, directed by Australia’s Cate Shortland , is the first full-fledged Marvel blockbuster in two years – and only the second ever, followingThese facts aside, the film isn’t likely to go down in Marvel history as much more than a footnote, nor does it tell us much about the studio’s envisaged next phase.
So there’s more than revenge at stake when Yelena persuades Natasha to join her on a mission to bring down General Dreykov , the mastermind behind the still operative Red Room, the training and brainwashing centre that transformed both “sisters” into ruthless killers .To bring this off, a reunion is necessary, or maybe Yelena just wants it that way.
The result has the usual peculiar Marvel mix of tones, though Shortland, whose style aims for immediacy – often hand-held and in close-up – doesn’t exult in the contradictions the way that James Gunn did in his cartoonishfilms. The backstory is all about trauma and child abuse; there’s an especially chilling allusion to the fate of those little girls who were selected for the Red Room but didn’t make it through.
On the other hand, the climax pays explicit homage to one of the silliest James Bond adventures – and this is also a sitcom that follows a dysfunctional family on a road trip, like the recent streaming animated featureShowing her versatility, Pugh scores some laughs with her stereotypically “Russian” bluntness. Harbour’s dopey dad routine is more strained, and Weisz, a relatively straitlaced foil, joins a long line of women whose talents Marvel has squandered.
But nothing can mask the rote quality of the character’s emotional journey, whereby the aftermath of the Cold War is reduced to a backdrop for a story about one woman learning to reconnect with her feelings. By the way, why is it that current anxieties about the need for “authentic” casting tend to be tossed out the window where Russians are concerned? Your guess is certainly as good as mine.