A few weeks before Disney and Marvel Studios released The Black Widow, critics and industry insiders saw the film. Their initial reactions were as erratic as the explosions seen in the trailers, but there seemed to be more positive than negative reactions.

One critic's complaint is that she wants this time of her life back, while another praises Florence Pugh's performance. Before we dive into the good points, let's get the bad ones out of the way. For those of you going to the cinema or buying it with Disney Plus Premiere Access (like us).

Interestingly, I can't find any posts comparing Black Widow to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This is because director Kate Shawhand said that some of the first audiences were comparing the two.

Jeremiah Monahan of DiscussingFilm gave us the most concerning (albeit predictable) warning about Black Widow, saying that it is "very similar to past MCU films, including Marvel's patented tone and lackluster villains." He was not all harsh, however, writing that Black Widow "is anchored by well-directed action and great lead performances from Johansson and Pugh, whose chemistry is breathtaking"

. The biggest naysayer of the film was Scott Menzel, founder of the Hollywood Critics Association, who posted, "Black Widow is a great disappointment. Scarlett Johansson does her best, but the poor script, pacing, and character development sink the film. What started out promising became a disjointed, uneven mess by the second act. Generic, uninspired, and ultimately lacking in Marvel magic."[9

Later in the same thread, Menzel lamented that the Black Widow's "jokes as a whole felt lazy, dated, and out of place. Some of them were actually disgusting". This is exactly the kind of sentiment we don't want to hear. Both Johansson and Black Widow should have acted better," he concludes his thread in frustration.

Now on to the positive: Hector Navarro of Nerdist had the exact opposite reaction, stating, "As someone who has been waiting since 2010 for Natasha Romanoff to have her own film, it was worth the wait." [Eric Davis of Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes praised Black Widow for "truly completing Natasha's story in an intuitive and emotional way." He used all caps when he said the film is "like an MCU Bond film, like 'Mission: Impossible' or 'Thelma & Louise. We speculate that his use of all-caps titles is intended to emphasize the breadth of the film.

And the big news on this reaction concerns Florence Pugh, who seems to have a star on her hands (again) in Black Widow. Jacob Fisher, also of Discussing Film, tweeted that Pugh is "great as Yelena." He was agreed by critic Rand, who wrote, "Florence Pugh is fantastic as Yelena Belova.

It also seems that Pugh enhances Johansson's performance. Brandon Davis of the podcast Phase Zero said, "Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh play Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova beautifully (especially when they are together!)."

Writer/director Ben Meckler also tweeted that the film is "one of Marvel's best, an emotional story with great performances," claiming that its "high-octane chase set in 'JCPenney, Russia'" is "the most original and badass in MCU history. It states that it may be "one of the most tasteful action scenes"

and that the film "is a great story about the history of the MCU.

As for the rest of the cast, Davis notes that David Harbour of "Stranger Things" is "hilarious and adds a lot to the scene," but also notes that this may be Johansson's last outing as Natasha. If so, he says, "it's a great way to say goodbye."