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Scarlett Johansson passed the baton and Florence Pugh S P R I N T E D.
Pugh came to collect her thangs.
And that’s that on that.
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A powerful and entertaining third-act origin story, “Black Widow” defied the laws of physics and used Professor Utonium-like heavy-handed dashes of superhero movie “luck” and infallibility to balance an OG Avenger’s backstory with the action we’ve come to expect from a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film.
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The choreography was something to marvel. 😏😏 When Natasha (Johansson) and Yelena (Pugh) met after 21 years apart, they dance. ‘Twas glorious, and probably the best part of the film. The scenes were beautifully directed and edited, and accompanied with a heart-pounding score.
The opening credit geopolitical propaganda/faux family montage was an unnecessary include, and broke the intro’s pace.
I loved the cast. David Harbour (Stranger Things) was entertaining. No one really had a terrible or unbearable acting performance. Rachel Weisz (The Favourite, The Constant Gardener) was underutilized, and ionlikedat. 🙃🙃
I (deeply) appreciated seeing multiple BLACK Black Widows, and that they all had different hair textures and styles. The visibility was nice. Felt seen, y’know?
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Quick listing of 👍 👍 and 👎 👎:
—A good chunk of the falling action to the conclusion could have been eliminated—it felt overstuffed and unnecessary. Most of the action crescendo-ed nicely, but there were scenes that added nothing to the narrative.
—Loved the costumes. The white suits were lit. ❤️🔥 Loved the vest, and it’s connection to Natasha’s suit in “Infinity War.”
—The score was popping.
—The Taskmaster reveal was underwhelming and seemed to be of little consequence to both Natasha and Yelena’s journey. In the end, it was a little disappointing to know very little from this film mattered much to the overall MCU scheme. (Well not including the content in the post-credits scene.)
—Olatunde Olateju Olaolorun “O-T” Fagbenle a.k.a. President Barack Obama is needed in ALL subsequent MCU films. The man is fine as sh*t. And the accent…
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—They littered the conclusion with stereotypical full shot, slow-motion “running-towards-the-camera-with-shit-blowing-up-in-the-background.” Like TOOOOOOOOO much. Felt like they were in the middle of the iconic Britney Spears’ “Toxic” music video. (Free my girl.)
—I had more unanswered questions after the film than I did before it, but I can’t wait to see how it unfolds during Phase IV!
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MY MCU TOP 15, as of 12 JULY 2021:
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Black Panther
- Captain America: Civil War
- Avengers: Endgame
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Thor: Ragnarok
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- The Avengers
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Iron Man
- Doctor Strange
- Ant-Man
- Captain Marvel
- Black Widow