*I assume everyone who’d read this review already knows at this point, but just in case: spoilers for Endgame.*
I just went to a movie theater for the first time in over 16 months. In order to deal with my germophobia, I was as strategic as I could be – deliberately picked a 9:45pm showing on a weeknight to avoid crowds (I wasn’t working the next day,) selected a seat in the back corner to hopefully put distance between myself and anyone else in the theater (with the size of the screen the film was showing on, it was still a pretty good vantage,) and wore my mask the whole time – but still. I was there. I saw the movie. And I was able to enjoy myself. Plus, this experience gave me hope for being able to do the same thing for Shang-Chi! (P.S. boo for not airing the Shang-Chi trailer beforehand, I was so hoping to see that on the big screen.)
Set in the immediate aftermath of Civil War, Natasha Romanoff is on the run for violating the Sokovia Accords. With some of her friends viewing her as a turncoat, others imprisoned in the Raft, and Cap in the wind, she prepares to make her own way. However, a chance encounter sends her back to another dysfunctional found family from her past, the Russian operatives that formed her The Americans-style sleeper-agent “family” in her childhood. After reuniting with her “sister” Yelena, a fellow Black Widow, Natasha is appalled to learn that the Red Room is still operating, and she invites Yelena to help her enlist their “parents” and take it down once and for all.
We’ll start with the elephant in the room. It sucks that this movie is coming out post-Endgame, that we never got this backstory on Natasha while she was alive. I really enjoyed the film, but it made me angry all over again about Natasha’s ultimate ending. It also made me think about how the MCU has given us so many facts about Natasha’s past without actually delving into what those facts meant for her. In a way, my reaction to this film was a little like seeing Black Panther after being introduced to T’Challa in Civil War, that sense of, “Okay, wow, I already liked you, but I didn’t realize just how much fuller you could be!” The difference is that, for Natasha, this retroactive solo film comes after a full ten years of her in the MCU.
So let’s get into it. In the fine tradition of Marvel films playing with their genre mixes, this is a superhero spy thriller, featuring all sorts of fun spycraft, double bluffs, and cool action. I love the idea of Taskmaster, an antagonist with muscle mimicry who can perfectly copy anyone’s fight moves after having seen them in action. This offers up some cool Easter eggs in the action sequences, although I wish the film had done more with it and gone deeper with the character. We’re also given a much more in-depth look at the Red Room, which is treated with the proper horror and disgust. The opening title sequence, in which a haunting cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” plays over footage of girls being trafficked/trained for the Red Room, is just stunningly done.
Natasha’s an intriguing character in that, while she gives off a very self-sufficient air, her supporting role in the MCU means we’ve pretty much always seen her in the larger context of the Avengers as a group. As such, it’s interesting that her solo film almost immediately reconnects her with her “family”: dad Alexei, mom Melina, and sister Yelena. But it’s a good choice. All three of these characters are entertaining and engaging, and through them, we’re able to see different sides of Natasha. There’s a lot of good humor, as well as emotionally-resonant moments for this fake family with a real history together, and Natasha and Yelena’s connection with one another provides an important outlet for exploring some of the psychological effects of the Red Room and being a Black Widow.
Scarlett Johansson is as great in the role as ever, and like I said, it’s neat to see different sides of Natasha as she interacts with these different characters. Even though she’s been involved in a decent share of humor throughout the films, I’m trying to remember if we’ve ever seen someone tease her and give her crap like her faux family does here, and it’s interesting to see such a focused, mission-oriented character turn her attention to something really personal. Florence Pugh, who I loved as Amy in the new Little Women, does a great job playing a very different combative little sister. As Yelena, she’s tough and sarcastic and hardened, but she’s also vulnerable and searching for something, the specifics of which she can’t entirely articulate yet. David Harbour (Hopper from Stranger Things) is a hoot as Alexei, an aging super-soldier who wants to relive his “glory days,” and the always-reliable Rachel Weisz does well with Melina, a brilliant, dedicated agent who has plenty going on beneath the surface. The film also features Ray Winstone as Dreykov, the head of the Red Room, and O-T Fagbenle (best known to me as Luke on The Handmaid’s Tale) as an old associate of Natasha’s.
Warnings
Violence, strong thematic elements (including child trafficking and references to forced hysterectomies,) language, and drinking/smoking.
No comments:
Post a Comment