Black Widow is the first in-theater movie we’ve seen since the Pandemic started. Diane, Katie, and I went to a Regal Theater in Boston and socially distanced along with about a dozen other members of the audience (the theater had 200 seats).
I love Scarlett Johansson so I wanted to see her origin story as Avenger Natasha Romanoff. Johansson’s character has no superpowers, but she is extremely smart and athletic.
Part of the problem with Black Widow is that it’s set in the Marvel Universe Timeline just after the events of Captain America: Civil War. Unfortunately, [SPOILER ALERT!] we know Natasha Romanoff dies in Avengers: Endgame [END OF SPOILER].
Directed by Cate Shortland, the movie’s plot moves around the globe. Jackie Schaeffer, Ned Benson, and Eric Pearson’s script tries to connect all the dots in Natasha Romanoff’s life, but there’s a lot to cover. From Ohio, to the secret RED ROOM, to Norway, to Budapest, to a prison in Siberia, Black Widow feels more like a Bourne movie than a MARVEL movie.
I liked Yelena (Florence Pugh), Natasha’s long-lost sister. I liked Rachel Weisz as Natasha’s “Mother” and David Harbour as her “Father.” General Dreykov (Ray Winstone) is an effective villain.
But, despite a solid cast and plenty of action, I found Black Widow disappointing. A cameo of Iron Man or Doctor Strange would have been great! Instead, we get an unbelievable (and I use that adjective deliberately) last 15 minutes where the action defies physics. Even the CGI could not save that mess.
So I’m back to seeing movies in theaters–I’m still wearing a mask. I still hope the upcoming MARVEL movies are better. And, I hope Scarlett Johansson’s character somehow gets reincarnated. GRADE: B-
I was also underwhelmed. Not awful. Just mediocre. C+ or B-. I’m not wearing a mask in the theater. It’s not that crowded where I feel it’s necessary.
Steve, mediocre certainly describes BLACK WIDOW. You would think with a year delay in the release of the film MARVEL could have “tweaked” it to make it better.
There haven’t been too many first-rate “superhero” films so far. The Marvel and DC factories are not raising the bar.
Todd, and the Pandemic threw the whole movie-making business into turmoil. We’ll see if Disney/MARVEL recover their movie blockbuster mojo.
The television series are averaging a bit better. The animation items are a mixed bag, to be sure, but the best ones are better than very nearly any of the actors-on-screen productions…THE MASK OF THE PHANTASM, for example. There hasn’t been a better Batman film than that or BATMAN RETURNS since, (nor even a particularly good one, among those I’ve seen on cable, which is most of most of them–GOTHAM was rather better than Nolan’s various self-indulgences, much less Snyder’s), though I agree with Aisha Tyler that Ben Affleck would’ve been a fine Batman had he ever had a script to work with.
Todd, DC movies underperformed the MARVEL movies at the Box Office. We’ll have to wait and see if that changes.
That’s because they tend to be Even Worse. Particularly the Nolan and Snyder offers, but the others are no great shakes, either, with WONDER WOMAN being pleasant enough if ultimately goofy and WW 1984 not as good.
Todd, DC has stumbled with many of their “blockbuster” movies. MARVEL has a much better track record.
Yeah, all along we’ve been saying (SPOILER ALERT) “how are they having a Black Widow movie NOW when she’s dead?” (END SPOILER). Too bad. We’ll wait for HBO or whatever. No plans to see a movie as yet, but Jackie did buy tickets for two Broadway shows (I am very, very wary about this) – TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD for our delayed 50th Anniversary in October and the new revival of COMPANY for my birthday in November. I guess we’ll see how it goes.
Jeff, I’m wary like you. We saw a local company production of COMPANY a few years ago. Our Shea’s Performing Arts BROADWAY package is scheduled to start in September with FROZEN. As you say, we’ll see how that goes.
I’ve loved Scarlett Johansson since her early days when she was making real movies like “Lost in Translation” and, even though I know she’s making money hand over fist, I really hate seeing her wasted in crap like this. Thus ends my grumpy comment for the day.
Michael, I agree. Scarlett Johansson and Rachel Weisz, both talented actors, should be challenged by better scripts than BLACK WIDOW.
I was pretty damned grumpy about LOST IN TRANSLATION, myself. But she did good work at least as far back as GHOST WOLRD…itself a comic-book film of a decidely non-superheroic sort.
I love SJ too but feel she is wasted in roles, not just scripts, like this. But money talks.
Patti, you and I are on the same page. Scarlett Johansson deserves better material to work with. MARVEL is wasting her talents in mediocre movies like BLACK WIDOW.
Don’t know when I’m going back to the Big Screen, but late next month, an old Movie Palace here is showing JASON ND THE ARGONAUTS, and I won’t miss a chance at that!
Dan, I’m just as reluctant as you are about going to movie theaters. Today’s WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that BLACK WIDOW saw a steep drop in business during its second weekend in theaters. BLACK WIDOW’s second weekend box office dropped 67% from the first weekend. I think the lukewarm reviews for BLACK WIDOW and word-of-mouth caused the decline.
Even Rachel Weisz along with SJ (a bit ahead of the latter, for me) won’t drag me into even one of the comfortable latter-day Regals yet.
Todd, with the Delta Variant raging, my theater visits will be few and far between.
I’m not ready to go to the movies yet, though who knows? By the third week of most shows theaters should be sparsely attended.
I have enjoyed every single one of the Marvel MCU movies, even the lesser ones, so I expect I’ll enjoy BLACK WIDOW too.
Jeff, BLACK WIDOW is available on DISNEY+ for $29.99. The cost of a ticket to BLACK WIDOW at the Regal theater in Boston was almost as much!
Yikes! Since no other clearance occurred, I eventually dialed up the Marvel CAPTAIN MARVEL (as opposed to the pleasant Warner/DC SHAZAM) on Disney+ as a no extra fee item…and only on the Acer so far…where it was too dark (and impervious to adjustment) to see much. Will look again on a better screen, but wasn’t overwhelmed by what I head and almost saw there…