 What is going on guys welcome back to the channel critical overlord here? This is gonna be my spoiler free review for black widow just got out of a press screening watching this film tonight You'll be hearing this on Wednesday afternoon when I upload it, but Just to jump in to the premise now This is taking place in between Civil War Captain America Civil War and Infinity War So following the events of Captain America Civil War Natasha Romanoff again played by Scarlett Johansson Who does another great job in this as this character? She finds herself alone and forced to confront a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past pursued by a force that will stop But nothing to bring her down Romanoff must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationship left in wake left in her wake long before she became an Avenger now the film itself was directed by Kate Shortland and it was written by Eric Pearson. It stars Scarlett Johansson Florence Pugh David Harbor Ulti Fagbano William Hurt Ray Winstone and Rachel Weiss or Weiss now I believe this is overall like the 24 film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe if I'm not mistaken and This is supposed to be black widow standalone film not supposed to be it is And my honest my honest thoughts just to start off what I will say that I enjoyed this movie I liked it, but it is not a proper standalone film I'm just gonna be honest on that regard Natasha is made out to be Like I think there was an assumption just going into this that the audience will just already be attached to this character Given the the time that we've been spent with Johansson as this character since the first appearance for her in Iron Man 2 I believe so There's not a lot of attention and growth for Natasha and when I say growth I mean they don't necessarily go as deep into the backstory as I know a lot of people will want the film starts off Wonderfully giving you hope that it's going to do that with a proper flashback set in 1995 Then it jumps to modern times right after Civil War, but then it kind of just turns into Something else that's not really about I won't say it's not about Natasha, but it's like Natasha She's not given the proper backstory that I know a lot of you will understand once you see the film she is outshined by Florence Pugh who does an amazing job as Yelena Belova who's like the sister figure two woman off Trained in the red room as a black widow. I don't know what the Why there is a decision to I guess put more attention off setting up Yelena for future proud projects Then there was giving a proper send-off to this character because for Marvel fans myself included if you've seen in game You know what happens to Natasha. You know what this character's fate is So for us to get a standalone film that kind of doesn't even feel like a send-off it feels more so just like another Marvel Marvel movie. That's that happens to be a black widow a Black widow based adventure. Let's say it doesn't feel like a send-off it feels like just another movie that is underwhelming in Being a goodbye to this character and all the stuff. Johansson has done in this role over the years the villain in this film is Very lackluster in my opinion not I would say one of the weakest MCU villains I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing Draco who's the head of the red room with this with his army of black widows. He's one of the worst Marvel villains to date Now I'll just talk about the technical stuff some more the acting is Phenomenal again Florence Pugh she is breathtaking and she Honestly, I feel like audiences because of the way Attempt the attention was put on her You're going to feel that emotional weight that this film is trying to search for but it never really seems to achieve it all the way You'll feel that through Florence Pugh and I I want to say you'll connect more with this character because of the way She kind of just naturally She's she's a Florence Pugh herself. She's a fantastic actress. She Impressed me with mid-summer. I was impressed with her and many of the other projects She had been in prior to that the movie she did about Paige's life She's a tremendous act actress and the thing is it's not forced She just steals the spotlight from Joe Hanson who kind of seems like she is just More underwhelming in her portrayal this time around She still does a great job and I I would even argue that perhaps this is her best portrayal of Natasha But with Florence Pugh every time she's in a scene she is just going to take the attention away from Natasha and Most of that comes from the direct direction choices to put more of an interest in setting up Yelena for future projects then giving fans of Black Widow a proper Fulfilling send-off and backstory digging deep deeper into the origins about Black Widow There's clearly a sense of them holding back throughout this film and again. Like I said, there's pacing issues The movie starts off so strong You're on the edge of your seat and then flat lines Great action sequences when the action sequels are there, but when there's no action It's like the dialogue between the characters and there's chemistry between these actors and actresses don't get me wrong especially David Harbour and Who's the red Guardian David Harbour has the red Guardian another fought like a father figure There's a whole family dynamic between Joe Hanson Harbour Pugh and Weiss their whole chemistry is Fulfilling enough to at least keep you engaged while you're watching but I Would say the heart of this film was from David Harbour and Florence Pugh They were just that good in their roles And I feel like there was a lot of the assumptions to be made that audiences would just be attached to Natasha so Let's not Provide much backstory on a Natasha solo film. I don't understand it. I don't understand it The movie again is it's paced oddly It starts out strong then it has its slow moments and the dialogue between these characters at times while While comedic it does world-tiring it you want to see this the action when it's happening But then when it's not happening it kind of just sitting there I'll say the movie does feel kind of sluggish at times just because of how it's paced the action sequences when they're happening They're phenomenal Breathtaking everything you would expect from a Marvel film. I would actually argue that these are a lot more intense than the Mortal Kombat action sequences I would say I felt every punch felt the impact at times More so than I did with the Mortal Kombat movies. I'm gonna give Black Widow honestly in terms of being a Well-made film I like it again. I did like it I'm gonna give it a six and a half out of ten Let me know what y'all think about this down in the comment section below if you haven't I make sure you subscribe turn on Postification to miss a video in description. I have links on my social media accounts on Facebook Twitter and Instagram You can message me there questions any movies news or views like me to cover in the future blood in my guys I will see you in the next video