CGI and action scenes. That's about it. Normally I can get into the comic book movies, but this one simply bored me. I'm honestly curious as to how, at the time of this review, this dreadful thing has a rating of 6.8. This was over 2 hours of "meh ".

Marvel had essentially two options here. Choosing to use a relatively minor character from the MCU that they already knew didn't carry a ton of fan interest would have given them a chance to really surprise fans with just an amazing storyline. Something that would blow fans away with cool lore reveals or new twists outside of the previous movies. Unfortunately, Marvel decided to entertain the second option, which was to meet the fan's low expectations with even weaker rehashed predictable storytelling. This movie offers nothing new from other movies and begs the question why not give a movie to other minor characters like Groot.

I would never label a Marvel film as "uninteresting" (except for the first two "Thor" installments) but this needless chapter gets close.

While the MCU has never revolutionized the wheel in terms of storytelling, there at least has always been a sense of discovery and progression. "Black Widow" only spins its wheels doling out the same tired formula that has continually plagued the solo installments of the ever-expanding universe.

Director Cate Shortland embraces the spy genre but doesn't offer anything interesting with the unlimited budget and talent at her disposal, with her greatest sin being the absolute wasting of Ray Winstone as one of the most pathetic MCU villains (already a low bar to begin with).

Fortunately, the introduction of Florence Pugh as Yelena offers some semblance of hope in this new age of heroes.