Ahem, SPOILERS are coming, so if you haven’t seen Black Widow yet, you might want to hold off on reading. So was the movie worth the wait? Honestly, yes it was. It’s not just the action, even though that was great considering that Natasha and her ‘family’ brought the Red Room crashing to the ground, literally, and engaged in a great deal of fighting that was a little over the top at some points but was otherwise beautifully choreographed. Not only that, but the fans were given a pretty good look at what Natasha’s childhood was like, and on the outward side it was cheery, what many would call normal, and didn’t appear to be too stressful. But when things went sour and the family had to run, that was when it became pretty obvious that they were something other than a regular suburban family, especially when Natasha mentioned that she didn’t want to go back ‘there’. Poor Yelena, being only six years old, didn’t know as much about what was going on, but was still a dutiful daughter that did as she was told.
But to think of putting a child through the type of stuff that went on in the Red Room is beyond abominable, especially when it comes down to mind control and mapping the human brain to figure out how to do this. Ray Winstone played a great villain that was behind the dreaded Taskmaster, as the character of Dreykov had no redeeming qualities and was more or less integrated into world politics in a way that made it clear that he’d made himself valuable or at least known to many world leaders. Strangely enough, we didn’t get to see a lot of Taskmaster, but the reveal that she was Dreykov’s daughter, who Natasha thought she’d killed when she was still just a child, was predictable at a certain point after listening to enough talk about Dreykov. But as much fun as the movie was, this is where things kind of break down a bit since the bomb that was set and supposedly detonated right in the girl’s face, should have torn her apart, but as we see in the movie she’s horribly scarred but still functional.
That’s the kind of thing that kind of makes a lot of people shake their head since the MCU is definitely going further into their characters and seeking out their motivations, which is great, but to make everyone ungodly tough even at a young age is starting to push the suspension of disbelief a little too far. It’s a comic book movie, so some incredible stuff is bound to happen, but the thing is that Natasha, Yelena, and their mother are not superhuman, meaning that the damage they take in this movie should be enough to put them down at one point, but incredibly, they keep getting back up. The Red Guardian on the other hand is a super soldier since he was Russia’s answer to Captain America. Even as an older and slightly out of shape individual he’s still insanely powerful, much as Captain America was, or is in this timeline.
But letting go of that issue, the fact that Taskmaster was gender-swapped is bound to get some attention since initially this character was male, but it would appear that turning Taskmaster female was pertinent to the story, so oh well. But on top of that, the male characters in this movie tend to be a bit foolish but powerful, pushy, arrogant, and even a bit whiny at times, or, as with Dreykov, they’re undeniably cruel and have no redemption arc. Again, so be it, since this is really Natasha and Yelena’s story, as the two sisters, who aren’t really sisters but bicker like they are and come together at the end in a common cause, tend to be highly entertaining to watch and listen to. But following their victory over Dreykov, the family had to part ways as Natasha had to confront General Ross, as she’d decided to stop running. Curiously though, by the end of the movie, she’s had a quinjet prepared for her and is ready to break her fellow Avengers out of the Raft. Yeah, there might actually be a sequel to this.
The post-credits scene is even more confusing since Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine shows up at Natasha’s gravesite years later to speak with Yelena, who has come to visit her sister. Despite what fans know, Valentina quickly switches up the narrative to ask Yelena if she wants a shot at the person that was responsible for her sister’s death. The picture she shows of Clint Barton makes it clear that a sequel is even more likely if Yelena is going to be instructed to take Clint out. That could definitely lead to an interesting story. Yeah, it was worth the wait.
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