The wait is finally over! Black Widow is finally out in theatres this weekend and I am so happy that Natasha Romanov is finally getting the highlight she deserves.
I can't help but be sad because I know that moving forward, we would no longer be seeing the "Black Widow" that we know and we have come to love. But I am excited to see what the future holds for the MCU, possibly with a new person taking over her mantle in years to come.
Alright - before you keep reading. The next section from here on out contains SPOLIERS GALORE!
I am an International SUPER SPYYYYY
Timeline-wise for the MCU filmography - the film is set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. This explains why Black Widow is in the movie sans the Avengers. But despite that, we already know she is more than capable of figuring things out for herself and have get supplies and vehicles for her mission through her friend Rick Mason played by O.T. Fagbenle (Hand Maiden's Tale).
Rick Mason was a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, in case you were wondering how he gets his resources. He was said to be romantically linked to Natasha Romanov, but became her go to person when she needs anything.
Fun fact: Rick Mason is the son of the Tinkerer - who was part of the Vulture's henchmen and people who gathered Chitauri, Dark Elf and Ultron technology they salvaged during the Battle of New York.
I know, I know - this does not really make sense due to the timeline. But this is what was in the Spiderman Movie - The Tinkerer is who helped create the Vulture's wings.
Young Natasha looked a bit like a young Mila Jovovich ... because she IS actually Mila Jovovich's daughter, Ever Anderson. And her character almost reminds me of Natalie Portman's Character, Mathilda, in The Professional (1994). In an interview - Mila Jovovich said,
"We call her Baby Widow. She's such a fan of the Marvel movies and you know, Ever is just such an incredible talent. She's just a real natural and it was so wonderful to watch her on set...I mean, literally, she had everybody crying during one of her scenes! She's amazing. I think people are going to be really, really impressed when they see the movie next year.".
My husband and I used to joke that this is how they're going to keep the Resident Evil movies going for years, since Mila has technically cloned herself. LOL! But I digress.
I love the blue hair Natasha was sporting in the beginning scenes because it shows that in such a young age, Natasha marches to the beat of her own drum. And time and time again you will hear in the movie that she works better alone. But she has soon realized she loves being with her family - both the Avengers and the pretend Russian family she had in Ohio with the other characters in the movie.
The movie also recalls the history between Natasha and Clint (Hawkeye), as they go around Budapest. Natasha shows Yelena all the places that her and Clint hid during a mission. Their mission to Budapest is an initiation of sorts for Black Widow to become part of S.H.I.E.L.D. To make sure that Natasha is on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s side - she was sent on a mission to kill Dreykov (Ray Winstone), the man in charge of the Red Room where he trained young girls to become spies. She soon found out in the movie that she failed her mission - Dreykov is still alive and that his daughter survived the blast. Antonia, Dreykov's daughter, sustained partial brain damage, mobility impairment and huge burn marks on her body, particularly the side of the face.
The 'New' Taskmaster
The Taskmaster character is a person who has photographic reflexes, where they can mimic the other person's moves. In the original comic book version, this was actually a male character but in the Black Widow movie they created a twist and made Antonia (Dreykov's daughter) the Taskmaster. I think this surprising twist really does add a good storyline and flow in the movie despite deviating to the original source. But we can expect Marvel to offer roles that were portrayed by men in the comics to female actors. Again, Marvel's attempt to diversify their casting in their movies and TV shows.
Such a POSER
Let me just say that Yelena, played by Florence Pugh, has caught my heart in this movie. She is just such a badass, entertaining and funny at the same time. After watching the movie last night, I posted in my status that I was itching to go shopping for a vest. And I loved that all the comments suggested that I picked one with tons of pockets. Initially I saw people posting how her character was annoying in the movie by people who have seen the movie prior to me watching it. But honestly though I kind of have the same personality as this character. So currently shopping for her cosplay as we speak. I have a feeling, and I think some of you may have also speculated, that she will be taking over the Black Widow mantle as time goes by. And this movie is such a great introduction for her character as well as a great memorial for the OG Black Widow we have known and come to love. Stick around for the end credits to see Yelena visiting Natasha's tombstone and talking to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (aka Madame Hydra). Really looking forward and hoping to see more of Yelena on Phase 4 of Marvel.
The Trumpet is Calling
David Harbour plays Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian and Rachel Weisz plays Melina Vostokoff - the "parents" of Natasha and Yelena in the movie. The Red Guardian is a super soldier developed by Russians during the Cold War. His strength is comparable to Captain America, and you would hear him brag about how much he could match Captain America's strength and how much he fought him and won. I really wish to see this fight scene his character brags about in the future!
Melina is the head scientist and researcher who is also the person behind the mind control of the Black Widows. It's exciting to see Rachel Weisz in this movie and doing some action scenes. I really loved her in the Mummy movies with Brendan Frasier, and the movie Constantine with Keanu Reeves. I always admired how she picks roles of smart and strong characters.
Who Run the World? GIRLS
I love the fact that Marvel highlighted different girls and women from around the world as "Black Widows". Again, highlighting the diversity in their storylines and casting. We already know that this movie will be filled with action packed female badassery. But I like that the movie has highlighted a huge problem that we're experiencing in the real world. Yelena mentions after her and Natasha rescued Alexei from the prison that she no longer has any ovaries because any young girl who gets into the program is forcefully sterilized, and she was very graphic in describing what they did to her reproductive organs.
"I can finally come out of the shadows using the only natural resource
that the world has too much of - Girls.". - Dreykov
In the movie, Dreykov highlighted that the world's most abundant national resource is girls. And all throughout the movie, the characters has spoken at length about human trafficking and the different types of abuse that they experienced in such a young age. Not only are young women being ripped off from their families, but they are abused mentally and psychologically, mutilated. Although this is in a fictional movie, it is a reminder that this issue is still happening around the world.
Overall Review
As I have said before, this movie is definitely worth the wait. It was everything that I expected the movie to be. Although I did wish to see more scenes of them training as young assassins in the Red Room. But then again there has so many movies that have shown similar scenes like this in movies like Angelina Jolie's Salt (2010), Jennifer Lawrence's Red Sparrow (2018), Charlize Theron's Atomic Blonde (2017) and Sasha Luss' Anna (2019).
It was quite a cathartic goodbye and gave me closure on Scarlet Johansson's Black Widow character.
I am sure that whatever Marvel has planned for Phase 4 will be something enjoyable for us all and I am excited to meet all the new characters that they will be bringing into the MCU.
