Marvel Comics spins an explosive tale of Black Widow this weekend and it’s a barnburner. With Scarlett Johansson in the lead as the slick powerhouse, the lady knows how to kick booty and take names. Adding to the high energy spinoff from the Avengers franchise comes Florence Pugh as her sidekick. Being superhero stylish and determined to make her character work, Pugh makes the movie even more explosive by adding double trouble for the adversaries. Fueled with a few characters from Captain America Civil War, the exciting, but lengthy, Black Widow entertains.
Recovering from her conflict in Civil War, Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), meets up with her stepsister Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and catches up on a few things. While chatting Natasha tells Yelena about her situation involving the Red Room. Run by the heinous Taskmaster and his trained killer widows, Natasha must take them down in order to stop further world destruction.
Along with their stepfather Alexei Shostakov (David Hrbour) the three set out to complete the task. Director Cate Sortland (Lore) does a terrific job of creating a lot of exciting scenes while the heroes attack their targets. And she makes it a lot of fun for Marvel character lovers and those who are just fans of big explosive movies. However, this film being her first blockbuster outing, we do get some drag and lag during the development of new characters and pre-action scene set ups.
Having had a lot of practice in the role of Natasha Romanoff, Scarlett Johansson falls right into the feisty Avengers role and brings her “A game”. Under the gun and cornered in a non-stop match with the Taskmaster, she delivers amazing fighting choreography beyond anything she’s ever done on screen. And yes, she nails some of her signature acrobatics while punishing her enemies.
Taking a bow in her first action adventure, Oscar nominated (Little Women) Florence Pugh pulls off a stunning performance as Yelena Belova, an ex-Widow, who has to face off against multiple killers. Able to keep up the fast pace she’s put through by her choreographer, I can see her in future action films while bringing along the Yelena attitude.
The special effects people steal the show with the copious amounts of explosive minutes that surround the excellent actors. You’ll find our actors falling from buildings and walking down them as well. They soar in the air as sky scrapers collapse, hang on tall smoke stacks to aid in their escape, leap from helicopters in the sky, ride motorbikes at breakneck speeds, and so much more. Hat’s off to the cinematographers who had to film the scenes and the CGI masters who made it all look real.
Black Widow has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of violence/action, some language and thematic material. The film is available on July 9th in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access. For Marvelites the film’s a must see and for mainstream moviegoers bring along a cushion as you’ll be glued to your seat for two hours and 13 minutes.
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Florence Pugh, Scarlett Johansson, David Hrbour, Rachel Weisz, Olga Kurylenko, Ray Winstone, William Hurt,
Directed by: Cate Shortland 11 credits (LORE)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi (Marvel)
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence/action, some language and thematic material
Running Time: 2 Hrs. 13 Min.
Opening Date: July 9, 2021
Released in: Theaters, Disney+ Premiere
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
