Black Widow

This week I’m going to do something I haven’t done for a while:  a movie review; and in honor of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings being released on Disney+ day this Friday (their two-year anniversary), I decided to do a review of Marvel’s most recent movie, Black Widow.  The idea to make a Black Widow film has gone as far back as 2004 when Lionsgate acquired the film rights to make a movie about Black Widow; but by 2006, Lionsgate dropped the project and the rights went back to Marvel.  For several years, plans to make this movie were talked about on and off and, finally, around 2017 Marvel moved forward with the movie.  Filming for the movie took place from May to October of 2019 in several parts of Europe and the U.S. (Georgia).  The film was delayed several times due to the pandemic and was finally released in theaters back in July and on premiere access on Disney+ as well.  The movie received positive reviews from critics who praised the action and the characters/acting (especially Scarlett Johansson’s and Florence Pugh’s), and it did pretty well box office wise.  I have watched a fair amount of Marvel movies but never got around reviewing any of them on my blog.  This one, though, I could not resist as it is loaded with undeniable girl power action and adventure!

In this 24^th movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and I suppose the franchise’s first “prequel”), the events take place right after Captain America: Civil War.  Black Widow (aka Natasha Romanoff) is on the run from the government and is forced to confront her past.  You see, when Natasha and her “sister” were kids, they were taken by Russian spies who posed as a family; and with Natasha and her sister, Yelena, being so young, in their minds they were “real” family.  When the young girls came to be a certain age, they were taken to a place called the Red Room, where “widows,” other young women, are manipulated and trained to kill and hurt people.  Then, years later, when Natasha and Yelena reunite, they have to find their “parents” so they can work together to take down the Red Room.  Despite the reputation some prequels get, this prequel gives a good background to Black Widow’s past.  I really liked how Black Widow doesn’t let her past define her.  This movie has lots of action and the characters have good development (all four of the main people acted really well too).  Also, I hope Yelena gets more attention from Marvel in the future.  I personally thought Florence Pugh’s acting was some of the best in the movie!  However, as all Marvel movies go, there is quite a bit of violence in here and there is some language as well; and I don’t know if it’s just me but I personally think Marvel movies always start out weird but get better as you watch them (just my opinion).  So, I would caution parents for the violence and language and would recommend this for teens only.  The one thing that stands out the most in this movie is that the film is mostly a female cast, so it’s basically a “girl power” movie.  I thought that was really cool!  This film also shows how women can be discriminated against, like how Natasha and Yelena were taken advantage of when they were younger, and how they were still being taken advantage of even when they were older.  I believe the overall message of the movie is that sexism is still alive and well and that women need to start supporting and lifting each other up, not putting each other down as that is not going to help with the sexism that is still around.  I’m glad that movies like Black Widow are helping start these conversations and I hope that Marvel continues to get more diverse in the future!

“It was real to me too.” (a quote from Black Widow talking about her “family”)