Movie Review: Black Widow

This is a slightly unfair review as I fell asleep about 30 minutes from the end. I'll attempt to avoid spoilers - but I guarantee you've seen this movie before.

I felt like I was watching a supercut of a dozen different movies and TV shows. Loving American parents secretly spies? The Americans! Tank driving through an urban centre? GoldenEye! Dropping a knife to a free hand? Game of Thrones! Masks that transform you into someone else? Mission Impossible! Underneath the metal mask is a scarred and scared human? Return of the Jedi! Breaking a character out of Russian prison? Muppets Most Wanted!

As for the story - it's Emma Peel, in skintight leather, having to reprogramme all the Dolls from the Doll House, while fighting off the Deadly International Viper Assassination Squad.

For all that, it's a fun - and funny - movie. Having immortal gods smash up a city is so tiresome - at least this is a fairly "human" movie with no magic powers to save the day. The banter between the characters introduces much-needed levity, and it knows exactly what tropes it is playing with.

Like most modern action films, you're basically watching stunt-doubles, filmed in slow motion and then sped up again. It would be nice, just once, to have a fight which doesn't cut to a different angle every nanosecond.

Look - it's no worse than any other superhero movie. If you like recycled plots and enjoy trying to place Ray Winstone's accent, then you'll have a good time.