The second movie I’ve watched this year about family.
Natasha is on the run after the events of Civil War. When she learns that the one responsible for her spy past is still alive after an attempt to eliminate him, it prompts her to find him and the Red Room. In the process, it leads her to a bit of a family reunion.
After a couple of universe-ending films, it feels good to be grounded on earth again. Aside from a super soldier, there are no cosmic or mystical powers present. Instead, we get an action-packed spy film. There is hand-to-hand combat, car chases, and gun fights. It may not topple the action of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but it’s close. It slows down a little bit to allow for exposition, but before you know it, the action crashes back in. The exception to this though, is when the reunion is finally complete, it lingers on the family issues for a little too long. It felt like the argument was going in circles.
***Warning: Spoilers***
It’s nice to see a female lead cast star in a big screen Marvel movie. The performances aren’t outstanding, but this is just an action flick that doesn’t need it. Scarlett is back and we get to see her handle a story without the Avengers. We also get to see her interact with her family, which is new for the character. Meanwhile, Florence Pugh plays the adopted sister, Yelena Belova, as she attempts to save her fellow Black Widows. It definitely feels like a passing of the torch as the movie progresses. The 2 sisters portray their older and younger roles throughout the time we are with them. I’m excited to see what they do with Pugh’s character moving forward in the MCU.
Taskmaster had a bit of an MCU tweak for her debut. Yes, Taskmaster has received a new origin to fit with the current MCU. Unfortunately, other than fighting, the character doesn’t have much to do other than provide a tragic backstory.
With an adoptive family of spies, figuring out who’s on whose side was a bit of a problem. Rachel Weisz as Melina was a bit on the unsympathetic side for most of her screen time, including the heartfelt moments. Opposite to her, David Harbour as Red Guardian, was overbearing towards this family. The two balanced each other out in these ways.
Something about this movie feels different from other MCU entries. It was a bit over serious through most of it. There were some funny jokes, but it felt outweighed by the more serious themes. Speaking of serious themes, this feels like some of the more hard hitting ones compared to previous movies. In addition to those, this also felt more graphic and thrilling for a comic book movie.
It’s unfortunate that this was delayed due to the pandemic, but the stakes were not very high to begin with. Even if this did come out as scheduled, audiences would still know that she lives to see Avengers: End Game. This also had a similar villain scheme as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where an organization has the global reach to execute an order of some sort, most likely killing someone or thing. Also assembling a rag-tag team isn’t new either. This is falling into the samesy feel as the other MCU movies at this point. This might have worked as well as a Disney + release.
This was a fun spy film at the end of the day. Once the action arrives, it keeps an even flow of it through most of the movie. With the unfortunate timing of its release, we didn’t have to worry too much about our lead role. Make sure you stay for the mid-credits scene for a peek into the future of these characters.