For the movie itself, it's really quite a good film, the best MCU
entry since Phase I, to be sure, and one of the best overall. Though
Chadwick Boseman is clearly the star, he's surrounded by a well-balanced
ensemble, a smart and thoughtful script, a compelling message with
broader implications, and some gorgeous location work, with South Africa
'playing' Wakanda. As is par for the course for these movies, the
action sequences and special effects are excellent; the costumes in
particular are vibrant and eclectic. There are moments on a grand, action-movie scale, but far more intimate personal beats that carry the movie. Also, there are War-Rhinos, which are War-Rhinos and therefore awesome.
Every
principal character is rounded and nuanced, and each has clearly defined motivation. Perhaps more
importantly, every character is treated with dignity...there is no
goofball character or comedy relief throwaway. Even Martin Freeman's
Everett Ross, who is, to be fair, a buffoon in the comics, is grounded
here...still out of his element, but treated as a fully developed human
being. Letitia Wright's Shuri could easily have gone into
annoying-kid-sidekick mode, but instead, she is strong, clever,
funny, and eminently likable. The villains are dangerous, the women are
no damsels in distress or walking stereotypes, and the hero has depth.
I was struck by the impression that the filmmakers really wanted to get this one right, and I have
to applaud their effort. It's amazing what actually *trying* will do.
One of my ongoing gripes with the MCU has been an increasing need to dumb
things down, and all three of the 2017 entries were lazy 'hyuk-hyuk'
movies to one degree or another, making banal decisions with shallow characters and often
infantile humor, usually with the least possible effort. Black Panther bucks that trend; there is humor, but it fits the characters and situations. It always feels natural, and
is never sophomoric, degrading, or silly. This somewhat elevated tone doesn't prevent the
movie from being fun and energetic - far from it - so clearly, there's a way to make these movies without being puerile
(again: effort).
As any regular readers of
this space will know, poorly-realized villains are a particular bugbear
of mine. So I am pleased to say that I was delighted with Michael B. Jordan's
Killmonger; he may actually be the single most solid villain in the MCU
to date, at least as far as the movies go. He's angry and vengeful, but
not without cause, and that cause is a key element of the film, treated
with due consideration. That he even HAS tangible motivation is a huge
step up from many of his predecessors (and is remarkably relevant, vis-a-vis current events), but even still, for a fairly
vicious, cold-hearted character he has moments that generate profound
understanding, even compassion. Yes, his plan does head into conquering-the-world
territory, and make no mistake, he is evil, but he makes sense, and the character is every bit
T'Challa's equal in terms of skill, gravity, and intelligence. It is never a foregone conclusion that Killmonger is going to lose, as far as the plot goes. Take note: this is how
you do a villain properly, as a line of Marvel villains would no doubt like you to be aware. (The line starts behind Dr. Doom.)
Another ongoing frustration of mine with the MCU has been that most of
the movies are as much a commercial for the next product or are
straight-up franchise shills. Not this time - while there are some necessary
allusions to Captain America: Civil War, they're primarily for
expository reasons, and the vast majority of Black Panther exists in its
own reality. This allows for a full development of a world and its
characters, rich and variegated, without constant reminders of "coming
soon to a theater near you"...even the post-credits scene, which is the
only really overt broader-MCU reference, is subdued and in complete
context here. So fans of Black Panther can actually get a movie that's
ABOUT Black Panther, and not a giant commercial for something else.
Moreover, this is a much different corner of the superhero world than
we've really seen before; it's a completely different flavor and it's
remarkably refreshing, and as such, deserves to be done with justice.
All told, this is a superhero movie which feels like everyone involved
truly cared about what they were making. Effort went into it, and it
clearly shows. If the MCU movies were all treated like this, I'd have
little to complain about. However, I fear Black Panther
will prove to be the exception rather than the new rule - after all, we have two
entries in the MCU coming this summer in the "Avengers; 'Splosions
& Snark" series, and I will not be surprised if we end up going right back to
CGI-by-the-numbers form. Which will be disappointing, since Black Panther proves that
these movies can be done correctly, with integrity and skill.
FINAL RATING: 8 PAWS (OUT OF 10)
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