*Directed by Ryan Coogler
*Starring Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong'o, Michael B. Jordan, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluyya, Letitia Wright, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis
NO SPOILERS! THIS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW!
The Plot: After the events of Captain America Civil War, Prince T'Challa aka the Black Panther must take on the hard-core responsibility as the newly appointed king of Wakanda when he's challenged by powerful forces of evil that would tear down his leadership and abuse the power and energy of a magical element called Vibranium that holds their society together.
So being a fan of the Marvel franchise there was no doubt I was excited as can be to see this movie and with Civil War being a wonderful set-up for this character I couldn't wait to see how T'Challa could hold his own movie. Not to say its predecessor Civil War lost track on being a set-up for this movie, but they were able to balance him out well and make him a very striking character that we would be eager to see more of. However, it's amazing that while its predescessor is a solid companion for this movie, this movie is able to stand on its own incredibly well and still be an awesome standalone superhero movie that quite possibly proves to be another Marvel favorite.
After this movie I feel Civil War was a great origin story for T'Challa where he's not quite the proper hero yet, but this movie was able to take that aspect of his humanity a step further. You see him come into his own as a hero at the end of the last movie, but what I loved so much about this movie was that it doesn't hold back the idea that he's still a human being. He's not always on top of things and despite having this incredible power as the Black Panther there were still some pretty heavy challenges he had to face and the movie sheds light on another part of the character we hadn't seen before. So I'd say Civil War was the true origin story whereas this movie feels like its sequel. Yet, the idea of him being taken to a new place and being faced a new challenge almost makes this new film feel like an origin story in disguise.
This shouldn't go without saying that Chadwick Boseman does a perfect job playing this character and gave him solid presence that makes him that proper hero. He captures that heroic aspect well, but is able to give him enough of a personality that just makes him just a regular guy and not just an inflated ego who's perfect at defending himself and protecting others. It's the case where he's just another relatable guy and it's just awesome to see another superhero captured on film who's not just another perfect idealistic hero.
What also really surprised me about this movie was the supporting cast like Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong'o's characters who I'm just so happy were strong female characters who could hold their own and be in on the action. I also really loved Letitia Wright as Shuri, T'Challa's young sister, who probably could've been really annoying, but it's awesome how integral and important she was in the grand scheme of things and not to mention she had really funny scenes as well. I loved some of the back and forths she had with T'Challa. It was great chemistry. There were also great performances by Daniel Kaluyya and, of course, the legendary Forest Whitaker. Need I say more.
Martin Freeman also played a little more of a role than I thought and I really appreciated how he was incorporated in the overall plot. It wasn't just a mindless cameo to tie into other movies. Andy Serkis was also very fun as Ulysess Klaue as one of the film's villain, but definitely the big baddie deserves all the attention being Michael B. Jordan as the main villain Eric Killmonger. I adore him as an actor and the way they developed him as an antagonist was so solid and well-realized that he transcended a lot of villains I had issues with in this franchise and other comic book movies today. Like I'd go as far as to say he's empathetic. It's crazy good how wonderfully fleshed out this character is and he's one of the best comic book movie villains I've seen in years.
Ryan Coogler is a director I've come to love from 2015's Creed, which was able to capture the tone and feel of the original Rocky and still manage to stand on its own. The same could probably be said for how the tone and feel played out in this film because not only was it able to capture the excitement and drama from previous Marvel movies, but also elements of an espionage thriller as well. There's a casino scene that almost felt like it was out of a James Bond movie and while it didn't copy it, a scene like this felt new. Shuri was also like T'Challa's Q as well. So, while it feels like another Marvel movie, there were elements of being an espionage movie along with incorporation of the cultural aspect it borrowed from real-life African culture. These elements in its direction for sure made it feel like a new kind of superhero movie we'd never experienced.
Also, the look of this movie is nothing short of beautiful. There were so many gorgeous landscapes captured, which really added to the film's epic scale. The visual look of the film did a really great job of giving that exhilarating comic book feel and also did a really excellent job of giving this African influenced culture a very authentic feel. I was seriously blown away by Ryan Coogler's vision and how this entire film was put together frame by frame.
I won't confirm or deny any hints about the plot or any character details because I'm all about going into movies knowing virtually nothing going on. After all, I hate getting spoiled things and don't want to spoil anything for you, my readers, but all I'll say is this was a movie I'm so glad didn't get spoiled for me. A movie like this just truly reminded me that it's more than the entertainment value, that I was able to escape in a story and fondly remember the emotional experience of seeing the twists and turns moving forward. I'm saying this from the bottom of my heart to just go out and enjoy this movie and the story it offers.
In all honesty I found it hard to find flaws and, perhaps, a gray area this film had was Ulysses Klaue as a character because like a lot of Marvel villains I have issues with he was just a motivated villain who wanted power. However, he was a side villain and I did love Serkis in the role, so maybe the character itself was a teeny-tiny flaw, but Eric Killmonger as the main central antagonist makes up for that good vs evil aspect.
Black Panther does a wonderful job humanizing the hero, the filmmaking aspect truly shines, and while it's tone may feel familiar for some, it still offers on being a stylistically different Marvel movie that felt fresh and goes against the typical comic book movie groove.
Verdict: A+
If you haven't seen it yet, go and give it your time of day. It really was an excellent comic book film and in my humble opinion Marvel is just getting better and better with its track record.
Stay tuned for more Marvel reviews heading your way and do check out my previous Marvel reviews on my page in the links below and be sure to follow me on social media for more updates:
Thank you all so much for reading this review. As always see some great freakin' entertainment.
Take care and Wakanda Forever. :-)
Comments