It's finally happening. After a year or so of delays, Marvel's Black Widow is gearing up for a big screen and small screen launch, and the critics have had their say on the new Marvel movie.
ShortList will be watching the movie this week, so we can't quite give our two cents' worth yet but there are plenty who have seen it, and like what they see.
Black Widow is a prequel based on the character Scarlett Johansson brought to life throughout myriad Marvel movies. We know the ending to the character, so this movie explains how Natasha Romanoff became the vigilante.
Directed by Cate Shortland, another Indie director given a big budget by Marvel which is brilliant to see - the supporting cast includes: Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz and David Harbour.
For The Guardian's Pete Bradshaw, it is Harbour who steals the show, noting in his four-star review: "For fans of Black Widow and everyone else, this episode is great fun and Harbour could well ascend to spinoff greatness of his own."
Empire is also a fan, noting: "Thanks to some zesty new character dynamics and smart twists, Marvel have finally done [Black Widow] right.
Both Den of Geek and Variety reckon this is one of the grittiest Marvel movies yet with Variety reckoning that it is "layered with more feeling than you would expect" and DoG saying: "Marvel’s most feminine film is a brutal action movie."
For The Telegraph, though, it's real-world plight is its downfall, explaining: "More action, more Scarlett Johansson, more CGI objects going ‘boom’ – but the real-world resonance falls totally, troublingly flat."
Rotten Tomatoes has certified the movie fresh and here are what some of the folks on Twitter are saying.
Black Widow is a thrilling, though heavy-handed, espionage take on Marvel’s standard fare that adds tragic depth to Natasha Romanoff’s superhero story.
Our review: https://t.co/sozzydWLgfpic.twitter.com/WwBqTwvsVt
— IGN (@IGN) June 29, 2021
'Black Widow' review: Marvel returns in a thrilling 007-like adventure https://t.co/bwyBjNr9ZTpic.twitter.com/Xwq1e9VAV7
— New York Post (@nypost) June 29, 2021
#BlackWidow not only passes the Bechdel Test, it forces men to squeam as it puts them in their place. It's a solid comic book tentpole that excels as a Bourne movie but falls into third-act MCU messiness. Read our review: https://t.co/8Ax2B1EVfWpic.twitter.com/N0rNd5CvkJ
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) June 30, 2021
Review: Marvel’s Black Widow gets the spotlight she deserves, only to have it stolen from her by her co-star https://t.co/dqOrTkYRkq
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 30, 2021
Black Widow heads to cinemas Wednesday 7 July and Disney+ from Friday 9 July.
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