Black Panther Review

PG13: prolonged sequences of action violence, and a brief rude gesture

Marvel Studios

 2 Hrs and 14 Minutes

Dir: Ryan Coogler | Writers: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole

Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis

INTRO: Back in 7th grade, my art teacher put on this animated show based off a series of Marvel comics I’ve never eveshn heard of. That series was the short-lived six episode BET series, “Black Panther.” The show was cheaply animated but had a unique look to it where it had Avengers mixed in the world of X-Men, but the main focus was on T’Challa, the king of Wakanda. It was violent, bloody, and most of all badass. Now when it came to the MCU, we were introduced T’Challa in 2016, “Captain America: Civil War” where he was one of the most complex characters with an arc that made him so interesting that it hyped everyone up for his own solo movie. Now the time has come for the king of Wakanda to come home and claim his throne in the cinematic universe with might has to be one of the best superhero movies of all time.

After the events of Captain America: Civil War, King T'Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new leader. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from factions within his own country. When two foes conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must team up with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje, Wakandan special forces, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.

THE GOOD

CAN I BE WAKANDAN PLEASE?!

With each Marvel movie, we are taken to whole new worlds filled with innovative settings we’ve never witnessed before. Wakanda for me is a place I’ve been waiting for years to see adapted from book to screen and what director Ryan Coogler and his VFX team managed to do with this is beyond perfection. Fuck wishing Metropolis and Gotham was real; I want to go to Wakanda. After the movie is over, you begin to book your travel trip to Wakanda, but then you remember this place doesn’t exist and even if it did you wouldn’t be able to get in there.

Every part of this country is thought out where it consistently displays how this unknown territory isn’t only the most prosperous African country in the continent but also the wealthiest country in the world. All of these years where people have seen African nations to be nothing but poor its groundbreaking to see people of African descent are able to thrive with their own technological advances that the rest of the world doesn’t own and still abide by their own traditional culture. At the same time, the film is obviously aware of that fact that it expresses how poverty still exists in the rest of the world and that's where the political aspect of the story kicks in. 

One of the substantial elements of the movie is its awareness to the struggle in the Black culture where communities have been oppressed across time while this country that is ahead of its time is just sitting up on their high horse and keeping everything to themselves. Because of this, the story that is presented to us is incredibly deep in ways you wouldn’t expect especially from a Marvel movie.

TELL THE WORLD HE'S COMING HOME

Remember how “Spider-Man Homecoming” centered on Peter trying to find his place in the world? Well, this movie is pretty much T’Challa Homecoming as T’Challa comes home and has to find his place as king. This is the direct sequel to “Captain America: Civil War” that I’ve been waiting for, and it delivers on all cylinders where T’Challa has proven to be the most complex character in the MCU where he was introduced.

Where in “Civil War” T’Challa had to conquer the feeling of revenge where he made Impulsive decisions heightened by emotion, “Black Panther” centers on T’Challa having to conquer the responsibility of being a leader. Besides Boseman delivering yet another great performance,  I can just predict this being nominated for a SAG award next year for best ensemble because this cast is phenomenal. Each and every single character plays a significant role in this story. Just about every actor has a time to shine or moments showing their worth in the MCU. 

“Black Panther” has to be the best onscreen ensemble I’ve ever witnessed in Black cinema since….EVER! Every single actor gets his/her moment to shine and is exemplary. On a personal note, I see Letitia Wright as a future version of my baby sister where she is smart but also a hilarious little savage. Her character of Princess Shuri is honestly the most inspiring Disney princess in their acquisition since Princess Leia turned into General Leia. Shuri is that kid that will run Tony Stark for his money because she is a genius. Lupita N’yongo is fantastic as always.  But the actress who stole every ounce of scenery when she's onscreen is Danai Guirra as Okoye. When she’s onscreen, she is ruthless, cunning, and helms a lot of the action sequences where she is incredibly badass. Sometimes I found the Dora Milaje far much more cooler than the Black Panther himself.

COOGLER IS AN INSPIRATION FOR ALL

Because of this being a Marvel movie there are a lot of inclusion of humor, but unlike their several previous entries, this doesn’t attempt to be a full-on comedy. When the humor hit, it works. I have to admit, the best studio in the business when it comes to making consistent comedies is Marvel. Thankfully it's not trying to make you laugh every minute for the entire momentum of the story is balanced by the action, the heavy themes and most of all the characters. 

Since this is the first time we’ve gotten this character on screen helming his own feature, it is vital that he is appropriately represented and that is what director Ryan Coogler has excelled triumphantly with his fantastic direction. With “Black Panther” being his third feature after “Fruitvale Station” and “Creed,” not only does Coogler prove that he is a filmmaker that can perfectly handle whatever budget he is given, but still maintains to have his voice and style. Just like how “Thor: Ragnarok” was a Taika Waititi movie opposed just to a Marvel movie, “Black Panther,” is a Ryan Coogler movie. 

If you have seen of his previous works, you can sense the style that he carried from his previous work to this. Some of the action sequences, Coogler carries over the combat style he used for “Creed” to this where the action is raw and hard hitting. The boxing scenes that made “Creed” such an exhilarating thrill reflects in their traditional Challenge Day. The long tracking shot at the beginning of that film, its used for an epic action sequence in a casino. Then the action sequences go beyond anything that he has ever done before, and he manages to perfect it with creativity and innovative ideas. Just tiny things like the way the Black Panther suit works is incredible where when the more he’s shot at by bullets, the vibranium in his suit gets much stronger.

Besides the action, what Ryan Coogler adds with this that no director hasn’t done yet is using the first world cultural issues and applying it to a fictionalized world that feels very close to home. That passionate voice of that indie director that came onto the scene and shocked everyone in 2013 with “Fruitvale Station” is still here and using his voice to express issues that are relevant to the Black community. 

Everyone recently has been saying that “Black Panther” is the most revolutionary film in the superhero movie genre and they are right! You have no idea where the story will go and what is at stake. When it starts unfolding its layers, it gets incredibly deeper than expected. At a certain point, “Black Panther” goes beyond being a Marvel movie, a comic book adaptation, and a superhero movie. It breaks the glass ceiling by exceeding all three and instead becomes a revolutionary culture point for Black cinema. It is the first time in a long time that you don’t see actors of color performing as characters going through the Black struggle or doing gang activity. This is the first time where we look at a functional society that abides by their own rules and regulations where the word poverty isn’t even uttered. 

ROOTING FOR THE OTHER GUY

If you have Ryan Coogler as your director, you get Michael B. Jordan somewhere in the cast They are officially a packaged deal. Though Jordan is not the main character and is the primary antagonist Erik Killmonger, somehow Coogler managed to make him one of the most tragic and sympathetic villain in superhero movie history. It’s Chadwick Boseman’s movie, BUT SOMEHOW MICHAEL B. JORDAN THE MOST SYMPATHETIC CHARACTER!  Just some part of me thinks Coogler is trying his best to make Jordan an Academy Award-nominated man one way or another. 

Once you learn what Killmonger is all about, you sort of switch sides and root for him to achieve his primary objective. It is the same way how Zemo was in “Civil War” where he wasn’t much of an antagonist but a man on a personal mission, and you sympathized with him because of the reason why he went out his way. Kilmonger is in every way an antagonist but if you are an African American you understand why he’s such an unstable character where his personality and characteristics reflect the actions of historical figures such as Nat Turner, Malcolm X, and Hitler. Yeah, Hitler. But that's enough I will say.

Though I wasn't that fond of “Logan”, I do think it was a powerful statement that showed comic book movies could be genre-defying for that was a dark western. “Wonder Woman” proved that superhero movies be empowering for the female gender everywhere. Now “Black Panther” changes the entire game by proving that superhero movies can be a cultural revolution for an entire race of people by showing anyone of color can be a hero. As much as “Wonder Woman” was a superhero film that made women proud to be a female, this is a film that makes me proud to be a man of color. This is the first time in a long time I was emotionally invested in a comic book movie from beginning to end to where it never dropped the ball.

THE BAD

The film has so much inspiration from different movies and properties but manages to tell its own story. The only negative I have to say about this movie is that it gets way too “Lion King”-ish at times but yet it stays true to the source material. The only reason the score begins to mimic a bit of Hans Zimmer’s “Lion King” score, and that doesn’t really help to look past that.

LAST STATEMENT

Action packed, masterfully directed, and genre-defying in every way shape and form, “Black Panther” transcends the superhero comic book genre by presenting an epically moving story with layered complexity that you wouldn’t expect from the MCU. This isn’t just a Marvel movie but a historic mark in Black cinema that makes a person in color proud to be born to be Black.

Rating: 5/5 | 96%

Super Scene: Klaue pursuit.