Black Widow is finally here, but I feel like this movie is 5 years too late. Like any Marvel fan, I’ve anxiously waited for a Black Widow origin story. I wanted a movie that would give us her backstory and while I am relieved that we finally have one, it just feels a little too late. It’s like a filler movie until we get to the main event and in this case, the next phase of Marvel movies. I’m not going to say that the movie is bad, it’s a lot better than I thought it would be and the performances were very enjoyable. It certainly not the worst Marvel movie and it’s definitely not the best… For me, it would fall somewhere in the middle! However, since this story picks up right after Captain America: Civil War and what happens to Black Widow when she goes on the run, it just feels a little too late to tell the story. And I can’t be the only one that feels that way. But it is a nice “swan song” to a character that we have loved for the past 11 years, even longer if you read the comic books!

Unlike watching superhero shows on The CW from the DC Universe, we don’t get tired of Marvel movies. For over a decade we know that we’re going to get at least one or two and that there are many phases where they can keep telling stories despite the fact that some of the mainstay characters are dead now including Black Widow. That shouldn’t really be a spoiler because I feel like if you’re reading this then you’ve seen pretty much all the Marvel movies and you really don’t have an excuse not to watch them if you have a Disney + account. After the year we’ve had during the pandemic, getting this Marvel movie in a theater is a great sense of relief, even if it’s not the best movie in the Marvel universe. Definitely, worth seeing on the big screen and definitely worth the price if you’re purchasing it for your family or your staff on Disney +.

I can honestly say that there’s a lot to love about this movie and it fills in a lot of blanks regarding the character within the Marvel Universe. Who doesn’t want to know how Black Widow came to be or how she ended up at SHIELD, or even who her family is outside of the Avengers and that’s what this movie does for the fans. It gives us those answers and we get a glimpse of who her sister is, even if it really isn’t her biological sister. Now I’m not going to spoil the entire movie, every superhero fan should see it and Scarlett Johansson rocks in this movie as well as Florence Pugh, David Harbor, and Rachel Weisz. It’s like watching a Marvel version of a Bourne Identity movie, lots of great action and comedy and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. But at the same time there are a lot of nice emotional moments that really make you feel sympathetic for her character, and all that she overcame to become an Avenger just to make the world a better place than she has left it before.  Like I said, it’s a great swan song to this fantastic character. And if you are Black Widow fan then you’re definitely going to love this movie. Of course, if you’re like me and you love David harbor, you want to see more of his Red Guardian character in future Marvel stories. Apparently, they’re already setting up what will happen with Black Widows sister in the Marvel universe. I guess we will see a Black Widow type character in the future, but that is to be expected.

I can’t really complain about this movie, it’s a fun superhero movie with a great cast and it’s perfect for Disney + but what makes it so underwhelming is the fact that we should have had this story four or five years ago or it should have come out in the same year as Captain Marvel where we had to have an origin story on that character and why she’s with the Avengers during the infinity Wars. The biggest problem with this movie coming out now is it’s a big screw up by Disney and Marvel studios on how it was released. Yes, it’s cool to see the character’s past and how it kind of ties into after her death, but that post credit scene could have been in any other movie to set up a future story. This is a movie that should have been released leading up to Black Widow’s death to make the audience feel more empathetic for her character, but it’s been 2 years and the world has changed dramatically so why should we care? Since 2008 Marvel has had the perfect roadmap leading up to the Infinity Wars and beyond by introducing origin stories of its main characters and their sequels that will tie into future movies until all these characters come together to fight one big war. But for the first time in 13 years, I can honestly say that the release of this movie is terrible timing and a big miscalculation. Will love it for the fact that we get a Marvel movie after 2 years, but this is a movie that should have come out last summer and granted, you can’t blame Disney or Marvel for the pandemic, but the fact that it’s released now just feels very underwhelming and we probably won’t celebrate the release of this movie like we have with all the other Marvel movies. It’s not that we’re burnt out on superheroes because I think we can all agree that we are looking forward to all the other movies they have planned.  Also, the limited series that they have done on Disney + have great as well.  However, as much as I enjoyed this movie, I’m just not as excited for it as I should be and that’s because it was released way too late. Timing can be everything in the film industry. Films like Jaws and Star Wars came just at the right time that changed the film industry for the better and gave us something to look forward to in the summers with huge blockbuster movies. This should have been one of those movies like every other superhero movie that has come out, but I think it will be largely forgotten and something we watch just for the hell of it when we’re bored and have watched everything else on Disney +. The character of Black Widow and her origin story deserved better, but hey at least we got a film and that’s what counts, right!

If I had to give the Film a grade… it would be a 7/ 10