After a couple of attempts to see Black Widow in 3D, which sadly never happened as each time I tried to see the film there were some projector issues, I took to the IMAX screen to check out the return of Scarlett Johansson in the movie that was delayed thanks to the cursed pandemic!
Those who are fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will know the sad outcome of the Black Widow character which we saw in Avengers: Endgame, but putting that aside and knowing that Marvel doesn’t exactly do their film in timeline order, this new movie is set after Captain America: Civil War and also gives a little back story to Natasha Romanoff’s history to help build on the Black Widow character.
I have to say that Ever Anderson (daughter of Mila Jovovich) really played the part of a young Natasha very well in the opening scenes of the film, she brought real emotion to the character that we haven’t really seen before with the Black Widow as she the adult version we have all come to know hides her emotions well.
It was strange seeing an opening credit sequence in the movie, we don’t really get those in the MCU, but it works brilliantly to show us what is happening to the young Natasha and her sister, it also establishes that Drekov (Ray Winstone) is heartless and has only wanted to create his army of Black Widow’s by ripping them away from their lives and training them in the “Red Room”.
There are some great moments in Black Widow and I have to say that although this is Scarlett Johansson‘s film it is Florence Pugh that steales the movie for me, her quips and one-liners are brilliant and had me laughing out loud, her observation of Natasha’s “superhero pose” is priceless even to the point where she tries it herself, stands up shivers stands up and walks away, she certainly brings some well-timed comedy that isn’t over the top to the movie.
I wasn’t overly sure about David Harbour (Hellboy, Stanger Things) as Alexei/The Red Guardian or should that be The Crimson Dynamo at first, but he plays the part well, I would like to see him return at some point of Phase 4 for some more of his antics and hopefully, he would also return with Melina (Rachel Weisz) as they do make a good odd couple.
Black Widow is certainly a movie to check out for the launch of Phase 4 in the MCU, it is packed with action, emotion and comedy, OK it is taking us back a fair bit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline but it works, we finally get to know where Natasha/Black Widow went after Civil War before we saw her return in Avengers: Infinity War and as I mentioned earlier, Marvel are renowned for not following a timeline by release.
Seeing Black Widow in IMAX is certainly an experience, not only do we get an amazing sound mix with the use of the powerful speakers that engulf you in the action, but we also get several scenes in IMAX screen ratio and the scenes look stunning as the screen opens up from it’s 2.35:1 ratio to the IMAX 1.90:1 Expanded Aspect Ratio (EAR), the 22 minutes worth of IMAX really take you further into the action and it’s well worth checking out the film in IMAX if you can.
Director Cate Shortland (Lore, Somersault) has certainly done a good job with Black Widow and it is going to be interesting to see where we go from here in the MCU and how the characters from this movie will fit in with the rest of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yes, we may already know the fate of Natasha Romanoff but there is more to come from Black Widow and after the post-credits sequence that brings in a character from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier it’s looking like we have much more to excite us in the big screen from the MCU.
Black Widow Returns!
Movie title: Black Widow (2021)
Movie description: Natasha Romanoff confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises.
Date published: July 9, 2021
Country: UK
Duration: 2h 14min
Director(s): Cate Shortland
Actor(s): Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Summary
A welcome return of Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow and a great introduction to Florence Pugh’s Yelena.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
