Black Widow would have meant much more to fans if it had come out before the eponymous hero died in Avengers: Endgame.

The title character, played extremely well for many years now by Scarlett Johansson, has been an integral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since very nearly the beginning. She's a founding Avenger and a pillar of each film she's appeared in ... so it's a shame the MCU waited until now to give her a solo film. Let's be blunt: We would care more about the outcome of this movie if we didn't already know her untimely end was inevitable.

OK, let's set that gripe aside. How was the movie as a stand-alone feature?

Outstanding.

The movie is set during the second act of Captain America: Civil War. Black Widow has already played her part in that movie, and she's on the run from the U.S. government for violating the terms of the Sokovia Accords, which tie the hands of superheroes and, in Civil War, pits the Avengers against each other. As Captain America, Iron Man and the Winter Soldier set off to finish that film, Natasha Romanoff goes into deep cover in Norway ... until she receives a mysterious package that sends her to an unexpected reunion in Budapest.

The plot sends her back to the Red Room, a secret Russian agency that trains young girls to be assassins (or "Widows"). The man who ran the agency when Natasha was trained, Dreykov (Ray Winstone), is still in charge -- despite her belief for many years that she had killed both him and his young daughter in an explosive assassination attempt that was part of her defection agreement with S.H.I.E.L.D. He, miffed that Natasha was able to break the mind control techniques used to keep the Widows in check, now uses a chemical control that inhibits the victims' free will.

Among the Widows still under Dreykov's thumb is Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), who was Natasha's "sister" when she was part of a wholesome, all-American family in Ohio that was actually a Russian sleeper cell -- led by their "dad" Alexei, aka the Red Guardian (David Harbour), and their "mom" Melina (Rachel Weisz), one of Dreykov's top scientists. Yelena is released from Dreykov's mind control by another rogue Widow, even as Yelena kills her, and Yelena, now desperate for revenge against the Red Room, seeks out Natasha's assistance. (For some reason, when they meet for the first time after so many years, they fight, violently, but hey, it's a cool fight scene.) And they, needing further aid, break Alexei out of prison and track Melina down at her secret wilderness lab.

That's all I'll say about the plot. Other stars include O-T Fagbenle as Mason, Natasha's weapons guy, Ever Anderson and Violet McGraw as young Natasha and Yelena, respectively, and William Hurt as Secretary Ross, reprising his role from Civil War (even though he looks far older now than he did then). Also among the antagonists is the mysterious Taskmaster, an armored thug who can perfectly mimic anyone's fighting styles after seeing them in action -- so, imagine one person with the skills of Black Widow, Captain America, Hawkeye and more, combined.

Taskmaster is woefully underdeveloped and underutilized in this movie, by the way. It might not be a problem if Dreykov was a more memorable villain, but he's just ... meh.

Certainly the film has weaknesses, some of which are pretty glaring. The whole pheromone thing, for instance -- you'll know it when you see it -- is a poorly conceived plot device that could have been circumvented by a cheap set of nose plugs or, you know, by walking across the room. Natasha survives things that no one without superpowers should survive, or at least walk away from without serious injuries. One character's sudden decision to betray her boss is dramatic, but lacks proper motivation -- and, in any case, it doesn't excuse her vile past. There are fight scenes that seem to exist solely because the movie needed a fight scene at that moment. Even the framework of the plot is largely by-the-numbers.

But did any of that spoil my enjoyment of the film? Nope.

Black Widow does not rank among my top five MCU movies, but I still liked it a lot. It was a good time in the theater, which I've been missing over the past year!

The reunion scenes with Natasha's "family" are enjoyably funny, particularly Alexei's gruff, bluff bravado and awkward affection. Yelena is a strong addition to the Marvel stable of characters -- and yes, the ending of this movie makes it clear she will be back, definitely in the upcoming Hawkeye series on Disney+, starring Jeremy Renner, and possibly in future films. She doesn't have the gravitas that Johansson brings to the Widow character, but her take on Yelena has its own charms.

And Johansson? Like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, I will miss her in the role. She has been at the heart of the MCU for so long, it's hard to imagine it continuing without her. It can be fairly argued that she deserved better during her 10-plus years as a Marvel hero -- she was too often underused, or employed more as eye candy -- but she is going out strong.