Black Widow

***Black Widow*** is an 2021 American dramatic thriller superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It will be a prequel about Black Widow's origins set between *Captain America: Civil War* (2016) and *Avengers: Infinity War* (2018) as well as the the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Cate Shortland and stars Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone and Rachel Weisz. It premiered on June 29, 2021 at various events around the world, and was theatrically released on July 9, which will be simultaneous in theaters and through Disney+ with Premier Access. It is the first film in Phase Four of the MCU, and was delayed three times from an original May 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Plot

In 1995, super soldier Alexei Shostakov and Black Widow assassin Melina Vostokoff work as Russian undercover agents, posing as a family in Ohio with Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova as their daughters. They steal S.H.I.E.L.D. intel and escape to Cuba where their boss, General Dreykov, has Romanoff and Belova taken to the Red Room for training as Widows. In the following decades, Shostakov is imprisoned in Russia while Romanoff and Belova become successful, dangerous assassins. Romanoff eventually defects to S.H.I.E.L.D. after helping Clint Barton bomb Dreykov's Budapest office, which apparently kills Dreykov and his young daughter Antonia.

In 2016, Romanoff is a fugitive for violating the Sokovia Accords. She escapes from U.S. Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross and flees to a safehouse in Norway supplied by Rick Mason. Meanwhile, Belova kills a rogue former Widow but comes in contact with a synthetic gas that neutralizes the Red Room's chemical mind-control agent. Belova sends antidote vials to Romanoff, hoping she and the Avengers can free the other Widows, and goes into hiding. When Romanoff is unknowingly driving with the vials in her car, Red Room agent Taskmaster attacks her. Romanoff escapes from Taskmaster and realizes that the vials came from Budapest. There she finds Belova, who reveals that Dreykov is alive and the Red Room is still active. Widows and Taskmaster attack them, but Romanoff and Belova evade them and meet with Mason, who supplies them with a helicopter.

Romanoff and Belova break Shostakov out of prison to learn Dreykov's location, and he directs them to Vostokoff, who lives on a farm outside Saint Petersburg. There she is refining the chemical mind control process used on the Widows. Vostokoff alerts Dreykov and his agents arrive to take them, but Romanoff convinces Vostokoff to help them and the pair use face mask technology to switch places. At the Red Room, a secret aerial facility, Vostokoff frees Shostakov and Belova from their restraints. Dreykov sees through Romanoff's disguise. He reveals that Taskmaster is Antonia, who suffered damage in the Budapest bombing that was so severe Dreykov had to put technology in her head to save her. This turned Antonia into the perfect soldier, capable of mimicking the actions of anyone she sees. Romanoff is unable to attack Dreykov due to a pheromone lock installed in every Widow, but negates that by breaking her own nose and severing her olfactory nerve. Shostakov battles Taskmaster while Vostokoff takes out one of the facility's engines, and they then lock Taskmaster in a cell.

Dreykov escapes as other Widows attack Romanoff, but Belova exposes them to the antidote. Romanoff copies the locations of other Widows worldwide from Dreykov's computer as the facility begins to explode and fall. She retrieves two surviving antidote vials and frees Taskmaster from the locked cell. Vostokoff and Shostakov escape via a plane while Belova takes out Dreykov's aircraft, killing him. In freefall, Romanoff gives Belova a parachute before battling Taskmaster. After landing, Romanoff uses one antidote vial on Taskmaster and gives the other to Belova along with the locations of the other mind-controlled Widows so she can find and free them. Belova, Vostokoff, and Shostakov say goodbye to Romanoff and leave with Antonia and the freed Widows. Two weeks later, Mason supplies Romanoff with a Quinjet to use in freeing the imprisoned Avengers.

In a post-credits scene set after Romanoff's death, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine visits Belova at Romanoff's grave. De Fontaine blames Romanoff's death on Barton and assigns him as Belova's next target.

## Good Qualities

1. It finally tells the mysterious backstory of Black Widow prior to her first appearance in *Iron Man 2* after many previous hints at significant events of her past in the earlier films. It also revealed various things that were mentioned in previous movies:
	* What exactly happened at Budapest between her and Hawkeye.
	* What exactly happened between her, Dreykov and Dreykov's daughter, which Loki reminded her in *The Avengers*.
	* What happened during the flashbacks seen in *Avengers: Age of Ultron* in which it was shown how Natasha was sterilized as part of her training by Madame B and how the procedure traumatized her.
	* What happened with Nat's parents after a deleted scene of *Captain America: Civil War* stated that she found their gravestones in Russia and that she learned that her father's name was Ivan in *Avengers: Endgame*.
2. It has a more realistic story, in a way, it's like Marvel Studios made a *James Bond* movie.
3. Good acting given the talents of Scarlett Johansson, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, and Florence Pugh.
4. Really neat directing by Cate Shortland.
5. Good fighting sequences as expected from prior MCU films.
6. It has some emotional and poignant moments.
7. Epic musical score by *The Lego Batman Movie* composer.
8. It had a lot of interesting characters. For example:
	* Yelena is a very funny character, but she isn't a butt-monkey either, because she had some great moments, like commenting on Natasha doing "the pose" and doing it herself (only to become disgusted) for example.
	* Alexei is also very funny, being the awkward loving dad and his hate towards his rival, Captain America, further solidifies that fact.
9. The cover of "Smells like Teenage Spirit" by Think Up Anger ft. Malia J. makes the opening credits creepy, which could be intentional since it is showing how kids were kidnapped, trafficked and made into Black Widows of the Red Room against their will.
10. Good cinematography.

## Bad Qualities

1. Taskmaster is a disappointing villain, even those who love the MCU could not deny how disappointing the character is. Not only was the character rewritten from male to female, there was very little hints as to who the identity of Taskmaster is as well as the character never speaks until she says 3 words at the end of the movie. The thing is, in the comics, Taskmaster is well known for being cocky and very talkative when fighting, he's a second "Merc with a Mouth", if you will. To see none of that in the movie further proves why the villain is disappointing. While it would make sense in terms of the movie, many audience members would disagree with that statement and would declare the villain to be non-canon.
2. While Alexei was funny, his character was never really treated with respect. Unlike the other characters, his grief and tragedy was just ignored. For instance, when he was trying to genuinely apologize to Natasha and Yelena, the scene is treated as a joke. Compare that with Wanda in WandaVision, who got the chance to have a final and sincere conversation with her kids.
3. The opening scene could be confusing for many, mainly due to it being hard to tell it's actually Black Widow until the opening credits play.
4. It may drag on for too long at times, just like *Cruella*.
5. Some scenes may be considered unfunny.
6. The infamous Yelena jumping scene.
7. Some people might say this film should've been released MUCH MUCH earlier due to Black Widow's death in *Avengers: Endgame*.