Big Picture Big Sound

Cate Shortland's "Black Widow" is being sold as a prequel about Natasha Romanoff, or Black Widow, one of the Avengers who has never received the standalone treatment in the franchise. "Prequel" may suggest it's an origin story, but "Black Widow" only spends a few opening moments with Romanoff as a young girl living with her family before forward 21 years, situating the movie between the events of "Captain America: Civil War" and "Avengers: Infinity War." It's a shame that "Widow" will end up being regarded as an afterthought by Marvel aficionados, because Romanoff's chance to be front-and-center is quite fun and often thrilling.

Scarlett Johansson has been Natasha Romanoff since the beginning, so she is comfortable living with this character. Most franchise players eventually wear their character like a second skin, so it's no surprise that Johansson commands her own movie with ease. The plot has Natasha setting off on a globetrotting mission that leads to a reunion with her sister Yelena (Florence Pugh), who was raised with her by Alexei (David Harbour) and Melina (Rachel Weisz). Like most movies of its kind, the third act here culminates in a showdown between good-versus-bad, which is where "Black Widow" falters. Ray Winstone's Dreykov is mentioned and briefly seen throughout the film, but shows up when he's supposed to and, in the end, doesn't have enough time to bring any real menace.

Marvel movies are often hit-or-miss with their villains (Josh Brolin's Thanos is likely the universal pick for the best baddie from these movies), and "Black Widow" has one of the weaker ones. It's a testament to Shortland's film that it almost doesn't matter. The heart of "Black Widow" is the relationship between Johansson and Pugh's characters, which provides shared history and fun banter while guiding us through the action scenes. Pugh is a wonderful addition to this world and continues to show her range as a gifted actress, bringing emotional weight to Yelena as well as having impeccable comedic timing in her delivery. She's a standout among the cast, and Johansson is a generous enough scene partner to never try and overshadow Pugh despite occupying the title role.

A few of the special effects feel a bit off, but the actual action in "Black Widow" is some of the most thrilling to come from Marvel movies. Shortland isn't afraid to set the camera in the middle of a fight and make the audience feel the punches being thrown, rather than keeping them as spectators on the sidelines. It's easy for superhero movies to feel like a live action cartoons because directors want to play it safe to reach the widest audience, but "Black Widow" takes some risks with its action.

"Black Widow" is one of the more self-contained Marvel movies, standalone or otherwise, and some may disregard that as being slight. But it's nice to have a movie be exactly what it is - an action movie with equal thrills and laughs - and not have the weight of the world on its shoulders. The "Avengers" movies can take themselves a bit too seriously, which makes "Black Widow" feel like a nice palate cleanser.