You know how there are times when we’ve waited for something for far too long and the wait just overwhelms the feeling of finally getting your hands on what we’ve been waiting for? Well, if we had to put it in a nutshell, the Black Widow movie from the Marvel stable of otherwise fine movie horses, we would put it just like that. Fortunately, we don’t really have to put it into a nutshell, which is why we can bring you this list of 10 reasons why Black Widow went from most anticipated to quite disappointing.
Reason 1: It’s More Than a Little Too Late
Late but worth the wait? Well, maybe we’ll pass on this one. This is easily one of the most important reasons why Black Widow seemed a little off from the very beginning. even when the movie was announced, we know it had to go the extra mile to make it up to audiences who had waited long, far too long, for the movie. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t really go the extra mile. In some cases, it didn’t even get to the finish line! Maybe it was just the wait, or maybe, all the other reasons combined, but when audiences were done watching the story unravel itself for 134 minutes, they did wish they were watching it a lot sooner.
Reason 2: The Last 1/3rd of the Movie Seems to Be Wrapped Up in a Hurry
What is it with Marvel that they always seem to lose the plot midway, or if we’re lucky, somewhere towards the end? Well, we can’t quite put our finger on it but things do seem to go awry after a little bit more than the first half in this movie too, and although the trademark footage at the end credits piques our interest once more, we wish the last bits were a bit tighter. It almost seems like Marvel were up against a deadline and didn’t quite manage the schedule well. And this is where reality strikes — the studio had more than enough time to do this right! So the disappointment hurts even more! Come on Marvel, we expected more. We always do. It’s about time you began delivering!
Reason 3: The Time Travel Isn’t a Joy
Some movies have that rare quality of taking audiences back and forth on different journeys in time and yet, make it all come together to weave that perfect storyline. Well, Black Widow isn’t one of those movies. The discourse seems loose at best and the movie doesn’t even remotely succeed at making up for time lost. In fact, the only thing that did not need any extra attention from the audience got the most attention instead. And to top it all, we need to constantly forget about the dramatic and untimely death of Natasha and yet, only remember the halfhearted attempts to tell her story. if the plot was a little more convincing, we could have played along. It wasn’t. So, we couldn’t.
Reason 4: The Lawsuit Stole Some of the Thunder
We can all agree that Scarlett Johannson as Natasha Romanova overwhelms even the fictional character, donning the role so perfectly that we can hardly imagine anyone else playing the character. It could be this strong contradiction between the actor’s helplessness against a studio that forced her to file a lawsuit and the boss lady on screen that stops even the most dangerous villains from across the universe to stop dead in their tracks. Or maybe it was just the bold step that Johannson took that left us wanting to support her more than we ever could the movie! Whatever our individual reasons were — and that doesn’t take anything away from the guts that Johannson showed in standing up to this giant of a movie studio — we sure found ourselves going back and forth on news of the movie and the lawsuit.
Reason 5: The Hype Before the Launch was a Bit Too Much
We waited, and we waited, and then, we waited some more. And through it all, we told ourselves that Johannson will bring alive a storyline that will do absolute justice to her eighth film as the Black Widow. And then, they kept us waiting some more. Through it all, we were a patient audience and did all we could to keep the hype alive, all on our own. And although we had to add our own magic dust to make this wait bearable in every way, we somehow thought the movie would finally make up for it. Unfortunately, there were far too many years to make up for. And the hype that had gathered around the title only seemed to work against it. In the end, it may not have even been such a drab affair but the wait sure made it seem like it!
Reason 6: It’s the Same Old Russian Spy Story All Over Again
We knew this one. We knew it because we knew how it was going to go all along, And we also knew it because we’ve seen dozens of movies explore the same subplot each year. And despite new angles and new portrayals and new schemes and new variants of the Russians’ hatred about everything American and vice versa, this storyline has just lost its onscreen sheen and patriotic glory. Reliving the same story all over again proved to be a little too tedious for the audience and although we try hard to revive that seemingly inherent hatred for one another that some movie plots wish to give rise to, it’s just not there anymore. The Russians do not hate the Americans any more. And neither do the Americans. Hate Russians, we mean. But the longer they keep us going at it, the more we will begin to hate these screenplays!
Reason 7: Too Much Emotion for a Phony Family
Ummmm… did someone completely forget that this family was supposed to be a phony one and didn’t really need to have so many emotions for each other? Especially since they were spies and went about killing dozens of people as if it was all part of a routine run to the supermarket? The emotions ran way too high in this one and although the audiences tried hard to keep up with it, they eventually just ignored the drama altogether and trusted in the action sequences to pull them through. Audiences are not dumb anymore, and they need more than just well-thought-out scenes to go along with the story. They need the story to be convincing enough and make some sense too!
Reason 8: A Terrific Cast’s Talents Lost in the Melee
There are times when there’s simply too much going on, and sometimes, the high-speed sequences and the equally confusing twists in the tale just leave the audience wanting more of the cast members to show their true talents. Scarlett Johannson, Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, Olga Kurylenko… the list goes on but unfortunately, the movie seems to shut them down when you think now is the time for them to shine. In the end, Black Widow leaves you wanting more. Oh no, not more of the movie. More of the cast! Oh, and especially more of Scarlett Johannson. This was supposed to be her movie, remember? But more on that in our Reason No. 10!
Reason 9: The Lack of Surprises is Surprisingly Disappointing
Well, so when there are twists in the tale and frequent attempts at building up a crescendo, you expect at least some surprise at the end of it all, right? Of course, we do! But that clearly isn’t what the filmmakers think we deserve. So, while audiences kept waiting for something out-of-the-blue to blow them over, they instead often found themselves left out in the dark. The fries may have been great, but without the ketchup, the snack just seemed incomplete. That’s all we’re saying!
Reason 10: Less of a Scarlett Johannson Goodbye, More of a Florence Pugh Hello
Alright, so can we all agree that we wanted a showdown that gave us all a fitting closure to all things Black Widow and all things Scarlett Johannson in the Marvel franchise? Now, is that too much to expect? Oh, come on! This was a farewell for one of the most enigmatic actors and strongest screen personas from the femme fatale world that we’ve seen in a long time. This darling badass took us through 7 movies that were exhilarating and magical. And then, all we wanted was for the 8th to be the perfect culmination to a great ride. Unfortunately, the movie falls way too short on this front. We really wish Marvel hadn’t used this movie as an all-out launchpad for Florence Pugh. We love the girl, there’s no doubt about that. And her performance does complete justice to the screentime she was blessed with. But the audiences were there for more of that Johannson magic and we all wish there was more of her!
Let’s Pull Down the Veil on This One!
All in all, the movie isn’t as bad as some reviewers and critics made it out to be. And it certainly wasn’t the worst superhero movie from Marvel. It was just one of those films that did plenty of things right but got plenty of them wrong too. Well, despite these 10 reasons, you only need the one to go ahead and watch Black Widow — and that one reason is that Scarlett Johannson, just like Natasha Romanova, is a lady boss who deserves it all!
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