The focus has shifted to the law suit between Disney and Scarlett Johansson – which is a pity as the Cate Shortland-directed origin tale is one of the best in the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon.
As a child, Natasha Romanoff and her younger sister Yelena were taken from their ‘parents’ (a sleeper family based in Ohio) and trained as deadly assassins. Now an outlawed Avenger, the Black Widow must alone confront events tied to her Russian past – and deal with a sister (Florence Pugh) with her own agenda. The present includes faces from the past – so-called father David Harbour and mother, Rachel Weisz. But more threatening to the sisters is the sadistic Dreykov, former head of their training program.
There’s plenty of fast-paced action in a good old-fashioned spy thriller, 21st century style. But with Shortland at the helm, character, dialogue and an engrossing narrative are given equal focus. A Black Widow stand-alone has been a long time coming, but it’s worth the wait – with Harbour very nearly stealing the show from the two sisters.
Rating: 70%
Director: Cate Shortland (Somersault, Berlin Syndrome)
Writer: Eric Pearson (Godzilla vs. Kong, Thor: Ragnarok)
Main cast: Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit, The Avengers), Florence Pugh (Little Women, Lady Macbeth), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener, The Favourite)
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