Black Widow Review: A Good Start to a Marvel Franchise!
-For the Uncensored!
What makes me say this? After watching the entirety of the series, albeit out of order, and the only favorite series that I come to accept is the Captain America series, I do think that the Marvel series got too comfortable with the cheesy humor after a while. I think humor can help relieve tension in films, but there’s always a time and place when humor or love must be in films to help the audience feel better. Me, I am not such a person who needs humor in films to like the dark and sad nature a film has to offer. I don’t need humor all the time, and I like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, as it provides a laughter after a long day of work.
Released on July 9th, 2021, Black Widow offers is more in line with Captain America. Dealing with such themes as child trafficking, mind control, the film does provide some context between the years that the Avengers had after Civil War (2016). Natasha Romanoff (played expertly by Scarlett Johansson) is on the run and she is contacted by her sister, who finds a miracle cure drug that can break mind control that Dreykov (played to nasty perfection by Ray Winstone, from Edge of Darkness and Sexy Beast fame).
What I loved about the film is that there are scenes that are both heart felt but also dealing with comradery and a family that comes together, even when they aren’t. I saw a lot of La Femme Nakita, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Alita, Ghost in the Shell, (a pinch) of Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and Kill Bill as a sort of inspiration for the film itself. Also, as a 90’s kid, “Teen Spirit” a cover of the original hit played in the opening credit sequence, and this has to be said, as an aside. If you’re wondering why the original Kurt Cobain song isn’t playing, it’s because Courtney Love, his wife, still controls his music, and nobody can use it in a film, unless a cover is made. Also a cover of “Something in the Way” was used in the Last of Us trailer. The only film that manages to use a Kurt Cobain song in a film, to my knowledge, is Jarhead (2005).
I do think the film is better than most critics would give it. I hated the humor of the Marvel films. I think the failure in such critics who would hate the film aren’t seeing it with both eyes opened. But I can’t pretend that I wasn’t fixated with the film. It has a vision and it at least wants to say what it has to say.
I think it’s cute that Hollywood still thinks Russia is an enemy, but I’m not confusing this with the outside world and what geopolitics of my time have to say. Let’s not confuse real life with the entertainment we watch, read, and learn to place things in proper context.
This is why knowing film history helps me like the film where others don’t. The positives are outstanding. The cast and the material is the strongest Marvel has had for a long time. The only negative I didn’t like was the reveal when Natasha was facing off with Dreykov. I think if that had been removed, I would have considered it damn near perfect.
While it may not please most fans, and while I did think it was too late for the film, it’s never too late when you have Scarlett Johansson play the role. While others might not like that there was nothing sexy about the main characters, Natasha is a trained killer, and it would be hard to do that within a Marvel film without going to a full R rating. I can honestly say that the inspirations listed accomplish more than Black Widow could do within the Marvel universe, but at least it’s a good start. To be fair, I never liked the first Conjuring film until the second and third movie, and I’m hoping that Marvel will find its rhythm like the Conjuring films did. (I coined the phrase, Christ Compel me out of Boredom while watching it). But I’m hoping that they make this series more R rated in the future. I mean, I would like to see what they could do that Captain America could only do on the peripheral level until the second and third films.
Final Analysis: 3/5
-Louis Bruno is the author of more than 15 books, including, The Michael Project, The Michael Project: Book 2: The Lost Children of Eve, Thy Kingdom Come, The Disintegrating Bloodline, Apocalypse Soldier, Hierarchy of Dwindling Sheep. His books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Lulu. He can be found on Gab, https://gab.com/thereallouistbruno, Minds https://www.minds.com/lbruno8063/. Instagram @lbrruno8063 and @louisbrunoofficialbook. He has written for the Intellectual Conservative and Ephemere. Also, he writes on https://louisbruno.substack.com, where you can support him directly, and where he will post one article a day (the bulk of his work will appear on substack officially). Also he can be found on Our Freedom Book https://www.ourfreedombook.com/thereallouistbruno17. His next series, City of Sand is out now:https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/louis-bruno/city-of-sand/hardcover/product-rke9jz.html?page=1&pageSize=4. Also, if you can’t subscribe so that you can get members only content, please be sure to share the articles, as well. Every little bit helps.