Black Widow Review

Gaslighting Dreykov, Gatekeeping superherodom, and Girl-bossing her way out of federal capture, Black Widow is incredible in her new movie. It is not easy meeting expectations 11 years in the making, and yet Marvel’s Black Widow (2021) exceeds every single one. Marvel Fan, Parthajeet Sharma, wrote on Google, “…best superhero movie based on a female superhero of all time. Also it becomes my favourite MCU stand alone superhero movie Because it has similar tone of captain america the winter soldier.” 

Marvel is known for adapting comic characters to a wider audience of people, with the last 13 years of their movies also belonging to their cinematic universe. Marvel’s Black Widow (2021) takes Scarlett Johansson’s well-known character, Natasha Romanoff, beloved by fans, and thrusts her into the spotlight for the first time. 

Cate Shortland directs a beautiful tragedy with humor and an artistic eye, showing a new side of a classic character while still maintaining her established character development. It is very difficult to navigate a franchise, especially as a director attempting to create a movie that needs to exist in harmony with so many other movies with different directors. The movies most abhorred by fans in the franchise are ones with directing styles that portrayed the already established characters in a new, non-symphonic way, such as Marvel’s Age of Ultron (2015). ScreenRant’s own Adrienne Tyler wrote, “Avengers: Age of Ultron is the weakest link not only in the Avengers saga but also in the MCU as a whole.” Shortland sidestepped this obstacle by combining the vulnerable sides of Natasha Romanoff shown in the previous movies, while showing a new, more protective side of her in connection with the new information revealed in this movie. 

Shortland’s M.C.U. directorial debut is not only a top contender for greatness in the Marvel world with its humor and style, but it is also a politically important art piece that mirrors the horrors faced by girls and women internationally who suffer the tradgedy of sex trafficking. The Red Room, a concept well developed through the Marvel Comics, is a parallel to the horrible reality of sex trafficking rings, and Black Widow explores the world of survivors’ guilt, comradery between women, and the power of choice. 

The introductory credits scene showed some jarring images of little girls huddled against walls and forgotten stuffed animals representing stolen childhoods. The end of the movie with images of women standing together, crying forehead to forehead, showed more strength than any fight scene they could have filmed. 

Marvel’s Black Widow (2021) is classically great in its choreography, intriguing in its story, and moving in its portrayal of the horrors faced by women everywhere and their ability to unite to help one another.