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Written by a woman. Go figure.
An excerpt:
Technically, this was a review of the entire movie and in a venue I read and appreciate, Strange Horizons, not just a review of Natasha, so here's a link to the rest. Enjoy.
An excerpt:
Johansson plays Black Widow in a complex and understated way, fitting for one of the most interesting characters in the franchise. While her romance subplot with Bruce Banner is rather out of left field and at times very clunky, Black Widow is never reduced to an accessory for the male character and always has strong motivations outside of that relationship—a rare thing indeed in nearly any “blockbuster” movie, let alone one based on comic books. Her revelation that the “graduation ceremony” of the Red Room involved sterilization to make her a more effective assassin by removing the possibility of family is opaquely written dialog rendered clear only by Johansson’s performance: Natasha thinks of herself as a monster not because she cannot have children, but because of all the things that were done to her to make her into an assassin, with that as the crowning event. That Natasha simultaneously considers herself a monster and is still “Auntie Nat” to Clint Barton’s children highlights the emotional complexity that defines Black Widow.
Technically, this was a review of the entire movie and in a venue I read and appreciate, Strange Horizons, not just a review of Natasha, so here's a link to the rest. Enjoy.
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