‘I’ve lived a lot of lives, but I’m done running from my past…’
I have a weird relationship with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On the one hand, I’ve watched every single movie, most of the TV shows and pretty much enjoyed all of it. On the other, I still feel like an outsider. I don’t feel invested in the MCU like I was with Game of Thrones or Star Wars. Rather, I am the fat child looking yearningly through the cake shop window. I watch these movies. I enjoy them. But I’m not of them. Any maybe that’s ok…
Ahh the old plot paragraph. Look. It really doesn’t matter for this one. This is Natasha Romanoff’s (Scarlett Johansson) long awaited back story and that’s all we need to worry about. What is important is the supporting cast, because they truly elevate this movie. Black Widow’s ‘family’ is rounded off by younger sister Yelena (Florence Pugh), mother Melina (Rachel Weisz) and madcap father Alexei (David Harbour). Not a typical family, but a family nevertheless. Ray Winstone and William Hurt also appear but barely make a splash when set against the fearsome duo of Johansson and Pugh. And those two really are something to behold.
Pugh is already well on her to becoming a huge star but this performance cements her status amongst the A list. Just as comfortable doing prestige TV drama as she is horror (or indeed, an action movie), the British actress has the world at her feet right now, and it’s all her more established co-stars can do just to keep up with her. Having said that, Harbour continues his hot streak with another down and dirty performance as Red Guardian and the moments these characters share (particularly a spectacular jailbreak scene) are the best moments of the movie.
And yet… those same old Marvel problems still appear. Unmemorable villains. Overly convoluted plotting. An overreliance on familiar tropes. As with most of these movies, the final third is pretty interchangeable with any other entry in the MCU. But I guess that’s the point. They have found a winning formula and they’re sticking with it. And I’ll be sticking with it too. And so it’s on to Shang-Chi and his ten rings, I guess.