Black Widow Movie Review & Comments

Sounds a tad disappointing; perhaps I'd hyped myself up too much for a Winter Soldier-esque affair.

Winstone and a dodgy accent will grate me for sure :laugh:

Still, I'll be there next week to see it. Can't not see an MCU jobber first on the big screen.
 
Got this nailed on for a Meerkat movie night. Worth a fiver to see it on the big screen.
 
Agree with a lot of the review, though I think enjoyed it more and would give it a solid 8 (for whatever a /10 score is worth these days).

I think the problem with this, and the Marvel shows, is that increasingly the worst bits of an MCU title are the "MCU" bits, the sily third act that they all inevitably have to have. It'll be the same with the Eternals as well I'm sure. We'll have an indie style film, with a load of emotional heft right up to the point where it turns into a video game cut-scene.

I think it's a real pity, as films like Joker and Logan show just how you can push the genre. But given the constraints of the MCU, a more serious film will always come undone in the third act.

I really, really hated Winstone's performance. That and the really, reeeeeeeeally silly final fight were the only real negatives for me. Other than that I think this is upper-middle tier Marvel, a decent send off for Natasha and one hell of an introduction to Yelena.

Also, sorry to be that guy, but I think this is in the wrong forum. 🙂
 
Perfect review and score Tom, esp the "we’re watching a Marvel movie and so must enjoy (or endure) a mass of weightless CGI puppets and explosions before we get to the end credit stinger."
 
If I ignore the obvious Disney plants, every review I've read or heard has two basic themes. That it's a phase 1 movie mascarading as a phase 4 movie. That this is Yelena's movie and Natasha is pretty much a bystander until the final poorly executed CGI sky beam fight.

Saying that I like some of the Phase 1 movies and I assume I won't dislike this movie as well. I just wouldn't have any of them in my collection.
 
Agree with a lot of the review, though I think enjoyed it more and would give it a solid 8 (for whatever a /10 score is worth these days).

I think the problem with this, and the Marvel shows, is that increasingly the worst bits of an MCU title are the "MCU" bits, the sily third act that they all inevitably have to have.
I couldn't have put it better myself.
It's an interesting take and one I wouldn't have agreed with pre Endgame/Far from home. But Black Widow looks midling at best when it should have been Natasha's final swan song and Eternals looks like it might be a giant CW show. I hope I'm wrong on both counts. Shang Chi looks like it might be fun.
 
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Despite having seen almost every MCU flick on the big screen, the slightly middling reviews have left me thinking over a Disney+ rental. Or maybe even leaving it until October as a freebie.
 
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Maybe its a case of too little, too late. A lot of the 7/10's I'm hearing come across like 5s or 6s in denial.

I must admit, my Marvel love affair is feeling increasingly strained lately. Wandavision is the only thing that's tickled my taste buds since Endgame. I'm beginning to wonder if we're growing apart. It's not you, its me.
 
Watched it last night at my local. It's OK, but it all seems like necrophilia given that the initial MCU is over, and that you can't push Romanoff being long dead far enough back into your mind.

The big "reveal" is no surprise if you have read the cast on the opening credits, and the pattern of modern filmmaking played out again, which dictates that a much-vaunted returning character/actor will only be in a couple of scenes. Sure enough, William Hurt only has bookending appearances. Speaking of which, the old set-your-watch/3-2-1-BANG of action/jolt scenes is full force, and you crave a straight chase scene which focuses on adrenaline rather than flipping or smashing heavy vehicles.

Won't reveal the post-credit scene,
"but Disney have hit a new low, practically screaming: "And you can see it all on Disney+"

I'll always have a soft-spot for most iterations of Marvel. I paid £2 for the ticket at my local, and can say I got my money's worth.
 
I think I said somewhere in one of the Marvel threads about 5 years ago that we should have had a Black Widow movie. Obviously at that point I didn't know this one would end up happening.

But the time to do it was clearly before Endgame.

They teased her back story enough times, it is a bit perplexing why it didn't happen sooner. Possibly the only misstep from Feige et al during the whole shebang.
 
Dodgy or not, being able to see Black Widow in action one more time still makes me happy!
 
I also think the Hulk has been short-changed really, and Ruffalo deserved at least an outing of his own. Norton got one!!

Although I do love Ragnarok and how he was worked into that. So it just about appeases me.
 
I also think the Hulk has been short-changed really, and Ruffalo deserved at least an outing of his own. Norton got one!!
Up until relatively recently there was still some licensing jive preventing that, I think.
But I've seen rumours circulating in the last couple of months that there maybe a DTD+ standalone affair for Ruffalo as a launching point for... Oh, I don't know, a Rick Jones TV show or an Amadeus Cho movie or something equally misguided.
 
Sounds good. Thanks for the review Tom.

Girlfriend and I are still trying to decide if this will be the first movie to see in a commercial cinema (post COVID-19 lockdown), or whether to watch it in the home cinema via Disney+ ...

Regards,
James.
 
Maybe its a case of too little, too late. A lot of the 7/10's I'm hearing come across like 5s or 6s in denial.

I must admit, my Marvel love affair is feeling increasingly strained lately. Wandavision is the only thing that's tickled my taste buds since Endgame. I'm beginning to wonder if we're growing apart. It's not you, its me.
Similar for me. Enjoyed WandaVision, but Falcon/Winter Soldier and Loki (so far) haven't done much for me overall. Shang-Chi and Eternals look fine, but I'm only really chomping at the bit for Spidey 3 and Doctor Strange and all that multiverse stuff. Happy to be surprised by any new material though.
 
I think I said somewhere in one of the Marvel threads about 5 years ago that we should have had a Black Widow movie. Obviously at that point I didn't know this one would end up happening.

But the time to do it was clearly before Endgame.

They teased her back story enough times, it is a bit perplexing why it didn't happen sooner. Possibly the only misstep from Feige et al during the whole shebang.
The answer to that was the tyrannical reign of Ike Perlmutter as head of Marvel's movie division and absolutely HORRIBLE person. Every director fell out with him, all of their projects - after the initial Iron Man was an unexpectedly huge success - were buggered about with, and nobody liked him at all.

This is the guy whom when firing Terrence Howard as Rhodes for the audacity to asking for the same money to do Iron Man 2, said to "just cast any other black actor - nobody will notice the difference". He really came unstuck when his penny-pinching ways saw him propose not having Tony Stark in Civil War, and replacing him with another character, as RDJ was very expensive. He was given his marching orders right after that!

There were no Black Widow action figures during his time at the company, as he was adamant that "boys don't want to play with dolls, and girls have no interest in this stuff". The same sweeping generalisation was applied to a Black Widow movie, and given how far ahead Marvel plans things, this was the earliest opportunity to so a solo film.

It is any surprise that Perlmutter was Trump's biggest campaign donor in the 2016 election?
 
I'm not a great lover of back stories especially when the characters ultimate demise is known. I will probably watch it at some point. Someone mentioned its nice to see her for one last outing however due to the way time travel was dealt with in endgame they have the ability to pick any deceased character out of the past, make a new movie as long as they are returned to the point they where taken from. I'm sure Disney are aware of this but for me it made endgame a bit ludicrous.
 
Up until relatively recently there was still some licensing jive preventing that, I think.
But I've seen rumours circulating in the last couple of months that there maybe a DTD+ standalone affair for Ruffalo as a launching point for... Oh, I don't know, a Rick Jones TV show or an Amadeus Cho movie or something equally misguided.

Cas upsets me enough on the DC side, don't you start on the Marvel side!! :laugh:
 
Just came back from seeing it on the big screen. Yeah, its a Marvel movie, and came with all that baggage, but I enjoyed it. Passed the no yawn test for me. Personally I would have to give it an 8.5 as it was (for me) a much better film than The Tomorrow War, which also got a 7.
 
There’s a lot of negative nelly’s around here. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Less of an origin story, more of a coming to terms with your past story. Almost the perfect blend of action, laughs and family drama, in the way that only marvel can. Loved it. 8/10
 
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Maybe its a case of too little, too late. A lot of the 7/10's I'm hearing come across like 5s or 6s in denial.

I must admit, my Marvel love affair is feeling increasingly strained lately. Wandavision is the only thing that's tickled my taste buds since Endgame. I'm beginning to wonder if we're growing apart. It's not you, its me.

My Marvel days ended with Infinity War so I took this as just a standalone movie and it worked out better for me like that. Scarlett deserved her own movie and this delivered without the need of the other avengers.
 
I didn't enjoy any of the TV stuff, but I've yet to watch Loki.

I'll agree it's a bit late for this, should have had it much sooner. I've just finished a Marvel-athon in preparation, just Spider-Man Far From Home tomorrow and that's me.

Overall I enjoyed watching them again and seeing the world-building and characters developing.

High Points -

Thor Ragnarok
Guardians of The Galaxy
Captain America Winter Soldier and Civil War
Avengers Infinity War and Endgame

Low Points -

Thor: The Dark World
Iron Man 3

Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.II and Black Panther I'm mixed about.
 
I didn't enjoy any of the TV stuff, but I've yet to watch Loki.

I'll agree it's a bit late for this, should have had it much sooner. I've just finished a Marvel-athon in preparation, just Spider-Man Far From Home tomorrow and that's me.

Overall I enjoyed watching them again and seeing the world-building and characters developing.

High Points -

Thor Ragnarok
Guardians of The Galaxy
Captain America Winter Soldier and Civil War
Avengers Infinity War and Endgame

Low Points -

Thor: The Dark World
Iron Man 3

Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.II and Black Panther I'm mixed about.
Agree with your High Points and Low points, though for me Black Panther makes it into High Points
Yep, GOTG 2 I'm split as well - though the whole section when Thor turns up & Starlord tries to match him onboard the ship is so spot on that I'll suffer the bad bits just for that! :D
 

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