Film Reviews & Movie Analysis

Wakanda has opened its arms to the world and officially joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A merging of fantasy, technology and culture has created both a civilisation and a superhero like no other. It’s time to join the movement and fight the power.

After the events of Captain America: Civil War, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is now the king of the African nation of Wakanda. To the outside world Wakanda has nothing to offer in terms of trade or resources, but they secretly harbor Vibranium, a substance that has allowed them to grow and thrive technologically beyond the realisation of the outside world.

When old foe Ulysses Klaue aka Klaw (Andy Serkin) resurfaces T’Challa rolls out with his finest to make him answer for his crimes; Okoye (Danai Gurira), Wankada’s most skilled warrior and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) T’Challa’s ex and a Wakandan spy. But while they are fighting a front to the left another has slipped through the cracks on the right and threatens to unseat both T’Challa and everything Wakanda stands for.

Okay so one of the most highly anticipated movies of 2018 so far has arrived and I am not at all disappointed with the result.

First, foremost and most appreciated is that the Black Panther movie was allowed to be a movie in its own right. It wasn’t stuffed with cameoed or co-staring Avengers and thankfully there was no need for it as the movie carried itself with grace and success.

The star of the show goes to Michael B Jordan’s Erik “Killmonger” Stevens who was the perfect vengeance seeking villain. His unexpected ruthlessness, his determination and unforgiving nature was chilling and was a great juxtaposition to the protagonists softer, diplomatic – and dare I say regal – approach.

I had absolutely no qualms with half of Hollywood’s black actors and a quarter of the UK’s too, starring in this movie; from relatively still unknown actors Letitia Wright (Humans, Black Mirror), who played T’Challa’s tech savvy younger sister and fast rising star Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) working alongside legends Angela Bassett and Forest Whitaker. It just worked, wasn’t at all distracting the way some all star cast movies are, and added to the overall sense of community that was at the movies core.

Last but certainly not least of my favourite things about Black Panther was the fusion of culture and fantasy. I know I’ve already used those two words in tandem like a million times already but that’s because it was just done so well. The creators clearly did their research with the African tribes to draw inspiration from and I was glad to see that they didn’t stick to the cliché representation of Africa that we see a lot of in mass media.

I am nothing if not partially impartial – except when I’m being completely partial of course – and so with that being said there were a couple of things that I found was not up to my standard.

Was I the only person that found the beginning slow? I get it – build up story and characters we’ve never encountered blah blah blah – but my God did it drag. At least up until T’Challa, Nakia and Okoye went to South Korea.

There’s nothing less cringe than when you know something is supposed to make you laugh but it doesn’t. That silence where your laughter is supposed to ring off the roof tops. When you can’t even muster a pity one syllabled ha. Thankfully Black Panther isn’t a comedy, but the comedic timing was off for the most part – though I’m not denying that it did hit the bull’s-eye on one or two occasions.

Okay that’s it. Put me down. Pitchforks and torches away. Except for those two points, overall the movie was a dream and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

There’s nothing really for me to round up in this review, only to reiterate how well the movie carried itself and integrated a new superhero into the Marvel Cinematic Universe fold. Ignore all the bullshit articles that are surfacing trying to find one angle or another to take down Black Panther by a peg or two, tarnishing its relevance and significance especially within the black community.

I honestly believe there will be riots if there isn’t a Black Panther 2 penned in somewhere within Marvel’s extensive diary, but I very much doubt we have anything to worry about on that front… I hope.

For now T’Challa and a number of the Black Panther cast will return in Avenger: Infinity War, and thankfully we only have a few months to wait.

Side Note: There are two additional scenes. One before the rolling credits and one at the very end, the latter of which I admit made me swear in anger –  if you have any idea how I feel about the Captain America franchise then that should come as no surprise.

#WakandaForever

Twitter: JustJen_02