Black Panther

Is it a surprise to anyone anymore that Marvel yet again defies expectations to make an awesome comic book movie?

Black Panther, the newest release in Marvel Studios’ ten-year stretch at making quality comic book films, follows our titular hero as he returns to his technologically advanced nation of Wakanda in order to take the throne after the tragic passing of his father in Captain America: Civil War. T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) still feels unfit and unworthy to bear the weight of the crown, but with a new enemy in Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan), and an old one in Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) determined to make T’Challa’s life even more difficult, it’s up to the Black Panther to not only protect what is rightfully his, but to make sure that Wakanda’s most precious resource – the highly sought after and rare metal known as vibranium – doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, spelling doom for his people as well as the rest of the world.

Black Panther had a lot to live up to for more than one reason heading into its release: it was yet again a test to see if Marvel could put out another great superhero film (they can), and a test to see if audiences would react to a mostly all black cast, leading man and director (they are). Black Panther is not only synonymous with Marvel as a character, but he represents a huge missing gap in Hollywood’s filmmaking today: diversity. I’m glad to say that for the most part, Black Panther is exactly the movie it needs to be while at the same time breathing life into a character that has always deserved his own spotlight.

Almost right off the bat this film felt different than any other Marvel movie before it. The cinematography, lighting, and score all immediately shake off that typical “cookie-cutter” feel that most of the MCU films seem to fall into, credit going to director Ryan Coogler and his team who clearly knew the impact this film was going to have, and strived to take on that burden with flying colors. Bolstered by an all-star cast that includes Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupia Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Forest Whitaker, and Angela Bassett, this film was already firing on all cylinders before a single scene was shot, and it shows. This cast, for those who don’t recognize most of those names, are an ensemble of some of the best and most explosive black actors and actresses in Hollywood today, all of which pull their own weight and give their characters a sense of purpose and realness that harkens back to what made the original Guardians of the Galaxy so great. Their acting and chemistry mixed with Coogler’s firm grasp on the story he wanted to tell, gives this film an impressive amount of depth and conflict throughout, while at the same time giving us some awesome – and expected – superhero antics.

There’s a lot to love from beginning to end here with my personal favorite parts being the scenes that take place in a high end casino (best Stan Lee cameo by far in here btw) mostly due to the fact that as far as I was concerned, that entire sequence was an audition for Coogler and Boseman to make a James Bond movie together. The originality in those scenes coupled with a few cues taken from Lord of the Rings in the final act makes this film an amalgam of some of the best parts of various genres all somehow being united under the superhero banner. I’d be upset if Coogler didn’t get a chance to really bring something unique and new to the cinemas after the success of this film, so let’s hope that happens sooner rather than later.

But even with all of the truly impressive aspects of this film, it still falters from time to time with some questionable storytelling decisions and a few character beats that seem like missed opportunities, or more precisely, botched opportunities. I get the reasoning behind a lot of these decisions, and while they make sense in the context of the film, I wish a few of these were saved for a later Black Panther film. I’m sure there’s plenty more material to go around for a sequel, but I almost felt that if this was the one and only film we’ll ever get to see with this character (it won’t be), it would be a great introduction and send-off all packaged up into one neat, coherent, self-contained film.

That being said, this is still a Marvel movie, so by the time the third act rolls around, a lot of what made the first half so unique and fresh is slightly dumbed down for the typical superhero blockbuster tropes. Fortunately, not nearly enough of this bogs down the film to make it a huge sticking point, but as with the third act of another great Marvel film in last year’s Logan, we’re reminded that we’re still watching a movie based on a comic book at the end of the day. Other than that, I feel like there was a bit too much of an over reliance on computer generated effects, especially when Black Panther is fighting on his own without his all-female warriors at his side. I could never really tell if there were any real scenes with Boseman in the suit or if he was just being animated into it via VFX and technological wizardry, a misstep that Marvel films seem to be relying on more and more as these movies come out. Luckily, these are only a handful of nitpicks that just slightly tarnishes what is otherwise an amazing film.

While not the absolute best Marvel film ever made like some might claim, Black Panther is definitely the most ground breaking in terms of the statements being made over the course of the film and the fact that this is the first superhero movie that centers around a black leading man. It’s only icing on the cake that this is one of the best Marvel films ever put out, and handily proves that creativity and passion for a project is not limited to who’s behind or in front of the camera. And, much like Wonder Woman and how that film had a female lead and director, to those who questioned the fact that this could be a success critically and commercially: what’d you really expect?