Black Widow Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

A middling big-screen return for the MCU.

Black Widow Scarlett Johansson Florence Pugh
Marvel Studios

Some 14 months after it was originally due to drop in cinemas, Black Widow is finally here, putting an end to a two-year big-screen hiatus for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, since the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Many will simply be happy to be back in cinemas watching a Marvel movie again, and that's certainly fair enough, though it's worth knowing that Scarlett Johansson's apparently final outing as Natasha Romanoff is far from a standout outing for the franchise.

Very much the sort of movie you get when an origin story/solo movie comes at least a few years too late, Black Widow is as competently made and acted as you'd expect from any MCU joint, but lacking the heart, soul, and imagination necessary to rise above.

A lower-tier MCU movie for sure, Black Widow dines out on the audience's general goodwill for this character but ultimately doesn't offer up much here you haven't seen before in either a prior superhero movie or any number of spy blockbusters in the Jason Bourne/Mission: Impossible mold.

Still, for audiences craving some reliably watchable tentpole fare, it'll do the job as long as you keep your expectations in check...

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.