"Spider-Man: No Way Home" is a loving tribute to Spidey/MCU fans alike that packs a surprisingly powerful emotional punch

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” Film Review

82/100 “sweet”

By Quinn Marcus

I was ten years old when the world was introduced to the first film in Jon Watts’ take on the web-slinger, 12 when Far From Home was released, and now, during a worldwide pandemic, in the winter of 2021, I got to see No Way Home; the supposed magnum opus for the MCU and Spider-Verse, a culmination of 20 years of storytelling finally arriving on the big screen for all to witness, and I loved it. Now, this isn’t quite going to be a traditional review, I made my decision, and I can’t resist the temptation to discuss so many of the films key plot points, but I am fair, so, if you haven’t seen the film, don’t worry, I’ll be saving my spoiler thoughts for the end of this review. Spider-Man has always been my favorite superhero, every time I've watched a movie with this character in it, no matter how bad the film, I didn’t care, I just wanted to swing around on webs and fight evil lizard men and goblins. As I’ve gotten older though, I began to realize that the character of Spider-Man has such a relatable quality to him unmatched by most superheroes. Peter Parker goes through everyday struggles and challenges with romance, school, and friendships because, at the end of the day, he’s just an awkward teenager who happened to gain heroic abilities. The mask he puts on is essentially an escape from his fears, and in my opinion, no Spider-Man film has ever encapsulated this better than Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, my favorite live-action Spidey film of all time. 

Why did I decide to open my review like this? Well, I guess I just wanted to establish (if in a very simple manner) how much I love this character, and where I stand in terms of the movies. Now, right off the bat, Spider-Man: No Way Home did not take the throne from Raimi, however, I will say that it may just be the best of Watts’ trilogy by an inch, I appreciated so much about this movie, and a lot of it works really well. Do I consider it to be a masterpiece? No, it is flawed, but at its best, Spider-Man: No Way Home is one of the more satisfying and bold MCU movies to date, and I mean that in all honesty. On occasion, this film surpassed my expectations completely. For starters, I’ve always loved this cast, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, and of course, Tom Holland as Peter himself. This ensemble has had great chemistry with each other since 2017, and their performances have gradually gotten better and better, but I can confidently say that Spider-Man: No Way Home has them delivering their best work yet. Especially Holland, he blew me away during this movie, carrying out some truly heartbreaking and nuanced moments, mainly during the second and third acts, which I’ll get to later. Willem Dafoe was a joy to see onscreen as Green Goblin again, seeing his face contort and his voice getting all evil and creepy gave me chills, and his performance was fantastic too, easily the best of all the villain characters. 

Comedically, the humor is just as strong as ever, though not every joke landed, as per usual with the MCU, there were bits and pieces of comedy that were some of the cleverest that MCU has had to offer. I laughed a lot during this movie, but I was genuinely impressed as to how much of the drama got to me as well. Actually, the weaker parts of the film came out of the CGI surprisingly, it was extremely iffy at times, undermining the action sequences quite a bit, and, to be frank, I was slightly underwhelmed by many of the bursts of action this film had. Much of this comes down to Watts’ execution, the action was serviceable for the film, but I thought there was a bigger opportunity to get weird with this one. There’s this battle that happens in the middle of the film (it’s in the trailers) between Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, it ends with Peter telling this wizard “you know what’s cooler than magic? Math!” Yeah, maybe that wasn’t the best call on the writer’s part, but my point is, that battle had so much potential, and it looks fine, but it felt rushed and less epic than I was hoping for. Visually, the film isn’t as interesting as it could have been, some of the shots looked fake and glossy, and there are certain editing choices made that came across as out of place rather than quirky, which is what I think the intention was, especially during the first act.

Perhaps this was an attempt to keep the film in its teen roots, but, at the end of the day, Spider-Man: No Way Home is propelled almost solely by the characters that inhabit the frame, I was so invested in these people the entire time, and that’s surely a win. Michael Giacchino’s soundtrack is his strongest yet, having composed both Homecoming and Far From Home, the last 30mins has a particularly strong musical score. The film does suffer from some uneven pacing, the second act dragged significantly compared to the rest of the movie, and I didn’t love a couple of the villains, but holy crap, the ending packs a punch. A certain choice is made leading into the finale that honestly made my jaw drop, the MCU took a legitimate risk, and I hope it isn't resolved in some stupid way, that would undermine the ending's impact so much. I got close to tearing up, the conclusion to this movie was amazing and so fulfilling. I won’t say anything (yet), but how Spider-Man: No Way Home explores what it means to be Spider-Man made for some of the best sections of the movie, this Peter Parker is put through some dark stuff, and for the most part, the punches aren’t pulled. 

Okay, now it’s time to get into the good stuff (you know what I mean), leave if you don’t want to know anything, otherwise, let’s do this. So, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield came back, three generations of Spider-Men in the same movie, I never thought I’d see the day, but Jon Watts pulled it off rather spectacularly. Yes, it's fan service, the way they’re introduced wouldn’t make me think otherwise, but damn, the chemistry between Holland, Garfield, and Maguire was perfect, literally flawless. The shared moments of humor and analysis of what Spider-Man represents between the three…I still can’t get over how unbelievably insane it was to see them all together, it was glorious, and the final fight didn’t disappoint. There is a character death in the film which serves as a moving second act turn, and that is of Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May. I loved how this death was handled, it’s sudden in the film, but it largely works thanks to Holland and Tomei’s brilliantly poignant and grounded work during that scene, every Peter Parker has had a death in the family, and this one got to me. I will say that Tomei getting the “with great power comes great responsibility” line felt a tad out of place during the scene, but that’s pretty much my only gripe with it.

Now, this scene sets up Holland’s most compelling character development of the film, he’s become driven by grief and revenge to kill his Aunt’s murderer: Green Goblin, and I greatly appreciated the turn Peter’s once hopeful character has during the film leading into the 3rd act, arguably the best of the film. Alright, let's talk about that ending. After Peter’s attempt to kill the Green Goblin is thwarted by Maguire’s Peter (it’s an awesome scene), that choice I was talking about earlier was to make everyone in the world forget who Peter Parker is to save the universe and bring the multiverse visitors home. I couldn’t believe it myself, but it makes for some very affectionate moments between MJ, Ned, and Peter, watching them say goodbye to each other was a little bit devastating, but the decision Peter makes ultimately works for his character, putting others before himself, it’s a strong message, and one worthy of a Spider-Man film. The aftermath, seeing Peter attempt to talk to MJ, try and make her remember, but seeing that she’s okay without him, it’s beautiful to watch, easily one of the best finales to an MCU film ever. I left the theater wide-eyed and smiling, this film is absolutely wonderful, and the audience was surprisingly respectful, which was a nice bonus.

"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" features phenomenal choreography and likable stars in an otherwise average MCU film

“Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten ring’s” film review

72/100 “sweet/sour”

By Quinn Marcus

I haven’t seen that Marvel Studios logo on the big screen in two years, ever since I saw Spider-Man: Far From Home, I got legitimate chills while hearing the familiar fanfare, and watching my favorite characters and scenes appear in those glorious letters. So, as always, you came to hear my thought’s on the MCUs next big film, and not to see me ramble about the profound, deep experience I had with the opening seconds, and I don’t plan to disappoint. Okay, how was Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (really rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?) Maybe I got too excited when I heard people calling it Marvel’s best solo film since Thor: Ragnarok, or perhaps the trailers got me to overhype it to the point of preparing a top 10 spot in my MCU rankings for this film, but honestly, it was…fine. Compared to the studio’s best, it’s definitely a mid-tier installment that I loved at points but is undeniably flawed. However, it did manage to get me excited about this character’s future role in this vast universe, so, I guess it could’ve been much worse.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings tells the story of Shang-Chi, who at 15, escaped his warlord, grieving father to live his life for 10 years, but when the past comes knocking on his door, he must decide to embark on an epic quest to find and stop what he originally wished to escape from, his dad’s mysterious Ten Rings army.

Let’s start this thing off, shall we? First of all, the action, holy crap it was good (most of the time). The fighting choreography in this film is some of the best from the MCU since The Winter Soldier, they clearly hired a handful of extremely talented martial artists, got a director who knew what the hell he was doing, and combined the two to make some breathtaking action sequences accompanied by an exhilarating soundtrack. When I say “some,” though, I mean, a few that were fantastic, particularly this bus fight that really got the adrenaline pumping. Overall, though, the fights were pretty hit or miss in my opinion, when they hit though, they hit hard, it’s just that many of them weren’t nearly as memorable as the others, and got kind of exhausting after a while. Simu Liu has proven himself to be an instant superstar in this movie, he was such a charismatic, likable, fun presence in the film that you do really care for. He’s also accompanied by the once again terrific, and hilarious Awkwafina who carries much of the MCUs signature on-point humor.

Tony Leung is awesome as Shang-Chi’s dad, although I found his character to be weaker than the performance (we’ll talk about that later). Ben Kingsley makes a surprise return, redeeming himself after Iron Man 3, and he was hysterical, I loved everything the writers did with his character. Michelle Yeoh, from another martial arts film you may have heard of, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon made a fabulous appearance which was also cool to see. One performance that did bug me quite a bit though was Meng’er Zhang as Shang-Chi’s sister, she was the weakest actor in the film in my opinion, many of her choices felt forced and obvious compared to the rest, and I didn’t adore her character either. The CGI is astounding, at this point, I don’t expect much less from this studio, the final battle looks remarkable, overloaded with VFX of course, but damn good VFX at that. Usually, in a Marvel film, there are a few CGI shots that you can tell look fake, but Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has fewer of those, showing how far the MCU’s special effects have come.

I’ll get to my flaw’s in a second, but what I appreciated the most about this movie was that it largely doesn’t feel like an MCU film in terms of style, at least, not until the very end with a certain obligatory post-credit scene setting up the next film, can’t be an MCU movie without that though. Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy, Short Term 12) does a reasonably good job directing the film, it’s very fast-paced, at almost 2hrs 20mins, it largely moves by like that, the writing is where most of my issues lie. The “villain” in the film, Shang-Chi’s father is kind of just another power-hungry bad guy who’s not necessarily evil in any way, in fact, I’d hardly call him evil, rather, a puppet to let open the final battle, and someone for our protagonist to get mad at and fight. His motivation is not entirely clear, and he’s almost possessed of this goal he has that’s actually not all too terrible, he just wants his wife back, but what I don’t understand is, the film strangely acts like this is a bad thing.

Okay, but maybe the screenwriters were going for a villain you can kind of get behind, the MCUs been doing more of that lately, but if they were doing that, Thanos and Killmonger are much better examples of villains with extra layers that are more specific. The relationship between the father and son was fascinating, but it was clear the writers were relying on flashbacks to make him seem horrible and menacing. There’s also a lot of expository dialogue, even for an MCU film, the middle of the movie has so much explaining, and it does drag for some time, the opening scenes and last 30-40mins were the best parts of the film for me. I give it credit for stylistically differentiating itself from other MCU flicks, but the script was extremely sloppy. There’s an amazing film buried somewhere in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but I didn’t love it as much as most, it’s pretty good, I enjoyed myself, but it didn’t meet my full expectations.

"Free Guy" is a heartfelt, hilarious, visually impressive action-comedy featuring a surprising amount of intelligence

“Free Guy” Film Review

86/100 “sweet”

By Quinn Marcus

Okay look, after this film, my family spent 30mins in the car discussing the moral implications of killing AI capable of feeling human emotion. Now, I don’t know about you, but that’s not a sign of just another ridiculous, dumb video-game film, rather, something a little deeper than one might expect. I haven’t been the biggest fan of Shawn Levy’s filmography, don’t get me wrong, as a kid, the Night at the Museum films and Cheaper by the Dozen were all masterpieces, but they didn’t do as well as I became a teenager, I still consider them to be perfectly okay, passable family fluff, but none of them left lasting impacts on my journey through film, and are honestly kind of forgettable. However, as reviews began rolling in for his latest, Free Guy, a film that I had absolutely zero desire to see, I suddenly began to anticipate watching it, and I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest, rather, actually pretty surprised. I found myself gasping in awe during some of the action sequences, laughing hysterically at the marvelously written jokes, and appreciating the heart beating at the film’s core.

Free Guy tells the story of Guy, a video game character living in Free City, a world generated by its developers. Unaware that he doesn’t exist, he goes about his everyday routine as the players kill people, blow up stuff, and rob banks. However, when a certain player walks into his life, he decides he wants things to change, little does he know that not only will this decision make an impact on the gaming world, but the real world as well.

Okay, before you assume I thought it was a masterpiece, I’ll tell you upfront, it is flawed, but this is definitely one of those movies that I rate more out of enjoyment, my opinion will likely change in the future, but for now, I can’t help but express how much I adored Free Guy. The cast alone is absolutely stacked, Ryan Reynold’s is phenomenal as always, charming, likable, and really damn funny. Jodie Comer is fantastic as well, and so is Taika Waititi, Joe Keery, pretty much every name in the cast did a good job, I don’t have any issues there. Channing Tatum even makes an awesome cameo in the film as a game character. The visual effects are beyond astounding, there’s a certain scene with building’s collapsing in on themselves while a car is driving through the chaos, and it was just so badass, the CGI is some of the best I’ve seen in a video-game film, and I wouldn’t mind it receiving a nomination for it at the Oscars, plenty of scenes look incredible. The way in which Reynold’s video-game world was depicted was visually ambitious, but also extremely creative.

Thankfully though, the film isn’t all style over substance, in the end, there’s a complex narrative happening at the center of the film, two in fact, both of which I found equally as engaging. One set in the real world in which two coders are trying to take back a code this developer stole from them to make a game, and then the whole video-game part of the film. There are tons of jokes on each flip side of the movie, and every single one of them worked, I never cringed, or thought to myself ‘this isn’t funny.’ All of the jokes land, and so do the more emotional moments. Granted, there are a few dramatic scenes that were handled in a generic way that I kind of expected, especially at the very end, but overall, I cared for these characters, and what they wanted to accomplish. There is one shift that takes place later in the film involving a reboot of Free City that was a little tagged-on, and when solved, felt kind of pointless, but it only lasts for a few minutes. I was also a little worried during the first 10mins of the movie, mostly because everything I knew was going to happen in terms of comedy and story was happening, and I didn’t know I was going to find too much more out of the film, but it proved me wrong big time.

Throughout Free Guy, I saw hints of The Truman Show, Her, Ex Machina, The Lego Movie, and other similar films interlaced into this movie’s strangely philosophical concept. It asks the question: is creating AI possible, and if so, should we treat it as our equal, or something to eradicate. I never expected this when I saw the trailers, but weirdly, I found a lot more to ponder over than I thought I would. It studies its idea’s from both perspectives, the NPC character’s, and the actual human’s that created them, and while it could get messy and exhausting, it was all extremely interesting, and even sparked a conversation after the film, something I always love when walking out of a theater. If a movie, yes, even Free Guy can get you and your friends or family to spend time analyzing the plot, and talking about how much you loved it, it’s surely a win in my opinion, even if it wasn’t perfect. Guys, Free Guy isn’t the most subtle movie on the planet, it’s ideas are expressed in a somewhat up-front, in your face way, and all of the energy the film carries can wear you out, but overall, this film was a shockingly clever, emotionally satisfying visual rollercoaster that might be one of my favs of the year thus far.

"Jungle Cruise" is a largely forgettable if relatively enjoyable family adventure featuring solid lead performances and fun action

“Jungle Cruise” Film Review

56/100 “sour”

By Quinn Marcus

I’ve personally never been on a Disney theme park ride, I went to Disney Land in France once, but it rained, my little sister wouldn’t stop screaming, and all of the rides were closed, so, that was fun. Anyway, I guess I’m trying to say that I’ve never been on the ride that inspired this film, and due to some of the reviews I’ve read, I believe it actually changes the whole experience, for better, or for worse. Alright, right off the bat, Jungle Cruise is not the next Pirates of the Caribbean, nor is it the next Indiana Jones, it’s almost the discount version of both of them, however, it was surprisingly not too bad. I adore adventure movies, they are truly a main form of escapism for me, from the witchcraft and wizardry of Harry Potter to the distant reaches of space with Interstellar (my fav film), I really enjoy this genre. The constant peril characters find themselves in, the mythic struggles and big, blockbuster finishes are always key aspects with these films, and yes, while Jungle Cruise just about ticks off every one of those boxes, does it bring its a-game with each one? The answer is a little more complicated than one might think.

Jungle Cruise tells the story of Dr. Lily Houghton in the early 20th century, who gains the help of witty skipper Frank Wolff to take her down the Amazon River in hopes of finding an ancient tree with the power to heal any disease, in an attempt to change the future of medicine for good.

I didn’t really have a major desire to watch this film, sure, I’d seen the trailer’s, and knew some info, but I really couldn’t care less, but when you have five siblings in the house who’ve just discovered a new fantasy movie on Disney+, it’s hard to get out of it. And besides, I love Emily Blunt, and The Rock, and pairing them together could be a great idea, that’s pretty much where the quality halts a tad for me. The two leads are practically the only reason to watch this film, everything and everyone else was, for the most part, pretty mediocre. Okay, but before I get to my main issues, what did I enjoy about this film. Well, the first half was like a cute version of Indiana Jones, and I was on board, the pacing was great, Emily Blunt made for an entertaining, lively protagonist, and I was actually having fun…for a while. The screenplay is easily the worst aspect for me, gratefully, The Rock does bring a little bit of his signature charm to spice up the otherwise poor writing, but in the end, there are so many plot conveniences, illogical character decisions, and issues with the second half, that I don’t even know where to start.

The main villain, this Prince Joachim is barely in the movie, and when you have an actor like Jesse Plemons, I expect the film to use him, he’s dreadfully unfunny and doesn’t make much impact whatsoever during the runtime. I won’t spoil, but later on, there are a few more antagonists that come into play, and the CGI used for them was almost video game-like, in fact, much of the visual effects weren’t that great, to be honest. Admittedly, there were a couple of exhilarating action scenes, but a lot of them just looked way too fake, it’s only when the clear usage of practical sets kicks in did it feel a little less artificial. One thing that also struck me about the second act was a compilation of very strange scenes, some involving this native tribe, and not gonna lie, it got pretty intense for a kid’s movie. It’s roughly 2hr 10mins runtime flew by like that, it didn’t feel too long, and my siblings weren’t bored at all, so that’s a plus.

After the first hour, it started to seem like the screenwriters kind of gave up and resorted to just writing things, because, during the last half, it felt like scenes and plot points were simply occurring, and didn’t serve a major purpose. And of course, because it’s Disney, the film doesn’t take too many risks towards the end which leads to some pretty iffy character choices that didn’t quite make sense to me. A certain character is saved by another, even though he said himself that he didn’t want to be saved, and that issue was left unresolved. I wish the film maintained its originally promising, lighthearted feel that I was beginning to love, but you could tell that the adventure lost its steam through the second and third acts. It also just became way too ridiculous to me, this whole subplot involving this Spanish conquistador was clearly rushed, only there to set up this shocking reveal that’s not very surprising.

Look, I can’t say I was disappointed mainly because I didn’t really want to watch this in the first place, you can tell it was based on a theme park ride as you’re watching. Jungle Cruise doesn’t bring anything fresh or new to the genre, but will definitely fulfill your need for a dumb, predictable, if reasonably fun adventure film that older kids will, without a doubt, enjoy. My 10-year-old brother had a blast with this movie, and if I was his age, I bet I would too, but there’s just too many issues and writing mistakes that led to a very average experience, but because I know kids will love it, and I’m feeling nice today, I’ll give it a few extra points, even if it didn’t exactly earn it.

"Black Widow" revitalizes the MCU's long-dormant film universe in spectacularly badass fashion

“Black Widow” Film Review

80/100 “sweet”

By Quinn Marcus

Oh man, I missed the MCU, didn’t you guys? I was always hyped to see a Marvel movie, hoping for a big, intelligent blockbuster crafted with skill. I wanted to theorize again, grip my seat, preparing myself for a compelling post-credit scene, and gasp in awe during the action. The pain of not having an MCU film for two years was almost too much to bear, and after delay, after delay, after delay, Marvel is finally back, and I’m very pleased to say, they haven’t lost their touch. I’m not what you’d call an MCU fanboy, I don’t go fucking berserk whenever a character gets a haircut or something, trust me, I know people who have. However, I’ve always loved this universe of movies. It’s pretty amazing if you think about it, 24 films in 13 years, and the vast majority of them (in my opinion) have been really solid. It’s kind of unprecedented, to be honest, and the MCU has helped bring the superhero genre to new heights, even claiming a best picture nomination for Black Panther back in 2018. These guys have made history, that’s not something many superhero franchises can say, and while there have been mediocre, and sometimes really bad films here and there, I’ve had fun with almost every single one.

Black Widow takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War, in which Natasha Romanoff is on the run for disobeying the Sokovia Accords. She decides to quit fleeing from her past, and assemble her family to take down the “Red Room,” a hidden training facility that mind-controls women, and turns them into Black Widows.

I went into Black Widow feeling pretty skeptical, these doubts were powered by the reviews I’d read calling it “bland” and “dull.” Also, I was very worried it was going to feel like a film strictly for the fans, that it wouldn’t honor Natasha’s story, and just be a Black Widow movie for the sake of making one. And yes, while I still believe this is a film that should’ve been made a decade ago, it does more than enough to justify its own existence today. Black Widow carries the monumental task of making an impact on the MCU’s storyline, we all know that Natasha died in Avengers: Endgame, and this film, for the most part, seemed to give her the story she deserves, whilst setting up future projects. Alright, right off the bat, is it the MCU’s best film? No, no it is not. However, it doesn’t need to be, we don’t need Marvel’s next masterpiece immediately after they completed their beloved Infinity Saga, an epic, consistently interesting journey topped with potentially the most satisfying superhero film ever, Avengers: Endgame. Soon after, Spider-Man: Far From Home dropped, and it served as one of those MCU palette cleansers, and it was a pretty decent summer film.

Black Widow reminded me of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a darker, spy thriller-styled MCU film filled to the brim with awesome action sequences. Obviously, it’s not as good, and Cate Shortland is clearly not as well-versed in the action genre as the Russo’s, but damn, Shortland did a badass job directing this film. What surprised me about the film was the visual style, Shortland directs some of the most aesthetically pleasing action scenes to ever come out of the MCU, particularly a breathtaking skydiving scene that blew me away. Her use of shaky cam is apparent, and it could get annoying at times, but what I appreciated was that the action didn’t try to be more than what it is. This is the type of action I expect from a Marvel standalone adventure, Far From Home went overboard with its action, but Black Widow dialed it down to an appropriate amount. It never felt exhausting, and the parts of the film I loved the most weren’t the action scenes, but the family ones. The family dynamic in the film was brilliantly handled, often reminding me of The Incredibles, and it’s easily the best aspect for me.

The supporting cast is stellar, especially Pugh and Harbor, carrying most of the comedic force in the film. Once again, like in most of Marvel’s films, the script’s joke’s landed, but the drama was undoubtedly rich as well. The conversations Natasha’s family had were fascinating, and emotionally resonant, letting the pacing breathe, and the tension ease out for a bit, but not in a boring, side-plot type of way, it really felt authentic. Scarlett Johansson has been rocking this role since Iron Man 2, but this is probably her best work as the character to date. My guess is that she finally felt as if she knew Natasha’s character, that she had a backstory, and it clearly worked because she was quite good in the film as well.

Let’s talk about the villains for a second, so Taskmaster, wow, talk about an overhyped villain, the whole “evil plot” of the story felt horribly rushed, generic, and lesser to some of the MCU’s greatest villains such as Killmonger in Black Panther, another standalone film. This is unfortunate because, from the opening, bone-chilling montage of Natasha being taken away from her family, the adversary of the film felt pretty intriguing, but he’s easily the weakest part of the film. There’s another evil character I won’t name in order not to spoil it, but he had some of the most laughable, half-assed dialogue I’ve ever seen come out of a villain’s mouth, you'll see for yourself. It’s a cool thing to have a Terminator-like Marvel character in your film, but if you’re going to underuse him, and his “boss,” at least give us something more to hate them for. There were also quite a few plot holes here and there, like the fact that there are several scenes where Natasha should have died, not being a superhero. The script was great the whole way through, but it definitely got a little iffy towards the end, as the classic evil speech is given. Besides that, I had a great time with Black Widow, the familial aspect of the movie really carried it the whole way through, as well as Shortland’s very well directed action, and the main ensemble brought a whole lot of heart to level with the quick pace. Black Widow is the type of Marvel film that restores my hope for phase four’s lineup, and while I don’t think they’ll ever recreate the magic of the first three phases, Cate Shortland suggests the beginning of a bright future for the MCU.