Reviews for Marvel’s Black Widow are hitting the internet and most reviews are saying it’s a worthy sendoff for Scarlett Johansson’s MCU character, Natasha Romanoff. Also, this movie will be the first Marvel Studios film in 2 years to be released in theaters since the pandemic. It will play a big part in helping the theater industry bounce back from losses due to temporarily closures because of the Covid-19 precautions.
Will Black Widow be popular enough to draw folks into the theaters? The first critical reviews offer something of mixed bag. Some critics saying it’s exactly what movie theaters need at this time and some are saying it’s a little too late. Read the spoiler-free Black Widow reviews below.
The Black Widow movie is more than just fancy stunts and fights
“…Audiences going into “Black Widow” may still wonder what, exactly, they’re going to get to see the title character do. In Scarlett Johansson’s appearances in the MCU thus far, going back to “Iron Man 2,” she’s been a kick-ass fighter in sleek leather with a few signature jackknife moves. I wondered, or maybe feared, that “Black Widow” would be two hours of that. It’s not; it’s much more interesting and absorbing. – Variety
The film is Bourne-ready
Bad accents abound and no amount of fun can salvage the third-act cliché of a giant burning object falling from the sky, but overall, “Black Widow” amounts to a satisfying addition to “The Bourne Identity” franchise. Of course, it’s actually a solid beginning to the latest cycle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the appeal of the MCU has always stemmed from the way it plays off existing formulas with dollops of spruced-up action strewn throughout, and the 24th entry hits all of those beats with style to spare. – IndieWire
Black Widow’s solo movie storyline is ambitious, but leaves an aftertaste of intense tragedy
“The film is, in a word, ambitious. It’s a superhero flick but also an espionage action-thriller, a dysfunctional family drama, a send-off, and overwhelmingly, a film about recovering from abuse. Much of it doesn’t feel like a Marvel film at all, thanks to the darker tone used to tell the story of a Russian program that kidnaps young girls and trains them to become assassins. There isn’t a catalyzing event that gave Natasha superpowers — no radioactive spider bite or gamma bomb. And Natasha already defected to S.H.I.E.L.D., though viewers will get clarity on why she joined in the first place. The film centers on affirming why she continues on the path of heroism, beyond just escaping the confines of her past life. Though it resolves on a hopeful note, it leaves an aftertaste of intense tragedy for one of Marvel’s original Avengers.” – IGN
THR says it’s better than Captain Marvel
“Directed by Cate Shortland with propulsive excitement, humor and pleasingly understated emotional interludes, this standalone proves a stellar vehicle for Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff, given first-rate support by Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz and David Harbour. Shifting away from the superhero template into high-octane espionage thriller territory, it makes a far more satisfying female-driven MCU entry than the blandly bombastic Captain Marvel.” – THR
It’s a little too late according to Collider
“While the family dynamic is fun and the mission is standard Marvel fare, Black Widow ultimately feels like it’s telling the wrong story, but it has no choice given where it falls in the MCU timeline. Had this movie come out in the mid-2010s, they still could have gone the prequel route but told the story about Budapest and her fateful meeting with Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner). We know that’s an important turning point in her life, and it would have been cool to see how it unfolded and changed her direction from hired assassin to S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Instead, the story we’re getting is more of a backdoor pilot for the Yelena Belova show. I can only hope Marvel does better by Yelena than they did by Natasha.” – Collider
Do these Black Widow reviews convince you to watch the latest MCU film in the theaters or has the ship sailed and a quiet night at home watching Scarlet Johannson on Disney+ good enough? Let us know in the comment section below.
Marvel’s Black Widow premieres next week, July 9th in theaters and on Disney+.
