I saw Black Widow in Regal's 4DX format on opening night. It was an incredible showcase for 4DX, with all of its car crashes, hand-to-hand combat and explosions. The chairs almost throw you out onto the floor at some points. One particular segment ended with an audible "wow" from the audience, and laughs after the violently shaking chairs finally stopped. I saw my first 4DX "snow," thanks to one scene set in a wintery locale. At one point, the 4DX put out a giant plume of smoke that was just too much. It obscured half the screen for a couple of minutes. The smoke's the only part of 4DX I would do away with. The 3D also looked very pleasing to the eye, with a lot of shots with noticeable depth. I think Godzilla: King of the Monsters was the only 4DX I've seen that was more intense than this one.
It looks like Marvel Studios might've spent the year-long delay of this movie polishing up the effects and tightening up the editing, because this is one of the MCU's most technically flawless movies. Kevin Feige clearly has a well-oiled machine in place to produce these films. The movie's credited director has only directed three no-budget films before, so it's inconceivable to me that she could pull off a production this massive with so little experience without a lot of help.
I thought that overall this was one of the strongest MCU movies. It was a welcome change of pace to see a down-to-earth spy thriller after the heavy sci-fi and superhero storyline in Endgame. This, at different times, felt like the 1980s G. I. Joe cartoon, the James Bond franchise and the Mission: Impossible movies. My two favorite MCU movies are Winter Soldier and Endgame. I enjoyed this one just about as much as Winter Soldier. It was definitely much more entertaining than their other recent film Captain Marvel, a dull, dry outing that is one of my least favorite MCU movies.
Black Widow probably has plot holes, but it's so fast-paced and action-packed that you don't have a lot of spare time to think about the plot. This movie functions on the level of pure action, making it almost a pointless exercise to analyze the story. Therefore, I also wasn't too concerned about what any of the "reveals" were going to be. There isn't a lot of time to think during this movie. There's only one three-minute scene in the middle when the momentum grinds to a halt, and half the theater seemed to be checking their phones or muttering to each other. Then things pick right back up. There's a lot of backstory in the film covered in flashbacks and dialogue exchanges. I think I understood MOST of it, which is a laudable achievement for the film considering how incomprehensible a lot of spy thrillers can get.
As it goes on, the movie loses some of its down-to-earth grit and gets more over-the-top and less plausible. By the end, it starts to feel more like a comic book and less like an adult spy thriller, because of the incredible feats of derring-do that the characters are able to pull off. But I can't really complain about that, because I knew going in this is based on a comic book, and not on the grittiest or most hard-boiled source material. Still, maybe there are some difficult situations that the characters get out of just a little too smoothly and easily at times.
Florence Pugh was the most interesting actor to watch in the film. As the "other" Black Widow in the movie, she was the second most important character to pull off, and she achieved that to the maximum extent possible. She's the one character in the movie I would eagerly anticipate seeing more of, if possible. As for ScarJo, this is probably her best performance as Black Widow, but I still feel she was miscast in the role from the beginning. Emily Blunt would've nailed this part in a way ScarJo just isn't capable of. I feel satisfied now that I've seen enough of ScarJo in the MCU, and she can be retired. I didn't recognize Ray Winstone in this film. I'm not that familiar with him, but he sure gave a different, and better, performance here than he did in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The Red Guardian character, as indicated in the trailers, is largely here to provide comic relief. He was something of a caricature and not the best part of the movie by a long shot. I enjoyed him more when he was given some moments of dignity.
I feel like this movie leaves wide open the possibility that we may get a similar Captain America movie, set between Civil War and Infinity War. If I recall, what Steve Rogers was doing during that time was left just as vague as what Natasha was doing. For any new fans to the MCU, I think this movie should be watched in chronological order after Civil War, EXCEPT for the post-credits epilogue. The home video release ought to move that to a bonus feature with spoiler warnings.
On an unrelated note, as a G. I. Joe franchise fan, I'm greatly disappointed that the G. I. Joe movies don't feel a lot more like Winter Soldier and Black Widow. 1980s G. I. Joe was based right off of the Marvel Avengers comics in many ways, but the people making the G. I. Joe movies don't have 1% of the understanding that Marvel Studios does of how these kinds of stylized action-adventure stories are supposed to be done.
It looks like Marvel Studios might've spent the year-long delay of this movie polishing up the effects and tightening up the editing, because this is one of the MCU's most technically flawless movies. Kevin Feige clearly has a well-oiled machine in place to produce these films. The movie's credited director has only directed three no-budget films before, so it's inconceivable to me that she could pull off a production this massive with so little experience without a lot of help.
I thought that overall this was one of the strongest MCU movies. It was a welcome change of pace to see a down-to-earth spy thriller after the heavy sci-fi and superhero storyline in Endgame. This, at different times, felt like the 1980s G. I. Joe cartoon, the James Bond franchise and the Mission: Impossible movies. My two favorite MCU movies are Winter Soldier and Endgame. I enjoyed this one just about as much as Winter Soldier. It was definitely much more entertaining than their other recent film Captain Marvel, a dull, dry outing that is one of my least favorite MCU movies.
Black Widow probably has plot holes, but it's so fast-paced and action-packed that you don't have a lot of spare time to think about the plot. This movie functions on the level of pure action, making it almost a pointless exercise to analyze the story. Therefore, I also wasn't too concerned about what any of the "reveals" were going to be. There isn't a lot of time to think during this movie. There's only one three-minute scene in the middle when the momentum grinds to a halt, and half the theater seemed to be checking their phones or muttering to each other. Then things pick right back up. There's a lot of backstory in the film covered in flashbacks and dialogue exchanges. I think I understood MOST of it, which is a laudable achievement for the film considering how incomprehensible a lot of spy thrillers can get.
As it goes on, the movie loses some of its down-to-earth grit and gets more over-the-top and less plausible. By the end, it starts to feel more like a comic book and less like an adult spy thriller, because of the incredible feats of derring-do that the characters are able to pull off. But I can't really complain about that, because I knew going in this is based on a comic book, and not on the grittiest or most hard-boiled source material. Still, maybe there are some difficult situations that the characters get out of just a little too smoothly and easily at times.
Florence Pugh was the most interesting actor to watch in the film. As the "other" Black Widow in the movie, she was the second most important character to pull off, and she achieved that to the maximum extent possible. She's the one character in the movie I would eagerly anticipate seeing more of, if possible. As for ScarJo, this is probably her best performance as Black Widow, but I still feel she was miscast in the role from the beginning. Emily Blunt would've nailed this part in a way ScarJo just isn't capable of. I feel satisfied now that I've seen enough of ScarJo in the MCU, and she can be retired. I didn't recognize Ray Winstone in this film. I'm not that familiar with him, but he sure gave a different, and better, performance here than he did in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The Red Guardian character, as indicated in the trailers, is largely here to provide comic relief. He was something of a caricature and not the best part of the movie by a long shot. I enjoyed him more when he was given some moments of dignity.
I feel like this movie leaves wide open the possibility that we may get a similar Captain America movie, set between Civil War and Infinity War. If I recall, what Steve Rogers was doing during that time was left just as vague as what Natasha was doing. For any new fans to the MCU, I think this movie should be watched in chronological order after Civil War, EXCEPT for the post-credits epilogue. The home video release ought to move that to a bonus feature with spoiler warnings.
On an unrelated note, as a G. I. Joe franchise fan, I'm greatly disappointed that the G. I. Joe movies don't feel a lot more like Winter Soldier and Black Widow. 1980s G. I. Joe was based right off of the Marvel Avengers comics in many ways, but the people making the G. I. Joe movies don't have 1% of the understanding that Marvel Studios does of how these kinds of stylized action-adventure stories are supposed to be done.