Black Widow fans have been clamouring for a movie based on Scarlett Johansson's lethal Avenger for years, and their pleas were finally addressed when Marvel Studios decided to develop a solo outing for the character... after she'd already died in Avengers: Endgame.
While plans may very well have been in place for a Black Widow movie prior to Natasha Romanoff's fate being decided, the timing seemed a little suspect. Did Marvel always intend to delve into Nat's dark past for an origin tale (of sorts) set between the events of Civil War and Infinity War, or were they simply left with no other choice after killing her off? Based on how this story plays out, we're going to have to assume it was the latter.
Black Widow begins with a flashback to Romanoff's childhood as an undercover Russian operative living in Ohio with her "family." When their cover is blown, they manage to escape and meet up with their handler Dreykov (remember that name?), who sequesters Nat and her little sister Yelena in order to train/indoctrinate them as Red Room assassins.
After an impressive opening sequence set to a grim (well, grimmer) cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," we catch up with Nat 21 years later as she's forced to evade General Ross (William Hurt) for violating the Sokovia Accords. While hiding out in Norway, she receives a strange package from Yelena (Florence Pugh), which draws her back to her homeland for a family reunion and a showdown with Dreykov (Ray Winstone) and his mysterious enforcer, Taskmaster.
Almost the entire first act is dominated by relentless action, and while these sequences are undeniably exciting and adeptly crafted by director Cate Shortland, the film only really sparks to life when Nat and Yelena reconnect with Alexie/Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Melina (Rachel Weisz), with Harbour, in particular, providing much-needed levity and pathos as Russia's answer to Captain America. The real standout, though, is Fighting With My Family's Florence Pugh. If the plan is for Yelena to take over as Black Widow in the MCU, Marvel made a very wise choice.
As for Johannson, while she knows this character inside-out at this point and delivers a strong performance, she winds up being outshone in her own movie, and it's hard to escape the feeling that Marvel was more interested in setting Yelena up as the next Black Widow than giving the one we've come to know and love a proper sendoff.
Nat's tragic demise is barely touched upon, and although themes of sacrifice, redemption and the struggles of coping with trauma are there, we never really dig deep enough into what makes Romanoff tick or explore what might have led to her fateful decision. One might argue that this would have been a bit bleak for a Marvel movie (especially one that already touches on some pretty dark subject matter), but if this is to be Natasha's final MCU appearance, shouldn't it also serve as a eulogy of sorts? Things were never going to get too sombre, of course, but when so much time is dedicated to such pointless distractions (was anyone really itching to find out how Nat acquires her weapons?), it's hard not to see this as a missed opportunity to bid a proper, heartfelt goodbye to the hero.
Black Widow ticks all the boxes as an enjoyable standalone MCU outing, but there's no getting around the fact that this particular story should have been told years ago. As it stands, Shortland's film is a perfectly serviceable action adventure with a fine cast and some exciting set pieces - but it misses the target as a fitting final farewell to the title character.