Susan Granger’s review of “Black Widow” (Walt Disney/Marvel Studios)
At the risk of being stoned as a heretic, I’d best describe Marvel’s action-packed “Black Widow” saga as too many stunts in search of a cohesive story.
It begins in suburban Ohio in 1995, as a seemingly ordinary American ‘family’ gathers for dinner, only to be interrupted by an urgent alert to flee the premises. Taking a cue from Keri Russell & Matthew Rhys in TV’s “The Americans,” they’re actually Russian operatives who have infiltrated US intelligence.
After making their circuitous way to Cuba, the ‘parents’ – Alexi (David Harbous) and Melina (Rachel Weisz) – are separated from their two young ‘daughters,’ Natasha and Yelena, who are whisked off to be ruthlessly trained in the notoriously secretive Red Room as agile Soviet spies.
Grown Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) then defects to the United States, eventually becoming one of the most resourceful Avengers superheroes, introduced in “Iron Man 2” (2010), only to be killed off in “Avengers: Endgame” (2019).
But here – in this origin story – she’s alive and kicking – literally – since she’s a martial arts master.
Eventually – since this is a long (two-hour, 15-minute movie) – she’s reunited with Yelena Belova (scene-stealing Florence Pugh, who played Amy in the “Little Women” remake). After an inevitable ideological/psychological/physical fight, they join forces to battle sinister Dreykov (Ray Winston), who has recruited/trained/sterilized/brainwashed an army of female assassins known as Widows.
Superficially scripted by Eric Pearson (“Thor: Ragnarok”) from a sci-fi story by Jac Schaeffer (“WandaVision”) & Ned Benson and helmed by Australian director Cate Shortland (“Berlin Syndrome”), it’s filled with edgy, large-scale, globe-trotting action pieces, CGI-enhanced and dizzyingly over-edited by Leigh Folsom Boyd (“Furious 7”).
If you plough through the seemingly endless credits, there’s a final ‘surprise’ scene that propels the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a franchise encompassing 20 period & contemporary feature films.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Black Widow” is a bittersweet 5, opening simultaneously on July 9th in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access.
