- BLACK WIDOW
- Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh and Rachel Weisz
- Directed by: Cate Shortland
- Rated: PG 13
- Running time: 2 hrs 13 mins
- Disney
The expression is “timing is everything.” I say this because, while I found “Black Widow” enjoyable, it doesn’t feel as timely to me as other films in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe for those of you who don’t understand fan-speak).
Ohio. 1995. It’s another sunny day in the local park and Melina (Weisz) is enjoying the time watching her young daughters play. When they get home mom prepares dinner and they all wait for dad (David Harbour) to get home. However, the mood changes when dad announces “it’s time.” On the move again!
Full of non-stop action and some self-depreciating humor, “Black Widow” is an origin story that attempts to inform viewers where Natasha (Johansson) came from and why she defected to the Avengers.
The majority of the film takes place in 2016, after Theodore Ross (William Hurt) helped the United Nations enforce the Sokovia Accords, which basically made the Avengers outlaws, unable to do their stuff unless requested. It also requires all “enhanced” people in the United States to not only identify themselves but disclose what their enhancement is. Currently Ross is on the look for Black Widow and Captain America. And the hunt is on.
I’m doing my best to make this a SPOILER FREE review, so I won’t be going into too many details. Suffice it to say that the characters travel literally all over the world, a lot of stuff gets damaged and a lot of people got hurt. The action scenes are well designed and the script fun. But still…..
While it’s not the best film in the MCU, it certainly isn’t the worse. And that’s a good thing.