As Marvels epics get bigger, Black Widows stakes feel too small

Black Widow was released at the wrong time, in multiple ways. The new Marvel prequel was one of the most high-profile films to be displaced by the constantly shifting theatrical release schedule caused by the shuttering of theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But Black Widow — a film set between Captain America: Civil War’s superhero dust-up and Avengers: Infinity War’s cosmos-spanning epic — feels like a movie that should have been released when it’s actually set, instead of as a belated prequel.

Warning: spoilers ahead for Black Widow, Avengers: Endgame, Loki, and the general Marvel Cinematic Universe

It’s not that Black Widow is a bad movie or an unworthy member of the Marvel saga. Its...

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