Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) faces the demons of her past when she receives a package from her long lost adoptive sister Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). 

Opening with a flashback to 1995 we are given some background to the Russian sleeper cell that Natasha grew up in with the fake family that felt so real to her. Her mother Melina (Rachel Weisz) and father Alexei (David Harbour) tasked with a secret mission from General Dreykov (Ray Winstone). We then travel forward in time to immediately after the events of Captain America: Civil War where we find Natasha on the run thanks to the Sokovia accords. What follows is a fleshing out of the Black Widow as someone who has always been in search of a family whether that be with the Avengers or the adoptive one she was thrust into as a child. 

The action all revolves around the infamous Red Room and its mastermind Dreykov. Able to control his Widows through mind control he is desperately trying to eradicate an antidote that has appeared in the world and unleashes his special weapon, Taskmaster on Romanoff. Taskmaster is able to mimic the fighting ability of anyone they see and utilises a shield and bow at different points. 

The action is as polished as you would expect with some fantastic aerial work, even if it does include a large object falling to the Earth, something that I thought Marvel had moved on from. But the most enjoyable aspect of the film is the humour. Pugh and Harbour are genuinely hilarious and having lots of fun. Pugh’s character making fun of Romanoff’s superhero landings and Harbour’s reminiscing about his glory days as the only Russian super soldier. That is not to say that Scarlett Johansson is sidelined with this film and Infinity War really giving her character the depth she deserves. 

After the bombast of the one-two punch of Avengers Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame this in comparison is a low key meditation on family. Or at least as much of one as you can get in the Marvel universe. 

As usual, stay till the very end to see how some characters introduced here may return in the future.