Unlike the people who give movies 1's and 10's, this will be a quick actual review. To start off with, this is by far NOT a "black widow solo flick". It is very much a real world style spy thriller. Dont go in expecting Jlaw to be doing crazy athletic dance-fu moves and exploding enemy bases while using her dance-fu to avoid thousands of rounds of ammo being shot at her, because if you're expecting a Marvel movie you're in the wrong theater!

Jlaw is mostly ok in this far-too-long flick, but she stays very emotionless throughout. All the fake Russian accents all over the place are typically good enough, not amazing and not the worst fake accents like others are saying. Unless you live in a Russian community or are bilingual, it shouldnt have any impact on your viewing.

The premise is interesting as is the approach, however during its 2 hours and change run time we get several repetitions that make the movie really drag. After the third or fourth time you see a shot of someone walk in their building, cut to opening their mailbox, cut to walking into their apartment, cut to in their kitchen sorting their mail before tossing the stack on the table, you will wonder why these repeating scenes werent cut. My fellow movie-watchers were also annoyed by these repeated shots and felt it was likely a red herring to ramp up the tension and make you feel that these people can be in danger anywhere at any time. However, since the movie never followed through with anything, its hard to fully know what the excessive use of repeated pointless shots are.

It was refreshing to get a true spy thriller with a feeling that there could be 'real' consequences, not a bond-type spy flick, and the twists that come along with such a flick were a mixed bag. Some were very good, others fell flat. There was only one or two jump scares, but considering they were one of those *force audience to strain listening* to *EXPLODING NOISE FOR JUMP SCARE*, had they done any more than they had it would have absolutely impacted the score.

The acting was pretty flat with no one really standing out or dragging the movie down. Jlaw kind of Kristen Stewart'ed throughout the movie, wearing the same one expression for a majority of the movie. Maybe she was trying to come across stoic, focused, or like an unflappable spy, but she ends up coming across as a plank of wood at times. Just because the flick is a drama thriller doesnt mean you cant show emotions!

At the 1 hour mark the movie was starting to feel long in the tooth, but it was only halfway done. A lot of the movie could honestly be left on the cutting room floor. It would have been nice if all the filler were replaced with yet another subplot, this being a spy movie and all. Unfortunately we get those same repetitive shots instead. Replace all those repetition shots with another impactful twist and this could have gone to the 8-9 range.

Nothing really stands out or elevates the movie, with most elements being just "fine". They use standard Russian locales, choice beautiful buildings, both interior and exterior, pretty much everything you think of when you think of "movie Russia". The score sat in the background and does not a whole lot for the movie, but every so often it bleed into the scene playing out in a nice way.

This was a better than average movie, definitely not a 1 or a 10, but a 6.5-7 I would say is fair for the movie. Its best to go into this movie with the right expectations. It is first and foremost a spy thriller, so erase your thoughts of a "solo black widow" and more of a loooong realistic spy thriller.

If you're looking for a superhero spy who can do everything perfectly with lots of action, look elsewhere. If you want a movie with closer to realistic spying, with all the boring stuff that comes with it and a pretty good plot and few action scenes, then this might be up your alley.