After going on the run following the Sokovia Accords, former Russian spy and Avenger Natasha Romanoff is pulled back into the world of espionage when malign forces try to kill her. The search for reasons why will take back to previous haunts, previous family and previous sins.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been home to many genres of film and this is another one. BLACK WIDOW is basically a Bond movie with a female Bond. The franchise even gets a less than subtle reference on screen in case that wasn't clear, but the film's stylistc origins shouldn't be a suprise to anyone. Romanoff may have fought alongside gods and against aliens, but she has no powers beyond the skills she was taught by her spymasters. What other kind of film could her solo outing possibly be.

The Bond template is followed slavishly throughout, from the pre-credit sequence of a family fleeing for their freedom to the final showdown in a villain's exploding lair. There is lots of slick action, something the Marvel films have always excelled in, but it's all grounded in the (near) reality of the superspy genre. Lots of chases and explosions and jailbreaks, all slickly and entertainingly put togethe follow, peppered with the kind of wisecracks that Bond would be proud of.

Marvel, though, knows that empty spectacle is not enough, so there are plenty of character moments along the way. Since Romanoff has been in so many other Marvel movies, we already know her and Scarlett Johansson knows her even better and is completely comfortable with everything the film throws at her. In fact, she plays the straight man to the other characters introduced into her story. Florence Pugh is a firecracker of a younger version of the main character. It is fun to see the older, wiser version sparring with the younger, headstrong one. That was a clever move on the part of the writers and it pays off in spades. David Harbour provides the film's comic relief as Alexei, a Russian supersoldier who beleives himself to be the cyrillic Captain America. Comic foil is all he is, though, since the character does nothing to advance the story at any point, providing nothing more than a reason to stage a jailbreak. This, though, is a ladies' film in every sense and the trio is completed by Rachel Weisz as matriarch Melina, providing basically three generations of Black Widows going up against the bad guys.

The bad guys are the film's main weakness. This being Marvel's Bond movie, there's no superpowered big bad to be faced, only Ray Winstone's despotic spymaster. The closest we get is his henchman Taskmaster, who is another master spy in fancy body armour. Even so, the army of newly-qualified widows provides plenty of disposable enemies for the breathless chase scenes.

BLACK WIDOW is an entirely fun ride, up there with the best of the Bonds it so closely apes. There's no real threat to the main character, this being a prequel, but it provides her with some depth and focus and should have happened a long time ago.

It's here now and worth the wait.