Black Widow

At this point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are certain table stakes that are not really worth discussing:

1. Yes, this is a comic book movie
2. Yes, this is the result of a multi-year story arc of staggering scope, scale, cost, and success
3. Yes, everyone is competent
4. Yes, everyone who does action is very fit
5. Yes, there were amazing giant set-piece action sequences

There’s just not too much to say anymore about the mechanics of the plot or the setup of the movie. Black Widow, AKA Natalia Romanoff, introduced as an undercover agent of SHIELD in Iron Man II, has overcome conditioning and shyness to regard the Avengers as her family. Here’s her solo album movie.

“Black Widow” stands out in that it:

1. Breaks with the traditional MCU hero arc by embracing humor
2. Is the most consciously a clef to a contemporary political gestalt: specifically, the #metoo movement.

Boredom

Frankly, I think the directors of the franchise were feeling bored. I think it must have crested around Dr. Strange which follows the same-old normie-to-supe-to-hero arc. Consequently, while I like Strange and Cumberbatch’s portrayal, it’s rather a boring movie.

Director Taika Waititi may have saved the MCU by letting his boredom push the inherently ridiculous Thor into absurdity so that Chris Hemsworth could show off his comedy chops. As a bit of a mutton-and-grog yokel who speaketh like the Bayeruth tapestry, Thor was ripe for some ribbing for comedic effect and it was done beautifully. People love Ragnarok in a way they merely like other MCU properties.

Joined by humorous Mark Ruffalo, humorous Tom Hiddleston and humorous Cate Blanchett, and CGI Waititi, Ragnarok really worked.

Humor

“Black Widow” is funny and it’s because Scarlett Johanssen lets her Natasha Romanoff play the straight woman to Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. This is a move of great generosity on Johanssen’s part and an acknowledgement that while she’s had to play her character “within the lines” of an old narrative of how superhero stories are told, this won’t be the case anymore.

In fact, her definitional legacy of portrayal — the catsuits, the landing “pose,” the comics logic of a lady good with guns fighting angry space squids, etc. — all feel a bit dated now and she has the grace to let a new generation of hero laugh at how immature the genre and characters were two decades ago. That this laugh can be had is a credit to Johanssen whose relatability, reliability, professionalism, and determination made a difference in advancing the narrative.

Big laughs were heard in the audience when Pugh riffed on Black Widow’s semi-yogic landing poses and camera stares with hair toss. I’d argue that Pugh might well have stolen the show with the humorous asides she did that Rifftrax’d the movie.

Additionally both David Harbour and Rachel Weisz show that they are quite funny (SNL’s “Grouch” with Harbour was stellar and who can forget Weisz lighting up “The Mummy?”). In short, everyone’s funny. And that’s a good direction for the MCU. Robert Downey Jr. was funny in Iron Man but as “comics are serious!” messaging was vying for a place in the sun, the MCU got serious; not as serious as DCU, thank Thanos, but pretty darned self-important. As a sign of the comfort of the genre, humor is back and a welcome addition.

#metoo

I couldn’t help but notice Johanssen is credited as a producer during the opening credits. I was wondering how her perspectives might influence the story arc. In several interviews, she’s referenced “Black Widow” as being about female empowerment. This thrust of the movie is fully realized in the final act where, per expectation, Romanoff encounters our motivation-less big bad, Dreykov who seems to be motivated by power, or the ability to topple governments (or something).

Spoiler

Dreykov reports that his plan is to use the world’s only truly exploitable resource, unloved girls, by turning the unloved into the loved and lethal courtesy of his mind control and martial arts training school. He is safe in taunting Romanoff with this because she has been conditioned to not perpetrate violence against him so long as she smells his pheromone signature.

His particular portrayal by Ray Winstone seems to suggest some visual rhyme to Harvey Weinstein:

From within his vaguely Italian Futurist wood-paneled control headquarters, Dreykov and Romanoff face off. The office feels inescapably of LA boutique hotel suite and reenacts a woman being trapped in the presence of an odious exploiter of women (literally). Romanoff is captive in his lair, powerless to kick him like a bad habit by an invisible force, and realizes that when justly fighting back, she still will lose. I kept waiting for him to slip into a towel and suggest a massage while they consider her “future.”

I have to wonder to what degree this is Johanssen elliptically spilling out some of the shit she endured as a teenage girl in the indie circuit (e.g. “Man Who Wasn’t There,” “Ghost World”) dominated by Weinstein’s Miramax production company. It’s likely that the company and the actor crossed paths. How did it go? What happened?

Alternatively, I wonder to what degree this might recall working on “The Island,” the Michael Bay picture after “Transformers” whose female lead, Megan Fox, Bay allegedly auditioned by having her wash his car in a bikini.

Regardless, the scene of being cornered and having already lost the battle was an allegory that really resonated with a lot of the women in the theatre.

Spoiler

That the resolution is the beautiful Johanssen violently mangling her looks by breaking her own nose as a sacrifice of her looks in order to take down the big bad for the benefit of her sisters is also not-entirely-subtle and felt intensely personal.

Conclusion

All that said, I’d say it’s a good MCU movie. I liked it better than Guardians 2 or Iron Man 3. It’s less complicated or fulfilling than the Infinity arcs and follows a plot that’s largely a throwback to Iron Man-style storytelling. But as a landmark of a different story, I think it’s unique: from being the eye-candy in Iron Man, Black Widow became a hero to many, a fully-realized character who offered 2D lugs a chance to speak their emotional truths and dig as actors. That growth, fullness, and respectability is largely due to the personal ownership of Scarlett Johanssen.