Once again, the Marvel juggernaut is moving—this time with
the new hit Black Panther dominating the box office and sweeping aside former
rivals like Justice League. It’s probably a teeny bit of a problem on Warner
Brother’s part that a movie that bought together Superman, Batman, and Wonder
Woman at last got crushed by an adaptation of a lesser-known Stan Lee
creation—or maybe it’s part that, and part the excitement over a film that’s
nearly entirely African-focused. It’s very much a different approach over the
usual Ben Afflecks or Toby Maguires.
It’s not the first film about a black superhero, and we
might as well look over some of the past ones. There was Spawn, which boasted
CGI that looked like the suicide note of a Playstation 1 game. Then there was Steel,
unwisely casting Shaquille O’Neil, to demonstrate his superpowers of ‘being
tall’ and bringing all the acting gravitas of a Pepsi commercial. Then there was
Catwoman, which was Halle Berry’s next big embarrassment after Die Another Day.
And then there was Blade—which, despite some somewhat dated effects, is still
enjoyable to this day, and truth be told, it and X-Men were what paved the way
for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rarely before had a Marvel adaptation being
taken all that seriously, or resonated that much with the audiences of the late
90s.
But what makes Black Panther different is the African
setting, presenting a different and more celebratory depiction of the continent
than you usually get (being, in Hollywood’s eyes, usually either an entirely war-torn
hellhole, or devoid of humans so we can focus on singing animals). The focus is
on the fictional nation of Wakanda, which is at least a generation ahead
technologically thanks to it’s massive deposits of vibranium, a metal that…well,
frankly lets you do whatever the hell the writer needs it to do, both in these
films and in the comics. In any case, Wakanda is also an isolated country that
covers up it’s advanced status to avoid exploitation—and unusually for a Marvel
film, it’s that sort of political and historical bent that’s very much at the
forefront here.
Let’s start with what I liked most about the film—the artistic
design. Wakanda is a wild combination of traditional African stylings and
futurism, and the dizzying array of fantastic costumes is something to behold.
Between the city streets combining the old and the new, and even the background
art in science facilities, it’s probably the most visually memorable Marvel
film in a long while. Another thing I really dig is the soundtrack, all
combinations of tribal drums and more modern beats, that definitely stands out
among the generic orchestras of other films.
The story itself, like most MCU films, is competent enough,
but nothing really revolutionary. Chadwick Boseman plays T’Challa, king of
Wakanda and the titular Black Panther, rising to the throne after his father’s
death in the last Captain America film. However, things soon get threatened by
Killmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan, son of a radical Wakandan sleeper
agent in the US, who has much more violent views on how the country should be
run, and soon comes to a clash with T’Challa and his friends. It wasn’t too
hard to predict how things were going to go down—but much of the cast
fortunately makes up for that.
In all honesty I didn’t find T’Challa as interesting a
protagonist as he could’ve been, despite him stealing the show in Civil war.
There’s a bit at the beginning about him getting to grips with kinghood, but it
doesn’t feel as developed as it could’ve been for my liking. Making up for this
is the secondary cast, especially his lady companions—Lupita Nyong’o as
superspy Nakia, Letita Wright as excitable inventor Shuri, and Danai Gurira as
the sterner Okoye, chief of the royal bodyguard. These are the characters who
stole the show for me, at one point pretty much carrying the whole plot by
themselves.
Wakanda’s other inhabitants are also pretty memorable, such
as Forest Whitaker’s statesman Zuri, putting on a similar over-the-top
performance as he did in Rogue One. Winston Duke also plays the hammy chief of
the country’s mountain tribe, who doesn’t really appear all that much, but
makes every scene count. Finally, we get the token white guys, namely Martin
Freeman as CIA agent Ross—who honestly had a much larger role than I thought he
would. Anthony Serkis for once ditches mo-cap dots all over him and also goes
over the top as the villainous mercenary Klaue, working alongside Jordan’s
Killmonger.
Michael B. Jordan has certainly come a way after the last
superhero film he starred in—2015’s Fantastic Four, which wasn’t any better than
the last dreadful movie adapting that comic (or the one before that). In any
case, Jordan certainly gives all he can to his performance, and on paper,
Killmonger is certainly an interesting character—someone who’s taken a desire
to help the downtrodden and twisted it into a violent lashing out at the world.
Unfortunately, he’s not on screen long enough for him to really make the impact
he could’ve, in my opinion—a shame, since we were this close to what could’ve
been a truly standout Marvel villain for me.
The action scenes are a bit of a mixed bag—there’s an opening
one set in a dark jungle that’s hard to make out, but then we get a pretty well
done and exciting car chase through Seoul, with lots of cars crumpling and neon
signs being shattered. The final battle is fine enough but feels slightly all
over the place, though the clash with Killmonger and T’Challa is something that
carries more weight through the emotions all being bought together between both
characters.
Ultimately, does Black Panther live up to the hype for me? Partially—despite
the somewhat rote storyline, for the art design and most of the cast, it
definitely succeeds in standing out. In terms of importance, however, it is
significant for showing that a cast like this can carry a great impact on the
box office, and for that, it does make me curious to see what’s next for Marvel
and for genre films like this one. If you fancy a superhero flick with this
sort of style (and a fair bit more political commentary), check it out.
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