Black Widow Recieved Mostly Positive Reviews
Black Widow, the latest Marvel superhero film and the first to focus on Scarlett Johansson’s character. Received mostly positive reviews from critics. It was described as “a stellar vehicle” for the actress by The Hollywood Reporter, and “a lot of fun” by Empire.
The film is a “rousing addendum” for the character, according to Total Film. However, it has been questioned about how it handles issues like forced sterilisation and sexual exploitation of women.
The story revolves around a covert Russian programme that kidnaps, brainwashes, and sterilises young women in order to turn them into deadly undercover operatives.
The film, directed by Cate Shortland, was “inescapably a storey about the abuse and exploitation of young women” according to Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent.
That element, she continued, leads to some “tragically effective” moments, thanks in part to Britain’s Florence Pugh’s “knockout performance.” The film’s “coyness around its central premise,” according to Robbie Collin of The Telegraph, was “an exposing moment” for the blockbuster franchise.
In his review, a villain played by Ray Winstone observes that “girls are the only natural resource the world has too much of.”
Black Widow lacks either the nerve or the moral vocabulary to even spell out..
Collin wrote, “The film lacks either the nerve or the moral vocabulary to even spell out, let alone reckon with, the implications of his statement.”
“The film clearly desires the added gravitas that comes with serious, real-world resonance, but it is unwilling to put in the effort to earn it.”
The film’s “flippant” handling of its characters’ “deeply dark and prescient” histories was also criticised by Gabriella Geisinger of Digital Spy.
Her three-star review went on to say that “dark and disturbing topics” couldn’t be reconciled with “Marvel’s family-friendly mould.”
Johansson recently expressed her dissatisfaction with the way her character was “hyper-sexualized” when she first appeared in the franchise in 2010.
Johansson criticises Black Widow’s sexualization.
Johansson’s character, Natasha Romanoff, returns to Eastern Europe to reunite with former spies she was raised to believe were her relatives in the film Black Widow.
David Harbour, the Stranger Things actor recently married pop star Lily Allen
David Harbour, the Stranger Things actor who recently married pop star Lily Allen, and Rachel Weisz, a British Oscar winner, play them.
Harbour’s “rumbustious and scene-stealer of a comic turn” was praised by The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, who suggested his character “could well ascend to spinoff greatness of his own.”
Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised the American actor for “a surprisingly convincing performance as this blustery Slavic blowhard.”
David Harbour, the Stranger Things actor who recently married pop star Lily Allen, and Rachel Weisz, a British Oscar winner, play them.
Harbour’s “rumbustious and scene-stealer of a comic turn” was praised by The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, who suggested his character “could well ascend to spinoff greatness of his own.”
Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised the American actor for “a surprisingly convincing performance as this blustery Slavic blowhard.”
BBC Culture’s Caryn James awarded the film four stars out of five, saying it was “entertaining and full of action” that was “exhilarating, sleek [and] well-paced”.
Yet Screen Daily’s Tim Grierson said “the size of the spectacle” did not prevent the film from feeling “minor by the standards of the franchise”.
He described it as “a James Bond-style spy thriller” that would “tide audiences over until a bigger, richer adventure comes along”.
The film opens in UK cinemas on 7 July and will be available two days later to Disney+ customers who subscribe to its Premier Access service.
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