The release date was scheduled for May 1, 2020 but had to be postponed. It was postponed several times until finally released to theaters on July 9, 2021. Because it was also released by Disney for their streaming access, Scarlett Johanssen is now suing Disney saying that releasing it for streaming on the same date cut into the theater profits. As a result, Disney is no longer doing a simultaneous release.

Black Widow takes place after Captain America: Civil War and fills in what happened before Infinity War. It truly is the origin story for Natasha and her sister, Yelena. In fact for the first few minutes, I wondered if I had wandered into the wrong movie! It begins in Ohio 1995 and focuses on two little girls in a nice family in a nice suburb. Suddenly their parents say they have to run and they do, out of the suburbs into a very dangerous unknown. Their ordinary suburban father suddenly reveals super strength. We learn the parents are their foster parents. The two girls are turned over to Draco to be trained in the Red Room as Black Widows, super highly trained assassins.

We don't see the training. The movie jumps ahead 21 years. There are many references back to Captain America, Civil War To say the plot is complicated is an understatement. We see Natasha on the run and then Yelena who is unexpectedly given a set of red vials. This is an important plot point that motivates much of the movie action. Natasha tracks down Yelena. They haven't seen each other in years so they try to kill each other and then become allies. This is a movie that, believe it or not, is centered on the importance of family. Natasha feels she's found a new family in the Avengers but she's not with them at the moment. Both want to destroy Draco, the Red Room where they were trained and free the other Black Widows. To find Draco and the Red Room, they have to find their long-lost foster father. After much action and more battles, there is a lengthy reconciliation scene with their foster parents and where we learn many details about the past. The focus is really on the relationships of the sisters to each other and to their parents. There is much emphasis on what makes a family. The other is on free will. What is it and can you reclaim it? Meantime, we move on to Draco and The Red Room. Can they defeat him or will he destroy them? I can't say more without giving spoilers. You can just relax and enjoy the action. The action is non-stop.

Florence Pugh as Yelena, the younger sister, does a fantastic job. She steals every scene she's in. It's clear she's being groomed for a major role in upcoming movies. I have proof. I sat through the credits to find the Easter egg at the end. No spoilers except it's about Yelena, clearly setting up a future plot.

This is a delightful popcorn movie. Enjoy.

Reviewed by Marian Powell

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