It has been two years since the last film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was released in theaters (Spider-Man: Far From Home). As I sat in the theater enjoying that movie I could never have imagined it would be so long before I was able to see another MCU movie in a crowded cinema.  However, after that very long hiatus, I’m happy to say that MCU movies are back at your local multiplex with Black Widow!

Marvel has been keeping busy in 2021, releasing some fantastic series on Disney Plus, but there’s still something about a movie that’s different. So, it was with more excitement than usual that I sat down last night to watch Black Widow.  Let’s get on with the review - spoilers ahead!

When Does this all Happen?

This is a key thing to understand going into the movie. The story in Black Widow occurs between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. So, during this time Natasha (Black Widow) and Captain America were both on the run from the government. They are wanted for violating the Sakovia Accords. Several other Avengers (Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Scarlett Witch, and Falcon) are currently languishing in the super-prison called The Raft after the events of Civil War. While we don’t know exactly where Captain America is during the film, Natasha is trying to stay off the radar, by settling in a remote part of Norway. 

However, her plans to live off the grid go awry almost immediately, when her car is attacked by a costumed villain (we will learn later is named Taskmaster). This new character carries a shield like Captain America and seems like more than a match for Natasha. But, it seems that Natasha isn’t the real target, as Taskmaster seems far more interested in a small storage case that Natasha received in the mail at one of her safehouses. She manages to collect the contents (vials with a glowing red substance) and escape. Her next stop, the safe house where the vials were sent. 

It’s About Family

If there is a recurring theme in Black Widow, it’s “Family”. Natasha’s origin story is related in flashback, when we first meet her as a young girl, living in Ohio with her parents and younger sister. But, that illusion is quickly shattered when we learn that they are actually a Russian sleeper cell, sent to the US so their ‘dad’ could steal some classified information from a lab where he worked and destroy everything else. 

The spy family barely escapes the FBI in the mid-’90s, heading back to Russia, where the two girls are quickly taken into custody and sent to a training facility, called the Red Room, where they are trained as Widows.  Dangerous assassins and spies.  Flash forward to now and an agent we learn is Natasha’s younger ‘sister’ Yelena, is exposed to the contents of a glowing red vial after chasing down a woman carrying the case of vials that will later end up in Natasha’s custody. After exposure, Yelena seems to wake up from some sort of mind-control and runs away from her fellow Widows

The two not-really-sisters have a family reunion, including a great fight scene straight out of a Jason Bourne movie. They call a truce and are quickly attacked by the Widows in full force. Natasha and Yelena escape and plot their next move. It turns out that Natasha’s last act before defecting to the US from the Widows was to kill the Russian general who ran the project, along with his young daughter.  This act still haunts Natasha years later. Yelena explains that the general did not die and is still in charge of the Widows, who are now totally under mind control.   

Perhaps seeing a chance to complete unfinished business, Natasha decides to take down the general and the Red Room. Yelena is onboard, but neither knows where to find it. Thing leads to the full not-really-a-family reunion with their dad (Red Guardian - a Russian super-soldier like Captain America) and the mother Melina, one of the founding Widows. The newly acquainted is taken prisoner by the Taskmaster and the general’s soldiers, and brought to the Red Room.

Non-Stop Action and also Funny

The movie has some spectacular action scenes, We get really the full boat of Jason Bourne and James Bond-style action with car chases in international locales, lots of hand-to-hand combat, some fun shout-outs to MCU heroes (like Taskmaster’s shield), and some big-time destruction and explosions. 

But, when the action isn’t just flying along, we get a lot of funny moments. Specifically with Yelena (Florence Pugh) and Red Guardian (David Harbour). Both are scene-stealing funny and break up not only the action but some serious scenes involving child abduction and torture (largely off-screen). They really balance out the movie nicely.

A New Black Widow?

A big twist comes up as we learn that the spy family allowed themselves to be caught in order to infiltrate the Red Room. Natasha confronts the general, tricking him into not only revealing his plans (a call-back to her scenes interrogating Loki in Avengers) and freeing her from a fragment of mind control he has over her. Meanwhile, the rest of the family escapes, and the group begins causing havoc on the floating airship station that turns out to be the home of the Red Room. Multiple fights take place, while the giant station is in the process of exploding and crashing to the earth.  

Finally, Yelena is able to free the remaining Widows from their mind-control and she also blows up the general’s escape plane with him inside. Natasha had a final fight with the Taskmaster, revealed to be the general’s daughter who survived Natasha’s assassination attempt on them both (a bomb that took down the building), but was badly hurt. She is also freed from her own mind control, joining the rest of the now-free Widows who escape the debris of the station with Yelena, Melina, and Red Guardian. Natasha stays behind to clean up the mess, as the authorities arrive. We don’t see how she evades capture, but our last look at Natasha is as she plans to head off and rescue her Avenger teammates from the Raft. 

Fast forward to the end-credit scene, with Yelena placing flowers on Natasha’s grave after the events of Avengers: Endgame. She is approached by Contessa Valentina from The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and we learn that she is now working as an agent for Val. Her next target: the person responsible for Natasha’s death - Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye.

Watch it or Not?

Definitely watch it. If you love MCU movies, you will not be disappointed. If you love Jason Bourne films, this is right up your alley. It’s a great example of the more grounded MCU movies along the lines of Captain America. It’s a great welcome back to the MCU world.