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I saw this in a theater, which the film rewards. Lots of action, CGI, and big fights. Despite good performances from all of the cast, and a stand-out intro film for Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, I felt like I didn't get what I came for. Still, 3.5/5 for a decent script, an ability to heft a lot of information without dumping it, and a welcome back to the MCU.
But it's not really a Black Widow film. Instead, it's Black Widow's backstory, plus introducing a bunch of new characters, plus setting up and paying off a family dynamic, plus tying up some loose ends, plus giving us enough of the upcoming new Black Widow to appreciate her and all those things are good. But they're not quintessential Black Widow.
The movie also suffers from long delays and I don't just mean COVID, though having this out a couple years ago within the then-rhythm of Marvel releases might have helped. This movie is set right after Winter Soldier and before Civil War and it should have been made and released then. As such, it would have been part of the evolution of this character, who was so good in Winter Soldier. Instead, we're looking at it as a flashback, knowing how the character evolved and ended. Trying to put myself in the mindset of that version of the character kept me from immersing as I would have had the film been released in 2015.
Given that we can't rewrite history, this film does what it can to get you into the right period. The introductory scenes are some of the best Marvel has done, covering a ton of ground without info-dumping or slowing things down. Set to a slowed-down cover of Nirvana's "Teen Spirit", we get a grounding in Natasha's and Yelena's childhood. Then we get to (their) present day, where the film's main action happens.
There's a lot of action - I credit Marvel for not stinting on that, given that the two main characters are women. I think some of it could have been shortened to give greater effect, but if you like the way Marvel does fight scenes you're going to love this movie.
From here out, it's spoilers...
Let's start with why I didn't feel I got enough Black Widow. What is she, and particularly what is she such that she can be an Avenger with no special tech and no super powers? She's a master spy, a great hand-to-hand combatant, a weapons expert. But mostly, she's a riff on the 'beautiful but deadly' trope. That's what a black widow is, after all, and casting Scarlett Johansson - a conventionally very attractive woman - in this role was no accident. Americans particularly will tend to underestimate the brains of someone - especially a woman - when they see that person as attractive. Unconscious biases R Us.
This movie starts off in exactly that vein, with Natasha leading William Hurt's Secretary Ross on another wild goose chase. He thinks he's got her cornered, and the film leads us to believe that, only to find out she's far away and he's left holding an empty bag. That's essential Black Widow - she's ten steps ahead of you.
Unfortunately, we only get one more scene like this, where Natasha goes 1:1 with Dreykov. I loved that scene so much. I had to restrain myself from hollering "Do you mind? I'm conducting an interrogation here," because it's a fantastic throwback to our introduction to Natasha where she appears to be the victim, tied to a chair when Coulson calls. But all along she's in control and playing the foolish men. Ditto her interactions with Loki, where she fakes an emotional response to draw him out.
But that's all this movie has to offer me in terms of Black Widow being what she's best at. This is best typified in the extended chase scene where she's driving herself and Yelena away from the bad guys and her entire plan is "drive". Yelena rightly yells at her for that being a terrible plan. The sequence is designed to let Pugh show off what she can do - yay- but it shouldn't ride on Natasha being dumb.
In one sequence, Natasha is pitted against a roomful of other Widows. I've long maintained that in a 1:1 vs any Dora Milaje, Widow would kick their ass not because of any superior fighting skills but because she's had to spend a lifetime experiencing combats where one mistake would have meant her death. The Dora Milaje train hard and are skilled but lived experience should trump raw skill. We almost see that with Natasha up against this squadron of trainees but they don't let her wipe the floor with them. I found it almost disappointing.
Natasha also has to rely on a major maguffin in the form of O-T Fagbenle's Mason. This person - who we've never met before - is apparently Widow's friend and arms dealer and fixer and plays the role we've come to expect from Nick Fury. Except, who is this guy? Why does he suddenly show up except to do things for her? Where does he get all these fancy toys? He's got no story and is completely out of context and I really resented having a random dude show up and solve Widow's problems. That's not the Black Widow I came to see.
Rachel Weisz (Melina, the former Widow turned master scientist) and David Harbour (Alexei, a former super soldier in Russia, imprisoned by his former masters who no longer have a use for him) both turn in good performances. But honestly I could have done with less screen time on both of them. The extended prison break sequence is really notable only for two bits, both Pugh's. In the first she notes that an avalanche would be a "cool way to die" and in the other she gets pissed at a guard tower machine-gunning her helicopter so she uses a shoulder-launched rocket to blow them up, almost in a moment of pique. Those two bits are brilliant and tell you everything you need to know about this character.
The film tries to be an introspection about what is family. Again, in 2015 this would have been a really relevant question for Natasha and helped propel her development in later films. As a flashback it falls flat for me. The set-up sequence of them being a pretend family in Ohio turns out to be incredibly important for everyone, but the only way we know that is because they tell us so. I really wanted a better through-line for that kind of pivotal element.
Dreykov also turns out to be a disappointment. He's supposed to be a SPECTRE-style villain, manipulating everything from the shadows. Instead, he turns out to be a stupid egotistical sneering one-dimensional character. He felt very much like a throwback to HYDRA villains. He's bad because he hates little girls so much he'll torture and kill them. OK, explain to me how he had his own daughter, then? What makes this guy tick? What makes him so impressive that the Soviets put him in charge of the Red Room anyway? I end up feeling like there's no there, there.
If they'd stripped it down to just Natasha and Yelena I think it would have been a better film. Pugh plays the jealous younger sibling to perfection, mocking Natasha for hanging out with famous people, for appearing on magazine covers and, in one brilliant sequence for the hair-flipping three-point-landings that are so much her trademark. Pugh's Yelena is just bratty enough without being obnoxious or undercutting her own seriousness.
In the end I think I'm still harboring resentment at the MCU for killing off this character. There won't ever be a Black Widow 2, which means we won't get more of the stories I crave. Yes, this film does explain why Budapest kept appearing in other films' dialog but in the end she's dead so who cares? Maybe Pugh will redeem things - she has a lot of potential and based on what she did here I'm looking forward to seeing more of her take on the role.
But it's not really a Black Widow film. Instead, it's Black Widow's backstory, plus introducing a bunch of new characters, plus setting up and paying off a family dynamic, plus tying up some loose ends, plus giving us enough of the upcoming new Black Widow to appreciate her and all those things are good. But they're not quintessential Black Widow.
The movie also suffers from long delays and I don't just mean COVID, though having this out a couple years ago within the then-rhythm of Marvel releases might have helped. This movie is set right after Winter Soldier and before Civil War and it should have been made and released then. As such, it would have been part of the evolution of this character, who was so good in Winter Soldier. Instead, we're looking at it as a flashback, knowing how the character evolved and ended. Trying to put myself in the mindset of that version of the character kept me from immersing as I would have had the film been released in 2015.
Given that we can't rewrite history, this film does what it can to get you into the right period. The introductory scenes are some of the best Marvel has done, covering a ton of ground without info-dumping or slowing things down. Set to a slowed-down cover of Nirvana's "Teen Spirit", we get a grounding in Natasha's and Yelena's childhood. Then we get to (their) present day, where the film's main action happens.
There's a lot of action - I credit Marvel for not stinting on that, given that the two main characters are women. I think some of it could have been shortened to give greater effect, but if you like the way Marvel does fight scenes you're going to love this movie.
From here out, it's spoilers...
Let's start with why I didn't feel I got enough Black Widow. What is she, and particularly what is she such that she can be an Avenger with no special tech and no super powers? She's a master spy, a great hand-to-hand combatant, a weapons expert. But mostly, she's a riff on the 'beautiful but deadly' trope. That's what a black widow is, after all, and casting Scarlett Johansson - a conventionally very attractive woman - in this role was no accident. Americans particularly will tend to underestimate the brains of someone - especially a woman - when they see that person as attractive. Unconscious biases R Us.
This movie starts off in exactly that vein, with Natasha leading William Hurt's Secretary Ross on another wild goose chase. He thinks he's got her cornered, and the film leads us to believe that, only to find out she's far away and he's left holding an empty bag. That's essential Black Widow - she's ten steps ahead of you.
Unfortunately, we only get one more scene like this, where Natasha goes 1:1 with Dreykov. I loved that scene so much. I had to restrain myself from hollering "Do you mind? I'm conducting an interrogation here," because it's a fantastic throwback to our introduction to Natasha where she appears to be the victim, tied to a chair when Coulson calls. But all along she's in control and playing the foolish men. Ditto her interactions with Loki, where she fakes an emotional response to draw him out.
But that's all this movie has to offer me in terms of Black Widow being what she's best at. This is best typified in the extended chase scene where she's driving herself and Yelena away from the bad guys and her entire plan is "drive". Yelena rightly yells at her for that being a terrible plan. The sequence is designed to let Pugh show off what she can do - yay- but it shouldn't ride on Natasha being dumb.
In one sequence, Natasha is pitted against a roomful of other Widows. I've long maintained that in a 1:1 vs any Dora Milaje, Widow would kick their ass not because of any superior fighting skills but because she's had to spend a lifetime experiencing combats where one mistake would have meant her death. The Dora Milaje train hard and are skilled but lived experience should trump raw skill. We almost see that with Natasha up against this squadron of trainees but they don't let her wipe the floor with them. I found it almost disappointing.
Natasha also has to rely on a major maguffin in the form of O-T Fagbenle's Mason. This person - who we've never met before - is apparently Widow's friend and arms dealer and fixer and plays the role we've come to expect from Nick Fury. Except, who is this guy? Why does he suddenly show up except to do things for her? Where does he get all these fancy toys? He's got no story and is completely out of context and I really resented having a random dude show up and solve Widow's problems. That's not the Black Widow I came to see.
Rachel Weisz (Melina, the former Widow turned master scientist) and David Harbour (Alexei, a former super soldier in Russia, imprisoned by his former masters who no longer have a use for him) both turn in good performances. But honestly I could have done with less screen time on both of them. The extended prison break sequence is really notable only for two bits, both Pugh's. In the first she notes that an avalanche would be a "cool way to die" and in the other she gets pissed at a guard tower machine-gunning her helicopter so she uses a shoulder-launched rocket to blow them up, almost in a moment of pique. Those two bits are brilliant and tell you everything you need to know about this character.
The film tries to be an introspection about what is family. Again, in 2015 this would have been a really relevant question for Natasha and helped propel her development in later films. As a flashback it falls flat for me. The set-up sequence of them being a pretend family in Ohio turns out to be incredibly important for everyone, but the only way we know that is because they tell us so. I really wanted a better through-line for that kind of pivotal element.
Dreykov also turns out to be a disappointment. He's supposed to be a SPECTRE-style villain, manipulating everything from the shadows. Instead, he turns out to be a stupid egotistical sneering one-dimensional character. He felt very much like a throwback to HYDRA villains. He's bad because he hates little girls so much he'll torture and kill them. OK, explain to me how he had his own daughter, then? What makes this guy tick? What makes him so impressive that the Soviets put him in charge of the Red Room anyway? I end up feeling like there's no there, there.
If they'd stripped it down to just Natasha and Yelena I think it would have been a better film. Pugh plays the jealous younger sibling to perfection, mocking Natasha for hanging out with famous people, for appearing on magazine covers and, in one brilliant sequence for the hair-flipping three-point-landings that are so much her trademark. Pugh's Yelena is just bratty enough without being obnoxious or undercutting her own seriousness.
In the end I think I'm still harboring resentment at the MCU for killing off this character. There won't ever be a Black Widow 2, which means we won't get more of the stories I crave. Yes, this film does explain why Budapest kept appearing in other films' dialog but in the end she's dead so who cares? Maybe Pugh will redeem things - she has a lot of potential and based on what she did here I'm looking forward to seeing more of her take on the role.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-11 04:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-07-13 05:51 pm (UTC)In the end I think I'm still harboring resentment at the MCU for killing off this character.
Yeah, this. :)