The First ‘Black Widow’ Reactions Are Overwhelmingly Positive And Celebrate Scarlett And Florence: ‘Marvel Movies Are Back!’

The first reactions to Black Widow are in, and critics seem to be just as blown away by Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh‘s performances as they are by the fact that Marvel movies are finally back after the pandemic delayed the film’s release by more than a year. Granted, Marvel’s Phase 4 officially kicked off with the January premiere of WandaVision on Disney+, but Black Widow is the first full-fledged Marvel movie since 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, and people are here for it, as well as the idea of Florence Pugh’s character carrying the torch from here.

“Although there’s some excellent action, what pulled me in was the really powerful themes & character moments the film presented,” writes Jacob Fisher from Discussing Film. “Easily Scarlett’s best performance as Nat, and Florence Pugh is brilliant as Yelena.”

“Yelena will be a new fan-favorite after #BlackWidow, too,” writes Alisha Grauso. “Florence Pugh knocked it out of the park. She and Scarlett Johansson are phenomenal together as two ‘sisters’ used and abused by a system they need to break.”

“Marvel movies are back! #BlackWidow is a tense, action-packed spy thriller that truly completes Natasha’s story in a visceral & emotional way,” writes Erik Davis. “Florence Pugh CRUSHES it & is an instant MCU icon.”

In case you can’t tell, Johansson and Pugh give standout performances in the spy thriller, which is a recurring theme in the Black Widow reactions. While there’s definitely an argument to be made that Marvel shouldn’t have waited this long to finally give Johnasson her own solo movie, the consensus seems to be that director Cate Shortland has not only done right by Natasha, but she’s prepped MCU fans for Pugh to be a worthy successor.

You can see more Black Widow reactions below:

Black Widow smashes into theaters and Disney Plus with Premier Access on July 9.

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