Thor

On the surface, Cate Shortland’s Black Widow may feel like an inconsequential piece of the Marvel puzzle. Since it’s set between the events in Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, it’s easy to wonder why the studio went backward instead of forward. There’s a delicate balance there, to be sure, but the film explores the recent past with an eye on enriching many of the things we already loved about the titular character while introducing a whole new side of her world. Thankfully, it works, though it’s not without some setbacks.