More Than Just A Movie
Me: Thor Ragnarok will be different!
Also me
That said, Panther reviews came in strong as expected (as with literally every damn Marvel movie these days) so critical reception literally meant nothing for me going in, but I figured ONCE AGAIN, "eh, why not?" Fool me once? Shame on you. Fool me 17 times, shame on me, and folks... Hold my Wakanda, because this is is easily the best movie in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) since the first Guardians of the Galaxy, if not Winter Soldier, if not the first Avengers, if not the first Iron Man. It breaks new ground for numerous reasons and accomplishes vast achievements, not just for the MCU; not just for comic book movies; but for the plethora of cultural cinema.
Folks have come out of the woodwork for this one and by all means, this film fully earns and deserves all the love. To see such a vast wave of change in diversity with just one comic book movie is by all means powerful, but this is also so, so much more than just a comic book movie.
People are getting dressed up in full blown traditional African cloth and performing ritual, choreographed dance routines in the lobbies of movie theaters worldwide, (Seriously, LOOK AT HOW GLORIOUS THIS IS) and perhaps it's just the moviegoer in me that's moved by these actions but it's a literal theatrical celebration unlike anything I've ever seen in film-going, perhaps in my entire life.
Alright, not my ENTIRE life.
When Wonder Woman dropped in 2016, it was an actual achievement as it was the first comic book movie driven completely by women both in front of and behind the camera, that wasn't outright terrible. The fact that a WW movie worked at all is an accomplishment in itself but the fact that it was so female driven by the likes of Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot makes the film feel far more special than its generic comic book tropes would lead anyone to believe. WW is a landmark for what it does for women in both comic book movies and female-driven cinema, but it doesn't take much reading between the lines to realize it's just Captain America: The First Avenger in women's' clothing. All that said, Black Panther accomplishes similar feats for people of color, only Black Panther as a film; as a symbol, is almost unlike anything I've ever seen.
On the one hand, sure Panther gets caught up in the inevitable Marvel tropes; Heroes fall, villains rise, supporting characters crack jokes, lots of CGI action takes place; Good conquers evil. The tropes are only so vague before they be stripped and compared to nearly every comic book movie ever made and so yes, inevitably Panther can only fall so far before it's tossed aside with the rest of the Marvel movies but what it gets right; so very right, is its confidence in characters, plots and cultural tributes in ways that have not been portrayed in the MCU since Winter Soldier, if not the first Iron Man, and to some degree never before.
Basically what I'm saying is that this might just be the best entry in the MCU since it began, if not the most purely original.
From now on, a fight in the MCU doesn't count unless it's a tribal, ritual life-or-death battle.
I won't hear otherwise.
Go ahead, call the film a Lion King inspired 007 flick. To a degree, that's absolutely what it is, but it's also completely grounded and embedded in its deeply rooted African culture that it's very much so its own cultural beast.
Regardless of how big the success will become for this movie, the importance of the film goes so far beyond it “just being a movie.” And despite its Lion King inspired third act, the film is literally groundbreaking for all of its accomplishments, so much so that even when it doesn’t feel widely spectacular (which is very rare) it’s still a reality check to realize that powerful men and women of color receive not just the film that they deserve but the film that the world needs right now.
Folks, I don’t wanna sway too politically here but this is easily Marvel’s most ambitious live action film yet and it goes so much deeper than the subject matter simply focusing on people of color.
Even with the optimistic race card, I was worried that the film was going to play out the generic comic book movie tropes, but Panther is almost entirely original while paying tribute to generations of historic culture. By keeping the story grounded in the gorgeous, fictitious city of Wakanda, the film is engraved in its historical African culture. Everything from the set design to the costumes to the soundtrack is almost entirely authentically African inspired, and it’s astounding; purely glorious to look at and to listen to.
A buddy of mine proposed Disney change their Avatar-Pandora park to a Wakanda park.
Anyone wanna start a petition?
The story is indeed inspired by an ancient culture of African tribes, traditions and tribulations when it comes to a king and his kingdom, and the film always works best when it’s focused on the historic environment of Wakanda. Granted the action spectacles are cool but when Panther suits up, the modern based fight scenes are often much less spectacular than the traditional Wakandan battles.
I can’t fathom just how much detail goes into this film and nearly every corner of it is fabulous. The African inspired score feels traditionally cultural and yet the music is mixed with an entirely original hip-hop soundtrack from our dear Kendrick Lamar. This fusion of African tribal sounds with Kendrick’s dope ass beats is something of magic, and it makes for one of the best soundtracks Marvel has ever come up with (a true miracle considering many of the MCU scores are often generic and forgettable).
As far as the players go, this is Marvel’s best ensemble since Guardians, both in front of the camera and behind. Ryan Coogler is becoming more bold with each film he directs and Panther is easily his biggest and most ambitious to date. The man is well on his way to being a notable filmmaker, not just for persons of color, but for incredible modern day directors. Not only that, the man is also humble AF. If you haven't checked out Coogler's open letter to fans, thanking them, it will only benefit your life to do so.
BLESS UP DUDE.
As far as the cast goes, the actors can’t be stressed enough. While Chadwick Boseman has already proved he can slip into the role of whoever he’s playing whether that be Jackie Robinson or James Brown, here he completely consumes the part of King T’Challa and YET as good as he is he is STILL under shadowed by the likes of his co-stars.
One aspect where the MCU suffers greatly is supporting characters. Too often we have the cardboard villains, the one-dimensional love interests; the lazily written comic reliefs. Panther is an absolute rebellion to this Marvel stereotype. The entire supporting cast is fleshed out (although Daniel Kaluuya appears to be asleep for most of the movie, and Forest Whitaker doesn't do much outside from shouting and staring at two things at once).
And while Lupita Nyong’o has earned her critical acclaim, she tends to take more of the backseat here to the likes of Danai Gurira, who is arguably the best character in the film.
Holy shit, I know Gurira is one of the only truly likable characters still standing on The Walking Dead as the Katana-wielding Michonne, but her role as Okoye is straight up fierce. The way she dominates every frame she’s in is tough, empowering and straight up badass.
One aspect where the MCU suffers greatly is supporting characters. Too often we have the cardboard villains, the one-dimensional love interests; the lazily written comic reliefs. Panther is an absolute rebellion to this Marvel stereotype. The entire supporting cast is fleshed out (although Daniel Kaluuya appears to be asleep for most of the movie, and Forest Whitaker doesn't do much outside from shouting and staring at two things at once).
And while Lupita Nyong’o has earned her critical acclaim, she tends to take more of the backseat here to the likes of Danai Gurira, who is arguably the best character in the film.
"Guns... So primitive."
BE STILL MY CAUCASIAN BEATING HEART
Holy shit, I know Gurira is one of the only truly likable characters still standing on The Walking Dead as the Katana-wielding Michonne, but her role as Okoye is straight up fierce. The way she dominates every frame she’s in is tough, empowering and straight up badass.
While some of the other supporting cast is great; Andy Serkis is delightful; Martin Freeman is charming; Sterling K. Brown makes even five minutes worth a grown man crying (as always), the cast can’t be discussed without speaking of Michael B. Jordan.
For the first time since Loki, and maybe even surpassing Loki, Jordan delivers a villain for the MCU who’s relatable, playfully malicious and kills the entire role. Granted the character was obviously written with much better care than recent Marvel villains (Odin knows Cate Blanchett was completely wasted in Ragnarok), Jordan embodies the sinister Erik Killmonger. Everything from his motivation down to his powerful final scene is a statement on not just comic book villains but historically cultural characters in cinema. Killmonger is a character who is all things believable, tragic and emotionally impacting on this franchise.
Michael B. is currently killing it.
I haven’t even covered the details in the action sequences, the dialogue, the details down to each costume, because there’s so much depth I can’t even describe. Granted as I said, the third act is clearly inspired by The Lion King (or whatever traditional story you want to fill in the blank with, where a rightful heir is expelled from his kingdom, while a villainous family member claims the throne, and said heir returns to take back his pride land), the film is almost entirely utterly spectacular.
And while the second act James Bond story line in Korea is arguably the best segment of the film, the whole picture is straight up dazzling. It makes for the best political thriller since Winter Soldier but it also is enough of its own traditionally grounded origin story that there’s simply nothing in the MCU like it.
The film gives African culture such a stamp on cinema that it truly is far more important than it initially comes across. On the one hand “yeah, it’s just a movie,” but that shouldn’t take away the pride that this film wears on its sleeve, because this is so much more than a comic book movie mostly featuring people of color. It’s a story that is completely rooted in African tradition that pays homage to a tribal history and yet boldly grounds itself in a modern day era. The fact that it’s a comic book movie is only icing on the cake. The fact that the film accomplishes what it does for black culture while being an excellent movies is what makes its special.
Bond. KING BOND.
It may not best the likes of Iron Man or Captain America but Black Panther is a new footprint for the MCU, for comic book movies in general, and for all of cinema and while it’s no Oscar contender, maybe before it gets knocked as being “just a movie,” we really need to embrace just how remarkable it is that we’re all here right now at this exact time experiencing this beautiful change of accepted diversity and cultural relevance for a film like this.
Look how far we've come in just a decade. We couldn’t dream up a movie like Black Panther ten years ago, but if it’s taken ten years for the MCU to deliver a Black Panther then by all means, bring on ten more years of whatever trash comes next.
I mean, look how silly they all are, running together.
Odin knows there's potential for LOTS of trash.
On second thought. I take it back. The MCU is fake news.
Just give me nothing but Black Panther and Guardians sequels for the rest of my days.
LONG LIVE WAKANDA
