Black Panther (2D)

1) The Marvel character predated the Black Panthers and had nothing to do with them.

2) As I had seen in Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther is Prince of Wakanda.

3) As I had also seen in that film, Black Panther is extremely cool and much more dedicated to actual avenging than the Avengers.

So yes, as I watched the coronation scene with the waterfall and noticed it beginning to drag on a bit, I suddenly realized, But I don’t know what I’m waiting for to happen because I know nothing about this character at all, and I have no idea where this movie is headed.

These days, comic book origin stories are usually met with groans (like, “Okay, and who is Aunt May this time?”).  After seeing a famous character’s origin story explored on screen ten thousand times, understandable fatigue begins to set in.

And this is an origin story, basically. It’s not exactly how T’Challa became Black Panther (though that is covered quickly at the beginning). It’s more about how Black Panther, the King of Wakanda, became a hero relevant to the greater world.

And to learn that, first we really need certain basic questions answered for us like, “Wakanda????”

Usually Marvel uses familiar, real world locations like New York City, but Wakanda is the Asgard of Earth and the Themyscira of Marvel. It is hidden through practical means, not magic, but it still, it’s a secret kingdom. And we get to see how it works.  So Coogler spends a lot of time revealing this magical hidden world to us, and I think he does a marvelous job.

We get a lot of amazing detail, not only a look at the kingdom’s advanced tech, but also at its societal make up and ancient customs, areas which feel very grounded in the actual practices of some African countries (though I am hardly an expert). I love the way every sector, every tribe has its own dress and customs complete with masks and dress and everything. Clearly somebody put a lot of thought into this. Wakanda feels like it actually could and does exist.

For me, the only problem with its surprising existence is that naturally we start wondering, So how is the existence of a civilization this old and advanced coming as a complete surprise to us? Where was Wakanda while others suffered?

That really bugged me for a while. Fortunately, the film not only addresses this conflict, but makes it a central plot point driving the entire story, so you can’t really call it a flaw.

(I still find it astonishing that nobody in power in Wakanda has made a big deal about why they’re not sharing resources and helping others until this point in Wakanda’s long history, but then again, in real life the slave trade used to be huge in the Western World, and nobody considered that morally problematic enough to do something about for thousands of years. So I suppose we should never underestimate a society’s capacity for selfishness.)

Wakanda is a cool place. Its customs and rituals seem a bit discordant with its advanced tech, but that’s actually what makes it kind of believable as a real society that grew organically over time.

All of the actors in the film are great. Michael B. Jordan is a more complex than average villain (and certainly more human and more interesting than anything I’ve seen from Thanos so far). He’s more of a Loki/Vulture from Spider-Man type villain. We like him. At times we deeply sympathize with him. Sometimes we kind of want him to succeed a little bit. We occasionally hate him because what’s he’s saying is not only ugly but true.  At the end of the day, we would rather see him rehabilitated than destroyed.

Andy Serkis makes a great villain, too, in what is one of his best live action roles. I do think it’s kind of strange that one of two significant white characters in the cast is played by a guy who usually does motion capture and isn’t adequately rewarded for his fantastic performances. It’s like even the white guy isn’t that white. Usually he’s not human. I’m not sure what to make of that, but Serkis is great in the role.

All of the actors are very good, actually. My favorite performance by a male actor I didn’t know well has to be Winston Duke as M’Baku, but what’s best about the film is its amazing cadre of strong female characters.

I was half in love with all the women in this movie. Seriously, in that part when Lupita Nyong’o is leading Letitia Wright and Angela Bassett around, I would have been happy to follow their adventures endlessly. I would have watched them walk anywhere.  (I would have watched them walk nowhere!) If the rest of the movie had just been those three walking, I would have dug into my popcorn and stared spellbound at the screen until the credits rolled. (Hopefully Danai Gurira would have joined them at some point.) And when Angela Bassett urged Lupita Nyong’o to do something, part of me was like, “Yes, do it Nakia! Do it!” (even though I knew that she wouldn’t).

I’ve been a Lupita Nyong’o fan for a long time, but I did not know Danai Gurira or Letitia Wright, which I could not believe since they were so electrifying to watch in the film. Why don’t I get to fly around in a spaceship with those three? If they were my support team, I’m pretty sure I could do anything.

I also like the way Black Panther spends so much time (for a comic book movie) developing its supporting characters rather than giving pointless cameos to as many other Avengers as can be crammed in there. I do enjoy seeing the various Avengers pop up in one another’s movies, but I also like the way this film doesn’t really need any of that. As it is, the entire movie very obviously sets up a coming Infinity War. I mean, if the human race is about to be involved in an intergalactic war, the tech and (especially) the natural resources of Wakanda are really going to help.

Best Scene Visually:
The coronation scene on the edge of the waterfall lasted a long time. It was while watching it that I realized I had no idea what to expect from the movie.

But that thought just flitted through my mind, and my primary focus remained on the cinematography.

As I mentioned, I went into the movie intent on paying attention to what Rachel Morrison would show us with the camera, and this scene on the edge of the waterfall delivered what I had been waiting for because here the moment is enhanced immeasurably by the way it is shown to us. I love the way the action is framed, from angles that make the important elements of the scene fill the shot. The camera definitely adds power, energy, and meaning to the action in this scene.

Best Action Sequence:
I love the scene in the casino. (It’s not an action sequence, but it sets one up.) Danai Gurira is particularly great here. I so identify with her discomfort in her costume. I despise (to the point of panic) wearing anything that isn’t me.

The high speed chase that follows is fantastic, too. Like so many scenes in Mudbound, it’s very dark. So I have to assume that’s a benefit of having Rachel Morrison as a cinematographer. She works well with low light settings. On the big screen, the chase is very easy to see despite the darkness of the night. And it’s actually kind of thrilling to have a high speed chase through the night look dark (like it should).

Best Scene:
The visit to M’Baku sequence of the movie is probably the best, and it ends in a moment of tremendous payoff. (It’s odd because we’re totally expecting it. I mean, Martin Freeman is even there, and if Sherlock Holmes has taught us anything…)

But yes, we’re totally expecting it, and yet it’s still so satisfying when it happens.

Funniest Scene:
Letitia Wright’s Shuri definitely gets all the best jokes in the movie. Her Bondesque scene with her brother in her laboratory is great because not only is it full of cool gadgets and welcome humor, but it also shows us a different side of T’Challa.

The Negatives:
We finally watched Baby Driver for the first time Friday night, and both kids (nine and fifteen, two-year-old not eligible for polling) emphatically declared after the movie that they liked Baby Driver better.

Their certainty took my husband and me by surprise because they had been so intensely excited to see Black Panther.

I think that the nine-year-old found the movie slow and often boring. I suspect this because she kept hysterically whispering to me, “I’m not bored, and I like the movie. I’m just very tired.” Since I had done nothing to elicit these comments, you’ll understand my suspicion.

I’m not sure that it delivered what they expected. Our fifteen-year-old played things pretty close to the chest, but his sister was willing to divulge, “It just kept reminding me of Lion King and Star Wars, and I like Lion King and Star Wars better.”

My sister (who also saw the movie this weekend) commented that Black Panther seemed like an emasculated diplomat surrounded by kickass women. I totally get what she means. The women certainly are kickass. But actually I think the character of T’Challa is revealed through his relationships with the women. We see him as a brother, a lover, a commander, a son.

As we learn late in the film, the women who surround him believe that they need him (or, in the case of Okoye, someone like him). Each of these incredible women has a couple of areas in which she excels. They have amazing strengths, but each of them focuses only on her own area of expertise. Nakia, in particular, repeatedly refuses to take on a role that does not fit her skill set and inclinations. T’Challa is expected to make up for all of their weaknesses. He doesn’t get to choose his area of strength. He must represent all the qualities the women supporting him lack (or choose not to cultivate).

I guess that can seem a bit emasculating, but I see it as a king giving himself to his kingdom. He must become everything the kingdom needs. So his thoughtful, stoic style of acting works for me.

I do think the first half of the film is more exciting than the second. But part of that is an illustration of the villain’s strategy (as revealed to us perhaps a bit too pointedly by Martin Freeman. Actually, Freeman’s explanation is awkward, like it’s given to us in case the audience doesn’t get the point. Within the story, his willingness to reveal this information only makes sense if he’s doing it out of desperation to prove himself valuable.  I might have handled him differently, by the way.  Yes, Martin Freeman is great, but his character is a CIA agent.  It’s admirable that they follow their convictions to be decent human beings because I’m not sure that I’d risk it).

Anyway, what I’m getting at is that in the first half of the film, T’Challa and his awesome female companions use cool tech to do exciting stuff. But they can’t be cool like that in the second half of the film because they are preoccupied with addressing a tremendous internal issue that has destabilized their own country.

So Black Panther is unable to do his cool super hero stuff because he’s all tied up getting his own house in order.

That does make the second half of the film less exciting (at least in a traditional, super hero kind of way), but it also drives home the strategy of the enemy and illustrates one of the key points the movie is trying (successfully) to make.

I do think it’s a good thing that the villain refuses to play by the rules at the end since technically (if we’re going by the letter of the tradition) isn’t the hero cheating? I mean, he’s got something he’s not supposed to have to finish this fight, right? But obviously, a greater point is that perhaps the time has come to reevaluate the way things are done in Wakanda.

The message of this movie is quite powerful, and I’m sure that’s what’s generating the early Oscar buzz. I’d be happy to see Black Panther nominated next year. I think there should be more overlap between popular and acclaimed films, and this is one that seems suited to bridge the gap.

As I watched, part of me couldn’t help feeling a bit sad, though. Somewhere there’s an advanced society of black kings with amazing tech. Somewhere there’s an island of female warriors with amazing skills. Somewhere there’s an academy of mutants with amazing powers. But you better believe they’ve spent most of their existence hiding from us because they know what we do over here! Our fairy tales are such a sad commentary on our reality.

Overall:
I liked Black Panther. It lived up to all my expectations (though admittedly that was easy because as long as Chadwick Boseman showed up as Black Panther, my expectations were met).

I really hope we get more stand alone Black Panther movies. (With its stellar box office, surely we will.) I’d love to see T’Challa and his amazing female support team use their cool tech and intense charisma to fight crime under more mundane circumstances than alien invasion. I’m also curious to find out what will happen with W’Kabi now.