's now on a mission to finish Dreykov and his 'Red Room' where he brainwashes young girls to turn capable ones into 'Black Widows' while killing rest.

I wonder if this movie happened because it needed to be out or it was result of too much fanbase pressure. I for one believe Natasha deserved her own movie, but it should had come before 3rd Avengers movie or even earlier than that. Because watching it now when you know Natasha is dead, ruins the fun and you can't help but feel Scarlett Johansson was giving mentally drained vibes like she wasn't contributing 100% towards this role. Or I felt that only because it was a mess of a film. 

The start is pretty good,way they establish the fake parents of Natasha and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) i.e Alexei (David Harbour) and Melina (Rachel Weisz) with a lovely use of 'This will be the day that I die (American Pie)' song while they drive away from trouble. Also, love the scene how a young Natasha is told to help her mom by getting the plane off the runway in a do or die situation. The opening credits track 'Smells like Teen Spirit' with a montage of blurry-dark scenes showing the dirty world of Dreykov and the Red Room is vey well captured and was the mood I was hoping the entire movie would have.

The way action set pieces are done (my fav was the chase one involving both Natasha and Yelena), and how the villain Dreykov isn't shown enough until the very end reminded a bit of some of the last Bond movies. 

Where the film could had lifted up was diving into the 'Red Room', showing what exactly happens there in more detail even if it went a little dark, and also the idea of mimicking is talked about but never really utilised in the narrative. They could had easily cut off that 1st meet fight scene between Natasha and Yelena, there are many other ways to break the ice between characters. Even the rescue mission where the sisters (not real) try to rescue Alexei was too much stretched to my liking. 

The climax was a mess too, yet that final credits scene showing Yelena grieving at the loss of her sister was emotional to watch. The link to Clint felt un-necessary, clearly meaning Yelena will go after him when it was no fault of his that Natasha died. 

As I said earlier, I couldn't enjoy Scarlett Johansson performance, her roles in other Avengers movies combined would make for a better watch when it comes to Natasha's character. Florence Pugh, was fun to watch, though again a character that felt half-baked.. I did love her imitation of Natasha's pose that she finds disgusting. Their little banter does make for a good watch. Her long reply to Alexei regarding if its that time of the month was hilarious too. 

David Harbour was disappointing, his comedy never really landed for me which is a surprise given how much I love him in Stranger Things. Rachel Weisz does get some good scenes at start and then much later on when the family reunion happens. 

Overall, Black Widow turned out to be very disappointing and dull in parts, I would say even more than Captain Marvel was. Natasha surely deserved a better final movie (ironically still her first). Its hard to say what went wrong, did they choose the wrong timeline to showcase Natasha's solo movie or its just the timing of the release that made it not work. 

My Rating : 4.5/10