The Very Spoiled Black Widow Review, And My Final Thoughts (it's worth watching)

 

Since this is a stand-alone movie, there's not a whole lot of jaw-dropping spoilers but if you want to watch the movie with fresh eyes, stop reading. 

A quick summary of the movie... 

The movie begins with a flashback to 1995 in Ohio. Young Natasha is riding on her bike through her neighborhood and waving at kids her age. When she arrives home she is greeted by her little 6-year-old sister Yelena. They have a strong bond and if they get injured, their mom Melina (played by Rachel Weisz) always tells them that their “pain makes them stronger.” 

That evening their father Alexei (played by David Harbour) comes home and tells the family they must leave after stealing some information from the US government - he's obviously a Russian spy and we learn later what he stole from the government. Young Natasha knows where they're going, and she doesn't want to leave but little Yelena doesn't know what it's all about and thinks they're going on a “real adventure.” They escape from SHIELD and end up in Cuba where the fake family is split up. Natasha will do anything to keep Yelena from being taken to the Red Room (the Black Widow training center), but they're both sedated and sent to Red Room, being forced into the Black Widow program where they are trained as assassins. This is actually an emotional scene to watch as a sister and a mom, just a heads up. 

Jumps to the future 2016...

Yelena is on a Black Widow assignment in Budapest (I know), and trying to get some special formula from a rouge widow. (Not a single woman whose husband has died but a spy Black Widow), and we learn this formula is the key to helping all these girls who were forced into the Red Room, as it counteracts a serum in them that makes them obedient to Dreykov, their horrible leader (played by Ray Winstone). The formula is released on Yelena and she realizes what's going on, so she gets the vials out of the country and gets them delivered to Natasha, thinking she'll take them to the Avengers.

The movie takes place post-Captain America: Civil War so the Avengers are split up. Natasha goes into hiding in Norway where she meets up with a friend Mason (O-T Fagbenle - Luke from Handmaids Tale) who helps hide her from the US government. Anyway, Mason tells her there's a box with some stuff from Budapest and Natasha puts the box in the back of her car, not knowing the super important vials are in it. After learning about the vials after a crazy fight with a mysterious assassin, she meets up again with Yelena in Budapest and the adventure beings. 

Along the way, they break Alexei out of prison who is obsessed with being the Red Guardian - a super soldier like Captain America - and they meet up again with their fake mom Melina who is more of a scientist than a Russian spy, who actually created the mind control serum. This leads to the fake family reunion, where Natasha learns she has two families, even if they're not blood. They work as a team to take down Dreykov and in doing so we get nods from previous tactics from early Avengers films. 

There's the summary, but there are other honorable mentions: They did mention Budapest, and Natasha gives some details about her and Clint and what happened there. It was her mission to prove her loyalty to SHIELD and her and Clint had to hide there for 10 days and spent two days in a vent in a train station. There's a nod to bow and arrow holes in the wall of an apartment but doesn't go into more details besides that there are holes in the wall. 

We also learn that Natasha is the one who broke out Clint, Sam, and Scott out of The Raft Prison!

And some fan theories believing that Steve Rogers actually ended up with Natasha, in the end, was also debunked since we never saw Steve in the film. 

There were no cameos from any other Avengers in this film or Nick Fury, who also teased in Captain Marvel that he was involved in Budapest. 

They also reveal that Natasha's mom has/was looking for her and that the Red Room had her killed because she was getting too close to finding out what happened to her daughter. I wish we would've seen some closure with that but we never did. We never learned her name or/if she was really dead.

And finally, the end credit scene - Since Black Widow was supposed to premiere before The Falcon and Winter Soldier, we were supposed to meet Val then, but again we meet her when she approaches Yelena who is mourning over Natasha's grave. Yelena is already working for Val at this point and Val gives Yelena another assignment and that assignment is to take out the guy who killed her sister Natasha - Clint Barton. This will probably lead into the Hawkeye series coming out on Disney +  later this year, so make sure you see this movie!!!

After watching this movie again with a second look, I just love how much more we learn about Natasha and just how strong and incredible she is. She's a great sister, agent, and as loyal as they come to people who have heart. She's a people believer and I for one am glad she got her own solo film to show this. 

I would rank this movie better than Captain Marvel as a solo female Marvel superhero film. I think Natasha has more depth to her and is someone we can relate to and understand. I love the message of family. Even though at the beginning of the film she says she's better working alone, her drive to work with a team again is recharged by her own mission with her band of a misfit-family. Even though she didn't really pick a side when it came to team Cap or Iron Man, she realizes she's needed and that her skills are her power is needed to unite her Avenger family. 

The characters are perfect, I relate to Yelena the most, she's raw and says what she's thinking, (even if its inappropriate) and is honest with what she thinks about people. The Red Guardian - I just hope we see more of him and get Sam's Wilson's opinion on him.  

Overall worth the price to pay on Disney + and a fun movie, even if you haven't seen some of the Marvel films or series.