Saw it on Saturday with the family. It was GREAT to be back in a theater, to have popcorn, and the whole 9 yards. Only slight downside on that is that the theater was less than half full. I'm guessing that was a result of (1) overall numbers being a bit down due to some still being reluctant to gather in enclosed spaces, (2) theater numbers for this film being a bit down due to it simultaneously going live on D+ for streaming, and (3) we went to an older theater on the other side of town, which is a LOT less popular than the newer, more hip theater that is closer to us, but is $4 cheaper per person (with a family of 5, it adds up). We thought briefly about just streaming it instead of going out. But opportunities to go out together have been much more limited, and we were all just really excited about seeing something on a huge screen with amazing sound, the popcorn, etc. So streaming it was only a brief, fleeting thought. And I have to say, scenes like the falling ship/skydiving sequence made the big screen SO worth it.
I went into the film with relatively low expectations. I expected to like the movie, and not love it. My expectations were met. It was a solid, fun MCU film. It was little more than that, but that is perfectly fine. I didn't feel like there was much hype about this film, and I think that was a good thing. I mean, there was some natural hype about it being a long-overdue film with the first major MCU female character. And some natural hype about it being the first MCU film since the lockdown, and the first phase 4 film. But that hype wasn't overblown, and it wasn't really about the substance of the movie.
It wasn't a strong story in terms of something that needed to be told, or was overly compelling, or majorly moved the ball downfield for the MCU. It was, more or less, a story to fill in some blanks and give some further closure to a beloved character. And that worked for me. It didn't really try to be more than that, and I didn't need it to be more than that. To me, the family stuff worked well. The international spy thriller stuff worked well. As pointed out by others, the action was sometimes over the top to the point that it crossed the line. But that's fine.
I didn't see the Taskmaster reveal. It made sense, and was simultaneously satisfying and slightly disappointing. Obviously, they could have done much more with that character. But then again, it's okay. Not every character needs to be extensively built up.
The one plot point that I had an issue with was the ending. After the battle ends, Natasha is standing there apparently about to let her self be taken by Ross, and then we get a cut to "2 weeks later" where she is free and about to go bust the other Avengers out of the Raft. No explanation. I'm totally cool with it setting up the prison break that puts them in hiding until Infinity War/Ant Man and Wasp. But how did she go from about to be captured to being out and ready to bust them out? I'm not one who feels like everything needs to be explained, and I feel like I am often defending storytellers for not explaining every little plot point. But to me, this is a pretty major one that just got dropped, and it feels like a glaring omission to me. Anyone else?
Overall, I liked it. It will probably end up ranked mid/low on the total MCU film rankings with some of the solo films like Ant Man or Thor. Good films, and ones that didn't try to do too much, and succeeded. From an MCU plot standpoint, this film was completely unnecessary. But I get why they did it, and they did a good job with it. So this is yet another "win" for Marvel.
Topic: The "Black Widow (2021)" Film Thread - SPOILERS!!! Now Out On Home Video Sept 14 (Read 20645 times)