A return to form for the MCU in the sense that it’s another entry with minimal effort, but monumental financial returns.
Returning to packed screenings and loyal fans, Marvel Studios’ 24th entry in their explosive catalogue of mostly mediocre movies comes Black Widow. Another frustratingly dull and producer infested blockbuster that spends more money on star power and pre-viz work, than juicing their films with creative storytelling. Black Widow is another Marvel-centered example of showcasing how little a lot of money is actually worth when the only thing that matters is creating an ad for your next headliner.
As energized, loyal, and driven as the Marvel audience is, the fact that the studio insists on getting them excited for what’s to come, instead of what’s happening in front of them, is astounding. The last batch of these that were incubated quietly revealed their endgame, and with another new “phase”, comes more of the same. With multi-dimensional setup, and promises for new, young, exciting film-makers cashing in a guaranteed check, reverting course to a previous character feels misdirected. Until you realize it was purely set-up for your weekly appointment with Disney+. There was never any genuine effort to make this about Black Widow, but the future of brand recognition instead. They’ve been doing this for a while now, but with the opportunity to dial it back and focus on a character with a vague history, the end result is still explosive, incomprehensible, and dull.
With Black Widow being tied to the roots of the spy genre, it’s dumbfounding how little spy work there actually is. It’s inspired by the foundation of spy movies (if the Bond showcase wasn’t blunt enough), with zero execution worth noting. It lives in the guise of thinking it’s a spy movie without the pizzaz of making it one, because it has to be a Marvel movie. Location cards annihilate the screen scene to scene because they aren’t confident enough to write it into the story. They inexplicably go to various locations (all shot on a lot in Georgia) for most of the runtime to create this mirage that something is happening. When in actuality it’s because the script isn’t there to generate any momentum. For so long these movies find any opportunity to include an action sequence to make sure we don’t doze off. It’s by design because the script exists within the framework of being a concept instead of properly executing the idea that is supposed to be inside of it.
When we reach the end there isn’t really a resolution or answer to where this character ends up going and why we just spent two more hours with her. Especially when she already answered what this movie is (supposedly) about just a few films ago. It’s exhaustingly redundant, repetitive, and entirely pointless. Black Widow got a movie because the Internet said she had to have one, and they decided to sandwich it between everyone’s two favorite movies of all-time. There wasn’t an actual story to tell, but retroactively fitting it into the timeline close to major events creates an illusion that they intended it to be this way. In the grand scheme of things the existence of this movie doesn’t change any previous thought about Black Widow. She’s the exact same character before and after the events of this one. This doesn’t resolve an arc, flourish into a swan song, or answer anything about her that wasn’t already answered.
The Marvel movies will never change, I’d be a fool to believe they would, it’s a matter of not wanting them to change, but to be better versions of what they are. There’s no whimsy, charm, sincerity, or actual meaning to siphon from them despite how badly they want you to think they have any of those things. Bottom line, every single one has become a table setting for the next hero because the only thing that matters is the scheme. There is nothing singular, exclusive, or emotionally tethered to any of these characters that is unique to them because they’re all stepping stones for the producers to get involved with because ad revenue outweighs creative ingenuity. Black Widow is another victim to being sidelined because her emotional catharsis has nothing to do with what is important for the brand. Even though her moniker is stamped on the poster, as well as her avenging colleagues, their story will never be a priority because they’re handcuffed to a broader IP.