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Black Widow's deeper themes are drowned out in all the action, but it remains a solidly entertaining standalone adventure that's rounded out by a stellar supporting cast.Read critic reviews
Audience Says
Black Widow serves up another savory helping of the blockbuster Marvel formula, with a fun family dynamic adding extra character development in the midst of all the action.Read audience reviews
Where to watch Black Widow
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Watch Black Widow with a subscription on Disney+, rent on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu, or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu.
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Black Widow videos
Black Widow: Featurette - Future
FEATURETTE 1:21
Black Widow: Featurette - Family Reuinion
FEATURETTE 1:27
Black Widow: Movie Clip - Prison Break
CLIP 1:03
Black Widow: Featurette - Taskmaster Breakdown
FEATURETTE 0:45
Scarlett Johansson & Florence Pugh: “You Can’t Look Away” from ‘Black Widow’
In Marvel Studios' action-packed spy thriller "Black Widow," Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
For a movie that came out too late about a character I never really cared about (sorry everyone, ScarJo isn't that interesting), this movie surprised me. First of all, it made me care about the character in the way I needed to before Endgame (again, timing!), but better late than never because it is nice having depth to this character and seeing her f***ed up background. Really though it's David Harbour as a desperate father figure and Florence Pugh as a sassy little sister that steal the whole movie. The action is mostly solid too, feeling more grounded and spy based, at least by Marvel standards until the obligatory cgi-fest at the end. I still don't care about ScarJo as a lead, and the movie comes way too late and is not one of the peak Marvel experiences, but it's fun and does give some depth.
Sadly Black Widow strolls into cinema's too late. The film feels irrelevant at this moment and it's a shame she wasn't provided this film prior to Endgame. This film would have made Endgame all the more heartbreaking for the character as there's a lot of great moments here. The film brings an action packed finale that feels out of place and this has been an ongoing issue with most of the Marvel films. The villain is secondary but that's more of an issue with the story of the film. The threat and family building is the central piece of this film and sadly the villain that should have been the central villain, Taskmaster is relegated to some two-bit villain role. There was a better film here and sadly this feels empty for the character's overall journey.
This. Was. Fun! Welcome back Marvel -- oh how we missed ye.
Florence Pugh as Yelena is just fantastic. When I first saw her in Midsommar, her uncontrollable sobbing in the beginning annoyed me. But she grew on me as the movie went on. She looks almost exactly the same but is transformed here and is frankly perfect as Natasha's willful younger sister.
"You're a total poser."
- Yelena mocking Natasha's hair-flip fight stance.
David Harbour is just as good. This is the Hellboy we deserved. The scene where he's fat and disheveled breaking out of the Siberian prison is awesome. He's as gruff as he is in Stranger Things but in a more gleeful "I just don't give a fuck" way. There's are a few scenes where I busted a gut laughing at him.
And then there's the tender moment with Pugh where they sing Don Mclean's classic "American Pie:"
So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
And them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
There's a bit of Fast and the Furious unbelievability in the big action sequences but that may just because there's no Norse God's, Iron Men or super soldiers flying through steel girders anymore.
This is the first MCU movie where the 2 hour plus time wore on me. But that was likely to do the padded time for "family" building. They could've cut a lot of that out, but leaving it in added some depth to the storyline. And the tonal inconsistencies and odd joke placements were more noticeable than usual, especially some that made me cringe.
Overall more backstory and flashbacks on the Red Room would've helped a lot. It wasn't explored enough to bring enough dramatic heft to its evilness.
Yes, this was derivative -- major Bourne and Mission Impossible vibes, TaskMaster is basically Snake Eyes from GI Joe, everybody has Captain America shields, and so on. But that didn't bother me a bit.
In conclusion, I'm glad the MCU movies are back. It made me realize how much the TV shows pale in comparison to the pure spectacle of a movie juggernaut. Or maybe its just watching an honest-to-God MCU summer blockbuster on my 4K HDR Dolby Atmos home theater system. While its 115 degrees out -- in freaking California.
P.S. There's a scene where they are drinking vodka like water. I can confirm having been to Russia a bunch of times that is pretty typical and I have the lost liver cells to prove it.
MCU Smackdown (in a booming Michael Buffer announcer voice).
MCU #24: You made me wait two freaking years Marvel.
Good film! With all the ingredients of your usual solid Marvel production. Fun characters, glib dialogue, charming family dynamics and spectacular action set pieces.
I was hoping for a darker, more Cold War era centric espionage film that focused on her origins and upbringing. It seems arbitrary to tell a side story that takes place just after Civil War but at the same time it works thematically and callback to existing lore will gratify MCU fans.
Black Widow doesn't really feel like a fresh, powerful installment to the MCU but it gives stronger emotional context to Romanov's sacrifice and establishes great new characters that we'll see more in the future.
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