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'Black Widow' Early Buzz: Marvel Delivers On Action, Florence Pugh Hailed As MVP

Black Widow early buzz
By Hoai-Tran Bui/

Scarlett Johansson made her debut as Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow, all the way back in 2010's Iron Man 2. And for nearly as long as she's been a staple of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans have been calling for her to receive her own solo film. And it's finally here. Black Widow is Johansson's long-awaited solo movie, following the fallen Avenger in a solo adventure between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. But is it too little too late?

Check out the Black Widow early buzz reactions to see whether that's the case.

Black Widow screened early for journalists and critics, and the early buzz for the Marvel superhero film starring Johansson as super spy Natasha Romanoff is here.

First, here's my reaction, which seems to be one of the few that are not warm to the film.

But otherwise, Black Widow seems to be met with near-universal praise, with people in particular praising the action set pieces and Florence Pugh's dynamite performance as Yelena, a fellow Black Widow who came from the same program as Natasha Romanoff. A few are even calling it one of Marvel's best solo superhero films.

However, a few reactions acknowledged that Black Widow's biggest enemy may be its timing. A film that takes place between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, it features the return of Johansson as a character whose demise we already saw — and mourned — at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Is Black Widow too little too late?

So is Black Widow one of the best Marvel solo films ever or is it a disappointing spy film that came too late? It seems I'm in the minority, so I guess it's the former.

What You Need to Know About Black Widow

Black Widow Theatrical Release

In addition to Johansson and Pugh, Black Widow also stars David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, and Rachel Weisz. It's directed by Cate Shortland from a screenplay by Eric Pearson.

Here's the snyopsis:

In Marvel Studios' action-packed spy thriller "Black Widow," Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

Marvel's Black Widow is slated to hit theaters, and debut on Disney+ Premier Access, on July 9, 2021.

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