Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjDjIWPwcPU
Rating- PG-13
Genre- Fantasy/ Science Fiction
Warnings- Minor language
The Marvel universe is becoming incredibly popular in the entertainment industry, seems like everyone who was a fan of Marvel before is pumped for the upcoming line of movies this year and those who weren't fans of Marvel are being inclined to watch them and turn into a loyal moviegoer for the superhero franchise.
One of the first movies that has been expecting a huge turn-out and praise was "Black Panther," a story about an African king who must come to terms with the crisis lurking within his family history as well as his ideals and power being challenged.
What started out as a comic book in 1966 has revived itself into the 21st century with fierce supporters before the movie even came out. For anyone who may read this in the far future wondering what the big deal was with "Black Panther" and why it was praised so much is because during this time there was a lot of issues involving representation in entertainment- movies, television, magazines and so on- where people of color were either not represented often or if they were, they were represented poorly.
Oftentimes people of color, in this case Africans/African Americans, were either portrayed as ghetto, poor or violent just to name a few. Yet with "Black Panther" not only did it stray away from those stereotypes but they also commented on the tragedies that happened to the African people in the past and how that has caused the struggles many people from that background face in their everyday lives.
I believe "Black Panther" is one the toughest movies to critic by far because it has so many things I want to speak about and yet I feel like I fail to have the capacity to speak truly in depth about them without making this review an hour long to read. With that in mind, I will do my best to talk about what I want in as short amount of reading time as I can which will help me condense my thoughts and give you less to go through whilst still providing you with the core ideas that went through my head.
On that note, was "Black Panther" really the groundbreaking film everyone was anticipating or did this film not land on its feet and made a big flop at the box office?
The story of "Black Panther" stars T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) who becomes the king of Wakanda, a vibrant and well-equipped country that is hidden away from the world due to the concern that their resources will be taken advantage of by outsiders. Throughout the film, you get the witness T'Challa interact with people who have specific ideologies about how they're country- as well as how people in general- should help one another.
Should you help people who are not from your culture at all? What about people that are from your background but grew up vastly different from you? Do you keep your resources to yourself to build up your society or share them with others who may not have the knowledge equipped to support their own countries?
All of these questions and more are brought up through the perspectives of T'Challa, Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) who is a spy for the Wakandan nation, and even Kilmonger (Michael B. Jordan) who is the villain of the film, and a complex one at that.
I found the story to be well-thought out in its pacing and how it addressed all of these questions that made me take a look at my own values. In fact, I'm positive this movie purposely pointed out the faults within our real society and was making statements on it.
I've caught many lines that could easily be referring to how some people treat others in this world, making people suffer just to protect their greed or using violence to defeat violence in their own communities. The movie makes a point to call us out as a society to recognizes these negatives behaviors and to change them in order to make a peaceful world.
The only faults I would have to say about the story is maybe the beginning where there are two individuals who encounter a former Black Panther and the scene is not talked about again for a while, which left me very confused and had me wondering when those particular characters would come into play again. Also, certain lines in the movie could be dated because they are referencing jokes made from previous years. Even so, with these faults I could see the intention behind why these scenes and lines were brought up and they don't ruin the movie, so consider these as nitpicks.
I would say that this story was the story that people needed to hear this year in 2018. Every year there seems to be a lack of happiness in the world with all the disasters and crime running amongst us, yet this year in particular I've seen the lack of hope in people. People do not trust our government, different races, and even their own families. There's such a divide that "Black Panther" seemed like both that mentor guiding us towards the right direction and the breath of fresh air, because again- it strayed away from stereotypes.
T'Challa's life was one filled with luxury, a prosperous society and a loving family unit. He had his mother and his father in the picture, a sister named Shuri (Letitia Wright) and bodyguards who are fiercely loyal to him, including one named Okoye (Danai Gurira). It's not common to see such a tight knit African community in entertainment and one with more power and intelligence than the United States.
T'Challa himself was a great character. He didn't start out as a foolish, selfish man, yet his behavior still changed radically. He was always kind and strong, and his only flaw was that he was ignorant to certain truths that caused the conflict in this movie and he grew up with a conception of life that he believed to be correct, which it can be argued that in a way it was, but at the same time he learned to accept other aspects on how to be a leader by listening to people. He always took in what others had to say and ultimately implemented that into his actions.
What was also wonderful is that he was weak and emotional at times. He's shown being nervous, freezing during battle and crying. This may not sound so "groundbreaking" but it's often said that men should not to show emotion,"be a man" and stop acting "like a girl." So when T'Challa would cry or Shuri would assist her brother with inventions she made, or Okoye and the rest of the female soilders would fight for T'Challa, that's a strong visual for everyone that actions are not a gender, they are human.
The side characters (who felt like main characters to me) were just as spectacular. Like I mentioned earlier, Shuri invented a lot of things for T'Challa to use during a battle, she understood the ins-and-outs of technology. Plus, she was not just a tech nerd, she was really funny and acted like a sister. I totally felt that they were real siblings because I could tell that the love was there.
Okoye was marvelous and is everything I want to be in a woman. She's tough, a great fighter, admired by many and didn't buy into the American trends of having straight hair. She (and the others) were proud of their natural features and I can only imagine the pride little girls and boys felt seeing them reject the straight hair and embracing their curls.
What's a synonym I can use for Nakia that I haven't used yet? I'm pretty much saying variations of the word "great" right now...I'll go with lovely. Nakia was a lovely character who had differing ideas to T'Challa and yet I don't remember them really fighting over it once.
There may have been differences, but when they talked it out neither of them seemed that offended by the other's thoughts to the point where there was constant animosity. Nakia was always by T'Challa's side helping him in his missions and becoming emotional when all hope seemed lost. That's an excellent way to present to people how to have a normal conversation without being angered over someone's opinion.
The rest of the side characters were strong and useful elements to the story, and as much as I want to elaborate on that, I need to not turn this review into its own script.
I'll speak lastly on the villain, Kilmonger. I've never felt so sympathetic towards a villian since Loki from the "Thor" series, but after watching Kilmonger on screen, Loki's problems look like first world problems now.
I remember shocking myself at times in the theater because I actually sided with the villain to an extent. Kilmonger had a different upbringing from T'Challa which lead him to have contrasting views on how they should support their own people, and while Kilmonger's method of going about that was wrong, he had good points to make. In addition, the movie shows that his way of going on with his plan wasn't something he did just because he was evil, but because of his experiences as a black male living in America.
He went through stuff no one wants to deal with, and the scary part about that is, it has happened to many black girls and boys. Discrimination, murder, poverty, all of this occurs just because of the color of their skin and Kilmonger hated that fact.
The movie shows Kilmonger is a very intelligent man and has worked his way up in life to be a powerful person in his own right. The horror this movie shows is that Kilmonger had all of these fantastic traits to him, he could've been a positive influence to Wakanda and America but instead he took a dark turn and this wasn't because he was born to do that, the tragedies in his life influenced him.
This is not to say that Kilmonger takes no fault in his actions, but it's depressing and yet insightful to see great potential be tarnished because of incidents that didn't need to happen to him, but they did just because of the color of his skin.
I'm not as skilled with talking about scenery and music but I found both of those aspects to be just fine. Kendrick Lamar did a lot-if not all-of the songs in this movie, so if you like him you'll definitely be hearing the soundtrack back at home when the movie finishes.
The pacing of the movie could be dragged on just a little bit, but given that it's the first film fully introducing the characters, that's to be expected. Still, if you haven't seen this movie yet, take a nice full nap before you do, because it's over 2 hours long....and stay till the very end of the credits!
Some people still leave after the movie is done, and these extra scenes actually are important to watch if you follow the whole Marvel film universe.
What else is there to say? This was the movie needed in this time in our society. I don't think "Black Panther" created a story to address the problems in our world, but it definitely helped bring those issues to life. When someone- like me- is sitting there in the theater with their heart stopping briefly at the words the characters say, you know you've connected to your audience.
I give "Black Panther" a 5 out of 5 stars.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
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There are beautiful visuals in the beginning with the kid asking about Wakanda. Who is that kid anyways? The black panther when he was a kid?
Was the black panther in the first scene in California the same one currently in Wakanda saving Nakia?
Interesting how they show how Americans underestimate African countries. Nice observation.
I've seen the actress for Okoye somewhere....I can't put my finger on it.
Angela Basset! Hi!
I can tell that I'm going to like the sister, Shuri.
Michael B. Jordan...how have I not noticed how attractive you are till now?
Poor museum woman, she was just doing her job.
It's cool to leave your job like that an all, but we're expecting to keep that job? If not, how are you going to get more income? (referring to Kilmonger's girlfriend)
I want to take all those black panthers home as my pets! Beautiful scenery too...
Hi guy from "Black Mirror" and "Get out" (Daniel Kaluuya)
You go, Okoye. You don't have to conform to having hair to appeal to others.
Stan Lee, how I wish you could show up in every movie ever. Your presence is always appreciated.
Wait, why are you killing them Kilmonger?! Where did that come from?
I was wondering when the first scene would be referenced again. I'm so glad they did that too, or else that would have been a huge fault in my book. Also, so Kilmonger was the little kid in the basketball court...wow, yeah leaving the child was messed up. Just raise him in Wakanda, like he'll return to America after that. Wakanda is prosperous and can provide for the kid, it could've been done! Last thing...where was his mom? Was he just homeless after his dad died? If so, that makes things even worse!
Daniel Kaluuya, no! Don't be not upset over T'Challa "dying" or else you're going to have to die!
The whole scene with Kilmonger and his dad...chills. The line about people dying everyday that's why he didn't cry, people not finding them...exactly how many people feel now. The poor child, cursed with an image of his father dead. How can you be normal after that and have a positive outlook on the world?
That upside-down, 360 shot of Kilmonger going to the throne threw me off for a second but I get it now. Everything was flipped on its head, a turn of events...you smart, movie.
I almost forgot that other tribe was in the movie.
"We are vegetarian" the whole audience cracked up on that one. As did I.
Yay, they saved T'Challa! At least it wasn't any unreasonable excuse for why he survived.
It's nice for T'Challa to say what his dad did to Kilmonger was wrong, but at the same time, it's sad that the last time he might communicate with his father was in that way.
"Are you done? Are you done?" Man, M'Baku is funny. I'm warming up to him.
Woah, I totally forgot about the gold suit Shuri made! Nice way to incorporate it back into the story.
Okoye no!!! Oh, it's just an extra solider. Nevermind.
I didn't understand what it really meant for Kaluuya to kneel in front of Okoye, which seems silly now because it means he was standing down despite having the ability to kill her.
"Bury me in the oceans of my ancestors, because they knew death was better than bondage" Damn...
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish Kilmonger didn't have to die...but it was too late for him.
This movie did not say, "T'Challa right. Kilmonger bad." Instead, it showed that they both had positives and negatives to their ideologies and T'Challa noticed that and thus, used both of the positives to help make the world a better place. That's good storytelling.
"Black Panther will return for Avengers: Infinity War" You darn right he will. We will not let this movie die!
"In times of crisis, the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe," Well, well, well...I wonder who was made to hear that line...
Is that Bucky? Hey, I still haven't seen Civil War so not quite sure how you ended up in Wakanda but it's so good to see you! You look great!
I realized at the end of the movie that the boy asking about Wakanda in the beginning was Kilmonger. Can I cry in a corner now?
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