Black Widow (2021)

This movie felt out of place in the timeline of movies. Not because it's a prequel but because it literally felt like a phase 3 movie. This would have been better served as a movie placed either just before Infinity War or in between it and Endgame. It could have made Natasha’s death more impactful. On Vormir, Natasha seems like she has nothing to lose outside of her Avengers friends. Clint has a family and would need to be the one to stay alive. Showing Natasha’s second family would have made it a more heartbreaking scene because she would be sacrificing herself not just for Clint’s family but to ensure the survival of her newly reformed Russian family. Release timing aside, I had a couple of issues people have already mentioned. Natasha and Yelena should have died at least half a dozen times each. They are skilled fighters, not juiced-up soldiers. Also, Taskmaster was wasted. Taskmaster is a badass villain because the only way to defeat him (or in this case her) is to fight unpredictably because he copies your moves. They hinted at that but the character feels more like a secondary penultimate boss before the final boss. I have no problem with the gender swap or connection to the widows. Just make Taskmaster a villain you can bring back periodically in the ground-level movies/shows like Hawkeye, Spider-man, and Captain Falcon (yes, I’m calling him that, fight me). It's a fun spy thriller movie with incredible set pieces but it fell a bit short for me. I do love the family dynamic and hope to see Red Guardian and Yelena more.

Story - 16%

Characters - 16%

Pacing - 15%

Spectacle - 17%

Entertainment - 17%

Total score: 81%

Grade scale:

90%-100% = must watch

80%-89% = solid, but could be better

70%-79% = Not terrible, watch if the characters or story interests you

60%-69% = only watch for completionist reasons

0%-59% = just skip it, I find the positives and they don't exist here