What do you think of when you think of family? Loyalty, Love, Support? What about obligation, devotion, control? The truth is that families are complicated and there are so many things that can make a family come closer together and even more things that tear it apart. But when love leads the relationship, there is nothing that a family can’t overcome. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is back and it’s serving ups life lessons harder than ever!
This is likely going to have some spoilers for Black Widow, so know that going forward. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!
The biggest moments in Black Widow are not the action-packed ones. They are the small intimate one on one conversations between a number of different characters. Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) and her mother figure Melina (Rachel Weisz), Alexei (David Harbour) and Yelena (Florence Pugh), and then the major conflict between Natasha and villain Dreykov (Ray Winstone). Each one opens an insight into what family means and how much a parent can influence a child.
Natasha and Melina have a strong connection with Melina feeling like she let down her surrogate daughter and Natasha showing that even though their connection was brief, it mattered. And there is a love there. It may not be a strong or life-long love, but it is still love and it still mattered.
Yelena contrasts Natasha by showing a hard but fragile shell that is on the verge of cracking. And her conversations with both Natasha and surrogate father Alexei show the cracks open and allows some of the damage of her long abusive past to heal. The truth is that’s what a good family does. It works to expose the pain, not to drive it deeper and exploit it, but to help heal it and shoulder the burden of those painful pasts.
And then there’s Dreykov, the patriarch of the Black Widow program. A man who has spent his life working to exploit vulnerable young women including Melina, Natasha, and Yelena. And as the final conflict comes to pass, it is clear that his strength is not physical. It’s emotional and psychological. It’s something that is often overlooked in abusive relationships. And it makes Dreykov one of the more disgusting villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The thing is, Dreykov has no love for the “little girls” as he calls them. He sees them as only useful so long as they serve a purpose. And that purpose has to be one which works for him and him alone. This includes his own biological children. Often when we think of abuse we think of physical or sexual abuse, and while those are present, the think that makes Dreykov gross is the emotional and psychological abuse he doles out on the girls. He manipulates, exploits, and controls and never once gives them a voice or opinion of their own. And while it is exaggerated, this a real problem for many people in abusive relationships.
We need to know that many people struggle to overcome these abuses and sometimes the deep emotional and psychological abuse has a longer lasting impact than the physical. Just because you can’t see the scars doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Just remember that there are so many signs we may not be able to see and if anyone who says they love someone while demanding respect, devotion, and control from that person, they may be an abuser, and they need to be shown that before they hurt others.
Just a quick refresher of my MCU ranking criteria.
Cast and Performances
Story and Plot
Best Fight/Action Scene
Rewatchability
Cleverest Easter Egg
Each film will be judged solely by me and then placed against all the other films. And rated on a scale of 10 with a total possible score of 50.
So, here is the quick breakdown of Black Widow:
Cast and Performances: This cast is stellar. Scarlett has never been better, and this may be the most vulnerable and down to earth performance she’s given in the whole of her MCU career. Florence Pugh comes out strong and steals every scene she’s in. David Harbour and Rachel Weisz both give very strong performance that complement each other well and the entire supporting cast is able to find nuance in their characters that goes well beyond the potential stereotypes they could fall into. Strong, strong work all around. (10/10)
Story and Plot: The movie is really good. The plot is unconventional and takes its time to give the moments breath. There are a few instances where the movie feels long but mostly it is a successful story told very well. (7/10)
Best Fight/Action Scene: I mean, this is six-way tie between every scene featuring Taskmaster. The way the choreography incorporates the fighting styles of half a dozen previous fights really makes the continuity come through and makes the character incredible to watch. (10/10)
Rewatchability: The fast-paced action and strong story beats make this one to rewatch for sure. While there are moments that can be forgettable and a few key plot twists don’t land as hard later on, the movie is really compelling and definitely will be exciting with the second, third, and tenth rewatch. (7/10)
Best Easter Egg: With the passing of Stan Lee, we are retiring the previous category and introducing the Best Easter Egg category! This movie is definitely the choreography in the Taskmaster fights. I know I mentioned this above but holy hell are they just some of the subtlest and cleverest callbacks they could put in this movie and this character. (8/10)
Total Score: 42/50
Current Ranking:
The Avengers
Avengers: Endgame
Black Panther
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Black Widow
Spider-man: Homecoming
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Avengers: Infinity War
Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America: The First Avenger
Iron Man
Captain Marvel
Thor: Ragnarok
Spider-man: Far From Home
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Captain America: Civil War
Ant-Man
Thor
Iron Man 3
The Incredible Hulk
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Doctor Strange
Thor: The Dark World
Iron Man 2
The MCU is back! And man did they come back strong! I for one am excited that we are beginning to get movies again, and I know that I cannot wait to explore this franchise more and more! So thanks for coming back, thanks for enjoying this blog.
And, as always, thanks for taking the time to get Ploominated!
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