Action movies

The franchise has suffered Marvel-ification

The film does at least do what it says on the tin, which is subject you to extremely bad weather over and over

The film stars Tom Hardy, Austin Butler and Jodie Comer, who manages to wipe the floor with both of them

It’s all fine. Anya Taylor-Joy is fine as the vengeful heroine. Chris Hemsworth is fine as the lightly maudlin villain

There are car chases and speed boats and explosions so it’s giving everything an action film would give but in a clever, knowing way

It is a load of tripe. And I really didn’t want it to be

Perhaps the franchise, in all of its demands and themes, misreads the true logic of Hollywood

Black Widow is the latest Marvel film and although I’d sworn off these films a while ago, due to sheer boredom, I was tempted back by the fact that this one stars a lady (Scarlett Johansson) and another lady (Florence Pugh) and even a third lady (Rachel Weisz) and is directed by a lady (Cate Shortland). Could be wonderful, I thought, except it isn’t. More women is its only decent idea. Otherwise, it’s business as usual. Otherwise, it’s all formulaic bish-bosh, smash-crash action scenes broken up by lame jokes and lame philosophising along the lines of: ‘Your pain only makes you stronger.’ Not if you’re dying in hospital and they’ve