Black Widow gives us an insight into some of Black Widow’s (Natasha Romanoff) past and backstory. One of Marvel’s few films directed by a woman shows us the Avenger from the female gaze. Instead of shots lingering on Scarlett Johansson’s body, we see a strong woman taking control of her dark past and overcoming the men who once had control over her life.
Natasha reconnects with her long lost “family” to take down the people who trained her to become a ruthless assassin, glossing over themes of the deep-rooted trauma Black Widow and many of the other ‘widows’ have had to face under the control of Dreykov. The opening sequence shows young girls being torn away from their regular lives to be trained in a machine-like style to be nothing other than killing machines. The film does a good job of giving Black Widow a satisfying closing story, and yet rarely touches on how Natasha’s assassin upbringing changed her.
This being said, the climactic fight scenes are well choreographed, the film includes strong performances, and the story arc runs fairly well. Unlike Marvel’s ‘Captain Marvel’ which has a more on the nose message about female empowerment, Black Widow shows both vulnerability and strength — whilst also showing Natasha as a complex character, instead of the two extremes of ‘sexy female hero’ or ‘girl boss energy’ as depicted in Captain Marvel.
It would have been more satisfying to dive deeper into Natasha’s past, however the introduction of Yelena, played by Florence Pugh, gives the impression that there will be justice for Black Widow’s death. The film has many plot holes and comedic lines that don’t quite land well, but overall, it is a fun, action packed film.