Black Panther - Review (Non-Spoiler/Spoiler)
Release date (US): February 16th,2018
Directed By: Ryan Coogler
Rating: PG-13
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Guria, Forest Whitaker, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, Winston Duke, Leitita Wright
Blurb/Synopsis: After the death of his father, T'Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T'Challa's mettle as king -- and as Black Panther -- gets tested when he's drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his armies and release the full power of Black kPAnther to debate his foes and secure the safety of his people.
Expectations/Background: From the moment he arrived on scene in the El Capitan theater in October of 2014, to his first on screen appearance in Captain America: Civi lWar, I knew that Marvel knew exactly what it was doing with the character of the Black Panther. With the absolutely perfect casting of Chadwick Boseman in the role, I knew that his upcoming solo feature would be something very, very special. News of Ryan Cooler and Michael B. Jordan, the team behind one of the best films in the previous few years, Creed, was also promising news. Slowly, one by one, it seemed that Marvel signed on nearly every single major African/African-American talent out there - they signed Lupita Nyong'o, Forest Whitaker, and Angela Bassett. At this point, I contented myself to just wait and watch - I knew that this movie could be something truly revolutionary. The trailers looked great, the action looked great, and the cast looked great in their roles as well. And on top of that, the Rotten Tomatoes score, which remains at a stunning 97 percent on opening day, added to the anticipation for this movie. Would this movie succumb to the Marvel formula? Or would it break out and become something new that would lead the way for future generations.
The Movie: This is one of the films that when you walk out of the theater right after it's over, it's very hard to process truly what you have seen. When the credits rolled (or more accurately, when the last end credit scene played), I sat in my seat trying to wrap my mind around what I truly thought about this film. I thought about where it ranked in the MCU, what I liked, what I didn't like, etc., etc. Here's the conclusion that I came up with: this film is a Marvel film through and through, a Ryan Cooler film through and through, but most of all, this film is trying to send a message to the world about very key issues that plague our nation and the world at large. It's a very deep, philosophical film hidden under layers of Marvel humor, action, and characters. I think that's what makes it so brilliant.
Positives: As aforementioned, this film has a very potent, deep, and pertinent message. I thought about it, and I realized that if this film was released even two years ago, people would have hammered it as being too politically "on the nose" and too aggressive in its message. However, with the perfect release date in mid February (which by the way, another genius move on Marvel's part as this film will demolish all competition for a long time to come) of 2018, one of the most politically charged times in modern history, this film's message really struck home with me, as someone who does look into politics and looks into what goes on in the world. I really appreciated how deep Ryan Cooler went with this film, without being so overt and hitting us over the head with the message and the themes that were presented tin the film.
The cast behind this film, as I had thought, were all fantastic. Chadwick Boeman proves his worth and proves why he truly deserves to be a king. He is such a stoic character - in fact, the way I would describe him is the moral compass of Captain America with the resources and financial flexibility and technological capabilities of Tony Stark/Iron Man. Angela Bassett and Forest Whitaker play characters the more or less serve as mentors in some kind of sense to T'Challa (if you don't know their roles, I will not spoil it in this review). They do their part, and fit right into the realm of Wakanda.
Lupita Nyong'o, as per the usual, does so well in the role that she is given. She isn't exactly given the most compelling role in my option, but she does everything that she can with what she has.
But I want to focus on Leitita Wright and Danai Gurira - they completely steal the movie for me. Danai Gurira does a brunt o the action, and is incredibly adept with her weapon of choice that she uses in the movie. And Letitia Wright plays such a fun new character that is so well realized in the role that she is given, save for one line the tmay not sit well in repeat viewings. Her character is so fun, lighthearted, and a perfect counter to the stoic nature of Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther.
Some of the action scenes in the film are also very good (some not so much, as will be touched upon later). Cooler definitely leaves his imprint in some of the scenes and it is very obvious, and very well-integrated into the film. And on top of that, some of the cinematography in the film is gorgeous. There is one shot near the end of the film where a couple of the main characters are in a specific location, and I audibly gasped.
One of the things that I enjoyed the most was the culture and Wakanda, which many critics are touching upon. Wakanda is a beautiful city/nation, and right form the start, the film does its best to set up the nation. There is such a rich history and rich backstory that the film delves into throughout the whole film, as well as such a deep look into the monarchy and system of government that governs Wakanda, which drives much of the story.
One of the things many critics are complaining about the film is the pacing - they say that it is not quite paced so well, but I tend to disagree. Maybe I would change my mind if I see the film again (which I will), but to me, on first viewing when you're trying to take all the information in, I feel that the pacing is spot-on. They leave enough time for you to think about what is going on and what is about to come, which I think is well warranted.
Negatives: This film is not perfect - no film is. One of the things that I thought was rather odd were some of the action scenes. Usually, Marvel is very adept at filming action, but some of the action scenes, especially at the beginning, looked very clunky and were hard to follow due to quick edits.
Also, some of the CGI is very noticeable. The character of Black Panther, unbeknownst to many, is almost entirely CGI. It was hard to notice though because of the superb job that the team behind Civil War did. But in this film, there are some scenes near the end where the generated images are very, very noticeable.
I also thought that there were a couple characters that didn't quite belong in the film, one in particular that I won''t touch upon until spoilers. Their role in the film was "needed", but at the same time he/she felt completely unnecessary and could have been written around in different ways - Marvel just wanted an excuse to include this character in the film I Think.
A lot more of the negatives are very character specific, so I won't delve into it here. But I will say, overall, while I believe this film is great, it is quite simplistic. For having such deep undertones, especially in the third act, it devolves into the traditional Marvel "We have to stop it!!" formula, and that bothered me quite a bit. After having seen the first two acts of such a politically intriguing film, I was looking forward to much of the same from the third act, and while it ties up the film in a satisfying way, it felt very "Marvel".
The Villain(s): First, let's talk about Ulysses Klaw, played by the oh-so-talented Andy Serkis. He plays his character in an interesting way, which was established in Age of Ultron, and it works 90 percent of the time, but ten percent of the time, it doesn't quite work and he feels a little out of place.
But that's not the main villain. Let's talk Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger.
I truly believe that this is the first time where I walked out of a Marvel seeing a truly, 100 percent, fully fleshed out villain, with whom I felt so completely satisfied with his arc. His arc was complete, it was rich, and his motivations were so well drawn out and the reason for his "evil" doings was even justified. I would go so far to say that I even agreed with a lot of his points, which frightened even me - at some points, he did go a little "I'm a Marvel villain!", just a little bit, but he reigns it right back. He is such a real, tangible, human character that made him so fun to watch. Michael B. Jordan brings such a charisma, and I think that if not the best, he is one of the best Marvel villains.
The Music/Score: I'm going to be quite honest, after so much hype surrounding Kendrick Lamar's soundtrack, I was expecting something more from the music. I haven't listened to the soundtrack on its own, but it wasn't nearly as prominent as I had thought. However, it was merged into the film very well, which I was relieved to see - the last thing I wanted was a big dramatic scene going on with loud, energetic rap music going on in the background.
**READER DISCRETION ADVISED - SPOILER ALERT - IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS SKIP TO "VERDICT"**
Spoilers: I think that the way the film begins, with King T'Chaka and Killmonger's father was very necessary, and it added a new layer of depth to Killmonger's character. I also think that the reasoning that Killmonger gave for wanting to die was so, so compelling. I was wondering at the end when T'Challa asked him if he wanted to be saved, whether or not Killmonger would accept, and when he says that he would rather die than be incarcerated, I knew that that was the right thing to do on Coogler's part.
And, to be quite honest, there's not that much to spoil, per se. There are little moments that you don't know going into the film, but there aren't any big "twists" per se like "Vulture is Liz's dad" or "Hela is Thor's sister". I suppose one of the lists would be that Erik is T'Challa's cousin, but I had figured at a certain point that they were related in some way because I knew that they were going to fight for the throne at a certain point.
I did really enjoy how this film was a struggle for the throne at its heart, a struggle for power. I think that the film's messages about illegal immigration, distribution of resources, and power struggle were so potent, and I really appreciated what they did.
SPOILER ALERT OVER
The Verdict: Many people are jumping all over this film and hailing it as something that is sensational. I think that this film is deep, it has a purpose, and it has a message. The characters and the nation is so well developed and there is so much depth behind everything, and a heart and purpose behind every single scene. The third act devolves into typical "Marvel" but it picks itself up at the very end and ends on a very high note. On top of its almost entirely African/Africa-American cast, this film will push boundaries in terms of sending messages out to the world in ways that people would not expect. You just have to look for them. Black Panther is another win for Marvel. Letter Grade: A-. Number Score: 9.2/10
**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.
A- to A+: Amazing
B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed
C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed
D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws
F: A Failure of a Film
9-10: Nearly Perfect to Perfect
8-9: Very Good
7-8: Good
6-7: Okay
5-6: Average/Mediocre
4-5: Apparently Flawed
3-4: Heavily Flawed
2-3: A complete and utter mess
0-2: A Failure of a Film
