Black Panther review
The final movie leading up to Avengers: Infinity War seems to have been carefully chosen by Marvel, as Black Panther is one of the best films the studio has put out in its entire ten-year reign.
There are just so many things to praise about Black Panther, from its refreshing cultural viewpoint to its carefully stylized environment to its incredibly powerful cast of characters. Before I get into those, I suppose I should start with the man behind it all: Ryan Coogler. How a director with only three titles behind his belt can make a film so unique in an eighteen-film franchise is a wonder to myself, but I am not going to question obvious talent.
Coogler handles one of the largest casts in the MCU yet better than any director before him. I was taken aback with how much I knew about every character by the end of a slightly-over-two hour runtime, and how I felt connected to all of them almost instantly. Of course, Chadwick Boseman as the titular Black Panther carries the film effortlessly, as to be expected from his scene-stealing introduction in Captain America: Civil War. However, with a villain to match his quality in Michael B. Jordan and three female warriors by his side (Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright), Boseman steps aside to prove that all heroes need support to succeed.
This insanely talented cast does not stop with the main group, though, as Angela Bassett, Sterling K. Brown, Forest Whittaker, Daniel Kaluuya, Martin Freeman and Winston Duke all have something to do in this epic story. Once again, I cannot express how impressive it is to introduce this many characters, build a brand new origin for Black Panther, somehow tie it to the larger Marvel universe at play AND give them all a satisfying arc by the end of the movie.
Black Panther starts off shortly after the events of Civil War, with T'Challa (Boseman) flying home to be crowned king of Wakanda in the wake of his father's death. After officially taking up the mantle of king (and Black Panther), T'Challa must find the right way to handle Wakanda's utopian safety and endless resources while the rest of the world suffers through war and poverty. At the same time, Jordan's menacing Erik "Killmonger" Stevens makes his way to Wakanda with a mysterious and hate-fueled agenda with the aid of Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis), reprising his role as a radical weapons dealer.
Honestly, the superhero elements of this film take a backseat to emotional arcs and character-driven moments. This is not to say that when those moments of suiting up and fighting bad guys come, they are not highly entertaining. There are quite a few points of action that are carefully choreographed and seriously cool (the one that comes to mind is the car chase teased by the trailers) and I can only imagine the level of stunt work that went in to making everyone look like spear-wielding heroes at all times.
As previously mentioned, everything in Black Panther is completely immersive, from the lusty landscapes of Wakanda to the intricate costumes and set-design. These and Coogler's clear passion set up a world for these actors to convey massive power and to show people of color that it is FINALLY time for long-overdue blockbuster representation. I would expect that the impact this film will have on society will be more than I will ever be able to anticipate, and frankly, it is about time. The success of Black Panther will show that inclusive films not dominated by white characters can succeed at a level Hollywood producers will finally notice, leaving an open door for exciting films and creators in the future.
Image by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
