Black Widow - The Movie!

Black Widow the movie is a strange story in many ways because we already know the fate of the main character the Black Widow from Avengers: Endgame. This is a story which precedes the events of Avengers: Infinity War. We finally get the details (to some extent) of the "red" which is in the Widow's "ledger", the things she's done which motivate her to effectively sacrifice her life to battle alongside the Avengers to save the world. 

The story begins in these United States (circa 1995) and we meet Natasha's "family". They are actually Russian spies who pretend to be a family to aid their espionage. But Natasha and her little "sister" Yelena (Florence Pugh) are so young that the three of normal family (more or less) they have in Ohio undercover seems real to them, it becomes for them the family they never had in any other way. Natasha's "Mother" Melena (Rachel Weisz) is "Black Widow" too and her "father" Akexi is the Red Guardian (David Harbour), Russia's only super-soldier. 

The story then jumps forward in time to just after Captain America: Civil War when the Widow is a fugitive from SHIELD and most everyone else. We find that the Black Widows operate out of the "Red Room" which is operated by the cruel Dreykov (Ray Winstone) who uses a masked operative named Taskmaster to help him hunt down folks who get in his way. The Widows are now controlled with a chemical which makes it impossible for them to disobey. Natashas and her sister Yelena fight to free their sister Widows of this dreadful regime. 

The action in this movie is typically hyperbolic, with impossible stunts becoming commonplace. It's exciting and as usual the creators hope the high-speed of the film will let most of this impossible action slide through the audience's credibility filters, and for the most part it does. But the finale battle in the air seemed a step too far for me, since as far as I know the Widow does not have superpowers really, merely exquisite training. It is nonetheless a kinetic joyride, typical of the Marvel movies and the story is possessed of sufficient heart to make a sentimental joker like me care a bunch. 

All in all, Black Widow is a dandy movie. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Highly recommended. Scarlett Johanson has created a fascinating character and she herself will be missed. As for the ending we all knew must come, all I can say is the Black Widow is dead, long live the Black Widow. 

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