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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