Summary
Following the death of his father, T'Challa must learn what it means to lead a country, holding to tradition, forging new paths, protecting it from threats without and within, and setting right the sins of his departed father.
Disclaimer
This movie wasn't made for me. I'm not an African American. I'm not an 18-25 year old male. Well, I am a male, but that's it. I am not the target demographic yet I can only review this movie from my own point of view. I will never be able to identify with these characters in the same way as many kids, who will grow up loving this film, will be able to.
I've That Hype in My Heart
Do begin with, this movie is a massive achievement and I'm glad Marvel and Disney have decided to take a couple risks in connection with this film.
First, they have staked millions of dollars, a key film and character in a billion dollar franchise, and the risk of reputation inherently undertaken with this film, all on a film which not only features a prominent and large African American cast, but an African American Director, and a story which is directly addressing African Americans and their particular issues, at times to the exclusion of their typically white audiences. Any baffling argument by some internet troll or bigwig hollywood producer about Black films and Black Actors not being profitable be damned. Marvel don't believe it. Disney don't buy it.
The other risk I'm glad they took is that they made a feature film out of Black Panther, the only Marvel Comic I am actually current on or even read. It's a character that breaks with a lot of the typical Marvel approach and for that reason I love it.
Obviously, with all this happening in my brain as I sat down in predominantly white crowd in a predominately white suburb in the gray Midwest, my expectations were high as heck. My geeky twitchy feels were all firing as the film opened and the history of Wakanda was told to millions of people across the world for the first time.
Lose the Hype, Mike
So hype aside, how was the film? I saw it on Sunday night so by the time I saw it, I had heard from lot's of my friends and film critics praising this film for being the best Marvel film, or the most watchable, or the new standard, or whatever hyperbolic compliment they could give. Everytime I heard one of these reviews, I asked myself, "Do I buy it? Is it really that good or am I just hearing a bunch of white people pretending to like a movie cuz they feel bad about the treatment that minorities get in the industry and they won't let the first huge film like this one fail, even if it's bad."
Hey. I'm not saying that’s the best attitude to have. I'm just being honest about where I was at. I am happy to say, that this was a film that did not leave me there for long. From the opening scene of this film, I knew I was watching something special.
In the opening scene of the film, they lay it all out for you. You get the history of Wakanda demonstrating that this will be a film about Heritage, Tradition, and Spirituality. You get a scene with a king whose brother has betrayed him by selling future tech to outside the country and forces the king to commit fratricide in an Oakland project before hopping back in his spaceship back to a Technological African Utopia which has been kept secret from the rest of the world. You know this is a film that is going to be about Family, Conflict between brothers, Court Intrigue and Royalty, but also Progressivism versus Conservatism, and Foreign Politics and Responsibility.
In a nutshell, that's what this film is. All in the first sequence. That is brilliant storytelling and master craftsmanship.
But wait, the hits keep coming. There is so much to love about this movie I feel like I'm about to rave like a crazy man for a minute here.
Acting - Is there anyone in this film not acting at the top of their game? I literally don't know what else to say about it except that they are all great.
Female Characters - Holy Wow!!! Lupita Nyong'o (“Us”), Danai Gurira (“Avengers: Endgame”), Letitia Wright (“Ready Player One”), and Angela Bassett (“Contact”). All of them are great characters with unique points of view and motivations and not one of them is obsessed with boys. They are smart, funny, compassionate, and strong. If Hollywood has problems figuring out how to portray women let them try copying this aspect of a Marvel movie instead of the explodey parts and energy beams.
Music - I haven't listened to much in the way of urban music in 15 years but Kendrick Lamar has me going through itunes looking for more. The music is so interesting in this film because it, like so many other aspects of the film is about melding the old (tribal drums and motifs) with the modern (beat tracks and electronic).
Unique Setpieces - Some of the setpieces in this film, like the royal challenge and the attack on the Nigerian War Convoy are really fresh, new ways, of tackling old scenes that we know the beats to.
Contradiction of Familiar but Royal - One of my favorite aspects of the film is the way that T'Challa is King that must be respected but also the brother, son, and friend that can be high fived, messed with. In a country that sees ceremony as antithetical to love and intimacy, this film hold both in tension, beautifully. One of the best relationships of the film is T'Challa and his sister Shuri. You can see them running around as kids playing even as the talk about serious things as adults.
Spirit of the Comic - The movie doesn't give into the temptation to make this film about some intergalactic conflict or a world ending weapon. It is about Wakand and the Royal Family. The world is in danger but only because the Royal Family and Wakanda are the keepers. The villain wants to arm all the oppressed and give them the means to kill their oppressors, but this is important because of Wakanda's role in that and what kind of influence they want to be.
Weaknesses
I wish I could say this is a perfect movie. It's not, and the ways that it fails are the same failures that many Marvel movies have.
Style Over Substance - Many Marvel movies struggle here. This one is no exception. The focus is on what looks or sounds cool, not on what makes sense resonates emotionally. This is especially apparent in my next couple of points.
Poor World Building - Making buildings and trains and stuff that looks cool but has no rooted purpose IS NOT worldbuilding. It's design. That spiral ramp may look cool but it is terribly impractical, and the graffitti and hip hop that is reminiscent of the urban United States feels out of place in Wakanda, whose only contact with the US has been by select spies. The streets of Wakanda feel like a backlot at times and even some of the technology feels more like a bond movie than an uber advanced technology born from the heart of Africa.
Unclear Villain Path - I've had a long chat with my wife and ultimately we just can't figure this guy out. How did he become this rich super soldier capable of taking down the King of a country only a couple people in the world know anything about? Also his plot seems weird. Give weapons to poor people so they kill all the oppressors (read, anyone they are mad at) in the same way that he is going to kill T'Challa because T'Challa's dad killed his dad? It's an old school revengy thing but with a care for the other oppressed people as well? I have a hard time telling if his ultimate goal is to destroy Wakanda, T'Challa, or the rest of the world. Or maybe he doesn't know either and he's just angry. That's what I think but it all rang a little weak to me but I always seem to feel that way about Marvel Villains. Very cardboard cut out.
Chaotic Action Scenes - While some of the action set pieces are great, others are the usual mish mash chaos ov live action flowing into cg with a blur wash over it all so you can never really see any staged blow not landing, and blade not actually cutting, orperson making any sort of transitional movement. (seriously, watch Marvel movies cut by cut and notice how often people go from standing to on the ground to standing again with no steps in between).
Verdict
I liked this film, but I'm not over the moon for it. I'm glad it exists and I think there will be kids for whom this movie is as awesome as Avengers or Guardians is for other kids. For me, I still would rather watch Thor: Ragnarok again but I'd happily watch Black Panther too.
But like I said at the beginning, I'm not the target audience for Black Panther. I am the target for “Thor: Ragnarok.” Maybe that's what it comes down to for those of us who don't get as much out of this film. I'm not going to pretend I like this film more than I did, or that it is my new favorite Marvel film. Instead, I'll just say, this film wasn't made for me, and in a way, that's is what is refreshing about it.
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