“Black Widow” was directed by Cate Shortland, is based the Marvel comic of the same & is the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film sees Scarlett Johansson return to the titular character and stars Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Ray Winstone, O-T Fagbenle & Olga Kurylenko. William Hurt also reprise his MCU character, General “Thunderbolt” Ross, now U.S. Secretary of State. In 2004, a Black Wid0w film was teased but never fell through then the film rights went to Marvel in 2006. Scarlett Johansson made her first appearance in 2010’s “Iron Man 2” however this film didn’t get off the ground until 2017.

Following the events of “Captain America: Civil War”, Natasha Romanoff (Johansson) is now a fugitive on the run from U.S. Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross (Hurt). With the help of her close friend, Rick Mason (Fagbenle) Natasha flees to Norway where she is attacked by an unknown mysterious cybernetic assassin known as “Taskmaster” (Kurylenko). After she escapes Taskmaster, Natasha then goes to Budapest where she reunites with her sister, Yelena Belova (Pugh). In Budapest, they are attacked by a mysterious group of female assassins. Natasha is shocked to learn that the group of assassins are the Red Room, the same group that made her the weapon she once was and are led by the same man she allegedly killed, Dreykov (Winstone). Natasha & Yelena then free their adaptive father, Alexei Shostakov (Harbour) who is also the Red Guardian, the Russian counterpart to Captain America, from prison. They join their mother, Melina (Weisz) and decide to finish the job after learning that Dreykov has been growing a Black Widow army under a mind control formula created by Melina. Now, Natasha must stop Dreykov from not only starting an all out world war but also making sure that the horrors that she and other Widows that suffered through will never happen again.

In my personal opinion, this movie should’ve came out years ago like around “Thor: The Dark World” & “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” but much like “Captain Marvel”, Marvel was too late to the party. This film was mediocre at best due to the simple fact that we’ve already her die in “Avengers: Endgame” so her journey in this film has no real merit or sense of urgency cause we know she has already appeared in the 3 movies that follow this particular story. Florence Pugh’s performance is actual the standout, which is surprising cause Johansson is a bit subtle and not as vulnerable as she was in “The Winter Soldier”. Pugh gives a performance that is funny, heartbreaking & vulnerable. David Harbour & Rachel Weisz both give solid performances and are entertaining both together & in their own rights. The character of Taskmaster was terrible and takes the mantle of Worst MCU Villains. I mean, they didn’t bother with a proper background or development. The film feels a bit tacky & serves really as filler and or a possible final send off for Scarlett Johansson from the MCU. It’s like the fans were pissed that Captain Marvel got a movie before Black Widow but jut like that film it comes off as fan service & no real commitment and just like “here you go, enjoy”. You can clearly tell they have big plans for Florence Pugh’s character cause of her performance and the post credit scene which I WILL NOT reveal. (No Spoilers Here)

Overall, this was an entertaining film that is worth the price of admission. I recommend seeing this film on the big screen. Don’t fall for the Premier Access on Disney+ cause that’s a totally scam unless actually have $30 to spare to add on to the base monthly price. The movie has its moments but will be easily forgettable. The long wait during the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t help either. It was a long awaited disappointment. You get solid backstories from the character in the first “Avengers” film as well as “The Winter Soldier” and the Scarlett Johansson gives better performances in the last 2 “Avengers” films. She deserved better & we as an audience deserve better in a MCU solo film. Hopefully, with the other female characters that are scheduled for release, Marvel can do them justice in upcoming projects.