Destroying the patriarchy - Black Widow review

Destroying the patriarchy, one superhero backflip kick-ass landing at a time.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This is the movie that female Marvel fans have been waiting for. Since the start of the MCU, fans, and in particular, female fans have been waiting for a solo Black Widow film, hoping that it would re-write the misogynistic and patriarchal narrative that the character of Black Widow has been portrayed as for over 50 years. And this film did not disappoint.

A stand out aspect of this film is the actors and the characterisation. Scarlett Johansson (Natasha/Black Widow) brings something new to this role, a new vulnerability and humanity to the character that she hadn’t been given the opportunity to explore before. Florence Pugh (Yelena) creates the most engaging and powerful performance that won’t allow you to take your eyes off her, and you won’t want to. David Harbour (Alexei) and Rachel Weisz (Melina) are great additions to the cast and they bring a new dimension to the film that compliments Johansson perfectly, but also allowing her the room to explore the role in a new way which audiences haven’t seen before. The “family dynamic” is explored in such a clever and interesting way and compliments the plot brilliantly, whilst also ensuring that this film is still a Black Widow stand alone. I was cautious about how this would be explored when the cast and plot was announced as it almost felt like the idea of a “standalone movie” was being slowly taken away, however, it was executed perfectly, and completely necessary to have this other dimension. The film would not have been as interesting or as strong if the 3 other actors hadn’t joined Johansson in this experience.

The movie has its ups and downs, it lies somewhere between a female James Bond spectacle, an interesting spy thriller and a superhero film, which creates a slight dissatisfaction for the audience. It doesn’t have the most intense or suspenseful plot, yet, where this film really lacks is in the “villain” department, it is particularly underwhelming . “Taskmaster” is a killing machine who mimics its enemy’s fighting skills in order to defeat them, and whilst the fight scenes are fun and well executed, this film would have been equally as powerful and interesting if the movie didn’t have a villain at all, and the true villain lies within the deception of the family and the Romanoff’s childhood.

This film must be commended on the incredibly powerful discussion around the female body and the forced hysterectomies given to them by the men in the training camps. Whilst, contextually, forced hysterectomies for assassin Russian crime fighting women are not something that the average viewer of this movie will ever have to deal with in their lifetime, it is an important discussion around the ownership of women’s bodies, and who holds this ownership. It’s a deeply dark and touching backstory to raise within this movie; forced sterilisation of women is still prevalent within our society, and yet I believe, an incredibly necessary conversation to have. Johansson and Pugh may use humour and sarcasm to discuss the topic, and whilst I completely understand this might not to everyone’s taste, potential audiences still must be taken into consideration, and this is a 12A. This is a start, and an important one and I hope that the conversation prevails throughout the next phase of the Marvel movies.

For too long, the idea of a strong female superhero has been one that’s been hidden behind the strong male lead and only brought to the surface when completely necessary, and probably saving the day. However, Black Widow highlights just how important, necessary and doable it is to have women in lead superhero roles. The idea of the male gender and superheroes a thing of the past, and this film is the perfect stepping stone between a more equal and inclusive future in film.

Oh, and of course, Florence Pugh.