The Marvel cinematic universe ended a massive 10-year marathon in 2019 with Endgame. After finishing Phase 3 with 23 movies at the end of 10 years, Marvel officially started Phase 4 with Black Widow. I will explain the film in detail, but as far as I can see, Marvel is changing some of its approaches with Phase 4. So much so that Marvel will have convinced its audience has grown, that it has left its humorous choreographic fights to a corner and turned to films that deal with less humorous and more serious subjects. Marvel, which has gone through a style change with Infinity War, will be in front of us with a completely different approach in its new phase, as far as I can see, which does excite me.
Let’s briefly touch on its subject… The film tells the experiences of Black Widow after the Civil War. Judging from Sia’s song Cheap Thrills playing in the car, the events occurred precisely in 2016. Natasha Romanoff, who chose the side of Captain America, now lives as a fugitive. Since she is a wanted traitor with a red notice, she seeks peace by throwing herself into Iceland, a place far away from everyone. But a peaceful life must have been forbidden to superheroes by One-Above-All when an unforgettable problem from the old times confronts Natasha again. The Red Room, which stole her and her sister’s life, still operates. Learning this, Natasha has to act together with her sister, whom she has not seen for many years, to solve a problem that she thinks is finished forever.
Black Widow is not just a superficial movie that focuses on heroism like a classic Marvel movie. There were 2 things we didn’t learn throughout the 23-movie series: Where exactly does Natasha come from? What happened in Budapest? Especially the subject of Budapest was a memory they remember, and laugh with Hawkeye in every movie. The film gives a complete answer to these 2 questions and not only Natasha but also tells the history of her and everyone connected to her in detail. Throughout the movie, we can see Natasha’s motivation to survive in particular, and I think we can understand it.
Not only do we understand her, but we also become guests of the feelings of Natasha’s sister Yelena, whom we met. Yelena, played by Florence Pugh, was the most beautiful detail in the movie, in my opinion. Despite being an assassin, she is still a child in her demeanor. Her slow pace of speeches and the fight scenes were also quite successful. Red Guardian, played by David Harbor, and Iron Maiden, played by Rachel Weisz, are also handled quite well. Particular attention is paid to the Red Guardian. The fact that he was imprisoned despite being the first superhero is a nice tribute to capitalism. While Captain America is crowned by his country, Red Guardian is imprisoned because he will be above the state. The fact that he always wanted to fight Captain America but could not get what he wanted was a reasonable interpretation of the America-Russia rivalry.
Black Widow is a very different film, not only in dramatic editing but also in shooting. Especially in the fight scenes, there is a serious Jackie Chan inspiration. Chan’s use of every object he finds during the fight as a weapon and arithmetic fights are also in Black Widow. Likewise, the European sequences of the movie had a severe Atomic Blonde vibe. In general, the movie’s fight scenes may be the best in the MCU.
Natasha’s saying, “Just Like Budapest All Over Again” every time she met Hawkeye always caught my attention, and I wanted it to be mentioned if a solo movie was made. Budapest, thankfully, was covered, and we saw that it was not such a laughing matter. In the film, we are actually watching Natasha’s chance to correct a mistake she made when she was young. The destruction of the Red Room in the final sequence is no different from the destruction of the building in Budapest. The only difference is that Natasha manages to save Antonia this time and gets a chance to apologize, albeit late. One of our main issues is that everyone confronts their past throughout the movie.
Long Story Short… Black Widow tells the story of Natasha, a member of the Avenger team, who comes out of her superstar identity and confronts her past. Along with seeing how she turned into a Widow, we also meet her family. Even though they stayed as a family for only 3 years, they could not forget their togetherness. There is a saying: Family is not the one who gave birth to you, but the one who takes care of you. Yes. I have always believed this. The movie confirms this saying, showing us that the characters love each other as much as they hate each other. Despite their problems, the best part of the movie, which did everything well from the action to the story, in my opinion, was the turmoil in the inner worlds of the characters I wanted them to focus on. Black Widow wonderfully builds this dramatic structure with the strength of her cast and manages to make us an invisible part of the family.
Cast & Crew
director: Cate Shortland
writers: Eric PearsonJac SchaefferNed Benson
starring: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz
USA | 2021| 134 MINUTES |