Black Widow (2021), directed by Cate Shortland

There is a lot to like about the long overdue standalone Black Widow film that tells the origin story of Avenger Natasha Romanov. It has an engaging story about the nature of family, with a strong but subtle underlying theme about combating the abuse, control and trafficking of women and girls. Florence Pugh as Yelena provides a fabulous counterpoint to Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha, the script allowing them some emotion and humour to lift the often-dour Avenger. In flashbacks their child versions represent great casting. Rachel Weisz and David Harbour are great as the main supports, while Ray Winstone makes a suitably evil villain. The plot draws on the TV show The Americans, which fits neatly into the broader Marvel Universe of super soldier rivalry. The film’s style is very Bondish – cheekily referenced at one point, which doesn’t fit quite as well. In an otherwise real-world story the wham bam, barely-a-bruise excessive comic book violence, OTT extended action sequences and ever-conveniently provided hardware and infrastructure sits awkwardly. There are no gods or superheroes to justify the schlock aspect, so while the film is mostly entertaining it does drag in parts, despite running a very reasonable (for Marvel) 140 minutes. Fewer violins on the soundtrack and more songs like the Nirvana cover would also have improved it. But how refreshing it is to see a female-led action film; there should be more of it.

Wind River (2017), directed by Taylor Sheridan

A professional hunter and tracker in the wilds of Wyoming discovers the body of a young Native American woman in the snow, barefoot and bloodied. The find is doubly distressing as it echoes the disappearance of his daughter three years earlier. The FBI is called in to support the ridiculously under-resourced local police but the lone officer who arrives is a young and inexperienced woman based in Las Vegas. She is dedicated and enthusiastic, but woefully unprepared to deal with the extreme climate and the local culture. It’s a powerful story set in a rugged and isolated place, which touches on a lot of issues to do with native dispossession and cultural disintegration, grief, misogyny and violence. A shocking burst of violent action towards the end leads to a form of rough justice. Jeremy Renner and Elisabeth Olsen are totally convincing in the lead roles, although Renner’s tendency to mumble does detract from his performance. Olsen is note perfect as the FBI agent with a lot to learn. Inspired by real events, the film closes with a chilling statement that there are no statistics on the numbers of Native American women who are missing persons, so there is no knowing how often this kind of crime is committed.

The Avengers: Infinity Wars (2018), directed by Anthony Russo & Joe Russo

The action is fast and furious right from the start in the 18th Marvel outing. The film is well structured to cope with all the superheroes in it, with most getting ample screen time for a satisfying story arc and some unusual groupings pulling the various strands together. There is a lot of love and self-sacrifice, all to no avail so the message is a little unclear. Two hours forty is an awfully long film and although the story doesn’t flag it is difficult to remain fully engaged for the whole running time. It is easy to miss important cues, such as those that explain the bizarre choices of Dr Strange, who appears to just give up the fight and trigger disaster. In the end there is so much death and destruction it is hard to keep track of exactly who is lost, but its is safe to assume a figure of half. Largely entertaining, the film nevertheless finishes with more questions than answers, quite deliberately as it is part one of two. Stand by the sequel next year.

Edge of Tomorrow (2015), directed by Doug Liman

The rather romantic name of this film is totally deceptive, it is better described as Groundhog Day on steroids. Tom Cruise is perfectly cast as smug military PR flack Cage, who suddenly finds himself on the front line of a losing war against alien invasion. Just how he wound up there is a puzzle never explained, but never mind plot logic – on with the action. And there is action aplenty as Cage is caught in a time loop that sees him become a battle-hardened warrior, developing the ability to defeat the enemy. Emily Blunt is the best thing about the film, adding action hero to her diverse range. The multicultural military unit includes a couple of Aussies, Kick Curry and Noah Taylor, who add a touch of humour to lighten the unrelenting violent action. Starship Troopers comes to mind at various points, but this film takes itself far more seriously and is much less fun.