"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Black Panther (2018, PG-13)



Long live the king!  Black Panther is finally here, and I am thrilled.  I saw it opening night and had to pace myself not to immediately see it again over the weekend (but I’ll definitely be seeing it in theaters again, maybe more than once!)  In the coming weeks, expect plenty of Black Panther posts on Marvelous Wednesdays.

After the death of his father, T’Challa becomes king of his nation of Wakanda.  As he ascends to the throne (while pulling double duty as Wakanda’s superpowered protector, the Black Panther,) T’Challa tries to figure out what kind of king he wants to be and what sort of future he wants for the technologically-advanced and strictly-isolationist Wakanda.  The nation has always guarded its secrets, but now, an American former black-ops specialist is knocking at its door with his own plans for Wakanda.

Where do I even start?  I already loved T’Challa in Civil War, and this film fleshes him out in addition to creating a rich tapestry of other characters around him.  The movie is filled with amazing, capable women, from T’Challa’s brilliant, cheeky sister Shuri, to sharp intelligence operative Nakia (his ex,) to Okoye, the general of the Dora Milaje, Wakanda’s elite all-female fighting force.  There’s also the leader of a rival tribe, the queen mother, a trusted advisor, a friend and warrior, and a CIA agent who’s not in Kansas anymore.  And Erik Killmonger is awesome – one of the absolute best Marvel villains to date.

The story is excellent, pulling in engrossing ideas about family/legacy, the diaspora, and Wakanda’s place in the world.  The plot takes its time but doesn’t waste it, creating a compelling narrative for the characters to move through.  The balance between story beasts and character development is strong, and Killmonger’s motivation in particular is really interesting to me.  While not as quippy as a typical Marvel movie, there’s still some good humor, along with some really cool action sequences.

But honestly, as great as all that is, my favorite part of the movie is Wakanda itself.  I just love getting a look into this country, its history, and its culture.  Everything about it is so cool, this super-advanced African nation that was untouched by colonization or slavery.  The production design throughout is astounding – I adore the sets, the costumes, the makeup, and the visual affects.  So much care went into making this feel like a real place.

The acting is also fantastic.  Chadwick Boseman is of course back as T’Challa, and he commands the film regally.  He’s joined by basically everyone Black and awesome.  The biggest of the heavy hitters, for me, are Letitia Wright as the scene-stealing Shuri, Lupita Nyong’o’s wonderful Nakia, and Michael B. Jordan, who’s stellar as Killmonger.  The film also features Danai Gurira (who I’ll always remember as Zainab from The Visitor,) Angela Bassett, Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whitaker, Sterling K. Brown, and Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman as the two white guys.  Also, I’m not really familiar with Winston Duke (I looked him up and realized he guest-starred on a few episodes of Modern Family,) who plays rival tribe leader M’Baku, but he’s excellent as well.

Warnings

Comic book violence, language, drinking, and thematic elements.

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