Black Widow review: ScarJo’s sendoff is MCU’s best standalone film yet

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  Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) and Yelena (Florence Pugh) meet after a long separation in this week's Black Widow. [credit: Marvel Studios ]

This week's Black Widow may have put a new hit Marvel franchise in motion.

It is intimate, aggressive, funny, and brutal in every PG-13 sense possible. It's an Eastern European Marvel superhero tale that gives hearts to heartless characters without falling into the typical Marvel trap of ending with a neatly tied bow. And the entire cast nails this balancing act.

Perhaps best of all, star Scarlett Johansson (playing the titular character) finally gets to deliver on her Marvel hero status instead of serving as a crutch for a randomly selected male Avenger. She doesn't waste this opportunity, yet she still proves generous as a co-star, so much so that she helps launch Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Little Women) as the Marvel universe's most compelling new hero in years.

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