Review of Black Widow (2021) by Thisguy1 — 13 Jul 2021

6.5 out of 10. The opening scenes through the opening credits were all fantastic. The entire movie was entertaining, albeit formulaic. The fight choreography was a return to form after the abysmal choreography in Falcon and Winter Soldier. David Harbour and Florence Pugh steal the show. Rachel Weisz didn't get enough screen time but she was effective in every scene she was in. Taskmaster was an intimidating villain. Taskmaster's reveal was incredibly predictable, but that's not necessarily a bad thing (I had an old Lit teacher who once said that truly unpredictable twists are a sign of bad/lazy writing). Only major cons were one bit about the third act and that Ray Winstone was a forgettable and unintimidating villain. I'm not one to complain about a climactic/fantastical third act. However, pulling a parachute whilst debris is falling all around you would have almost definitely led to Yelena's death. Either her parachute would have been compromised and she'd have fallen to her death or she'd have been crushed/cut apart by the falling debris. I thought that bit was fairly lazy writing.

Even after giving the movie a 6.5, I think this movie was solid but ultimately wasted potential. Rather than telling a story that links Civil War's Natasha with Infinity War/End Game's Natasha - bringing closure to her character and potentially improving upon the emotional connection the audience has with her character in those films - we got a movie that seemed to focus on setting up future stories with new characters. Now for the fan fiction re-writes that nobody really cares about... Although it may seem like a bigger waste to some people, I think Melina should have truly been revealed to be a villain and died in the final act, Alexei/Red Guardian should have sacrificed himself to save his "daughters" from Taskmaster, and Yelena should have been presumed dead (revealed to be alive in the end credits scene, which wouldn't have had to change) after she blew up Dreykov's aircraft. Yes, it would have been tragic. However, it would have amplified her sacrifice in End Game by emphasizing her determination to protect her "family" as well as ensuring her best friend was able to see his biological family again. Just my two cents...