I am here to take you on a written odyssey through the wonderment, awe and awesomeness that is moviegoing and putting you on the front seat to first-rate, non-biased, non-political movie reviewing! My name is Garrett Rankin, and I welcome you personally to Rankin' Movies.
When she was a young girl and before she became Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff (played by Milla Jovovich's daughter, in her first role) was an innocent, unaware of her family being more than just a family. Along with her sister, Yelena, she had a good and uninterrupted early life, with school and life remaining simple and normal. One day, Alexei (played by David Harbour, aka Sheriff Hopper of STRANGER THINGS fame) came home to tell his wife (an excellent Rachel Weisz) and his kids that now is the time for an adventure, the adventure that they have prepared to go on. And from here, Black Widow's story kicks into high gear, as we as the audience get to see how Black Widows are created and why they exist in the first place.
Natasha Romanoff, now a full-on adult (played with effortless grace and formidable skills by Scarlett Johansson) is on the run from the authorities (the movie takes place in-between Civil War and Infinity War) and is on a mission, one that takes her to the darker, more brutal parts of her assassin ledger. She tracks down her now-estranged sister Yelena (played with verve, excitement, and sarcastic perfection by Florence Pugh) to close the door on their past, to take down the maker of their skills and their assassin lives, Dreykov (played with world-weary, cynical evil by Ray Winstone). How they do it, who they meet (including a formidable opponent who has an uncanny skill that won't be spoiled here) and what they have to do to get the task done, is up to you, the viewer, to find out when you see the movie.
The flow and feel of BLACK WIDOW is that of a Bond film, namely a Daniel Craig Bond film. The exciting, hard-hitting action, highly personal and dramatic stakes, exotic vistas that are traveled to and usually destroyed in some shape or form, and beautiful women who are capable of more than some of the men give them credit for, are all there. Feminism is a theme of the movie, and it feels empowering to see it on display from the dynamism of the main characters reunite and come together for a common goal of taking down a shady, corrupt company that has got to go. Unlike a Bond film, is the unique family dynamic that is shown here, that is unusual for a Marvel film, since we as the audience are more used to seeing and knowing the found family idea of the Avengers moreso than the families of any one of the Avengers themselves.
Director Cate Shortland has made a mighty good Marvel movie and an awesome female version of a Bond movie that feels modern, relevant is packed with amazing action and thrilling scenes of violence that border on an R-rating (there's not too much blood is most likely why) that'll make you wonder how they did that or how they filmed it, for real. I feel that this movie will be a big hit among female Marvel fans, male and female Black Widow fans, and fans of feminist and action cinema who don't mind a strong female take the lead in her long-overdue solo movie. If you haven't gotten the picture already, go see Black Widow! It's a Marvel movie to cherish and remember!