The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is ruling the small screen at the moment, with WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier wowing audiences, and Loki on its last episode, fans are loving what the MCU is bringing them. However, Black Widow has turned the attention back onto the big screen as the film absolutely annihilated the box office.
Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, (Scarlett Johansson) has been in the MCU since Iron Man 2 (2010), and made quite the impact with her fighting skills and charming demeanour. Romanoff has been an outstanding character, with fans adoring her will to battle through everything thrown her way, especially when it came to her death in Avengers: Endgame (2019), where she sacrificed herself to save the universe.
Despite this film originally set to release after Captain America: Civil War (2016), it was delayed as a certain Marvel employee decided against a female-led film. This means that Black Widow is technically a prequel, as it takes place directly after the 2016 movie.
Black Widow has had fans excited for a long time now, and it does not seem to have let them down. The film made £6.89 million on its opening weekend (beginning 9th July, 2021), dominating the box office and landing at the number one spot (in the UK and Ireland).
In this action-packed addition to the MCU, Romanoff must confront the darkest parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy, with ties to her past life, rises. Perused by a new kind of enemy and a domineering force, our titular hero must deal with her past as a spy, and mend broken relationships left behind, before she became an Avenger.
Joining Johansson in the new MCU feature is Florence Pugh as Yelena, David Harbour as Alexei aka The Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz as Melina. Black Widow is the first film in Phase Four of the MCU, and is directed by Cate Shortland and produced by Kevin Feige.
The trailer for the film showed us not only that Natasha had a family before she began working for SHIELD, but also a new and interesting villain. Taskmaster is a character who can replicate anything anyone does and, in the trailers, is seen brandishing a bow and arrow much like Hawkeye’s (Jeremy Renner), claws similar to T’Challa’s (Chadwick Boseman), and a shield not unlike the one used by Captain America (Steve Evans).
This character appears to be a formidable foe but, if anyone can take him down, its Natasha. Taskmaster has been watching the Avengers for quite sometime in order to learn how they fight; and only those who have seen the movie know who he really is.
Casting has also done a fantastic job, as fans and critics alike adore Florence Pugh as Yelena, Natasha’s sister. It has been said that casting Pugh in this movie is one of the best choices since they cast Robert Downey Jr. to play Iron Man back in 2008; a bold claim indeed.
It is no wonder that Black Widow has been so well-received, as Romanoff has been an exceptional character since her debut film; despite her traumatising past she is still witty and charming, and a shoulder to lean on. Not only this, but we have been waiting for this film since May last year (2020), so excitement has been running high.
Black Widow has been called “a hell of a lot of fun” by Empire magazine, The Sun Online has said to “Switch your brain to ‘entertain me’ and prepare to be blow away”, and NME claims that the film “ensnares a new generation”.
Marvel Studios Black Widow is in cinemas now, and on Disney+ with premier access.
Check out the trailer for Black Widow below.
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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