Chew the Fat: Black Panther on the Silver Screen!
Redartz: Okay, we've waited long enough, everyone else has been talking about it (worldwide, in fact- the film is making a huge impact globally at the box office, and among the 'talking heads' in the media). Time for us to discuss one of the biggest Marvel films yet, the Black Panther! Spoilers may follow, so be forewarned. My wife and I saw the movie last week, and absolutely loved it. Incredibly visually, and loaded with punch story-wise. The film didn't shy away from addressing some serious political, racial and cultural issues, and (in my opinion) took the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a whole new level. Intelligent, provocative and very entertaining. Oh, and this film, along with last year's "Wonder Woman", really showcases the growing drawing power of heroic women.
Great performances from the cast abound, among them: Chadwick Boseman's starring turn as T'Challa. Letitia Wright as the wonderful Shuri. Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger. Angela Bassett, nobly portraying T'Challa's mother Ramonda. And, certainly, Danai Gurira's mind-blowing performance as General Okoye.
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| Chadwick Boseman |
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| Michael B. Jordan |
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| Chadwick Boseman and Letitia Wright |
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| Danae Gurira |
I'll hold most of my impressions for now, to give all of you a chance to pontificate. Have you seen the film; and if so, what did you think?
9 comments:
Saw it opening Thursday night to a packed house. The response was muted.
I liked it, appreciated the craft, didn't love it.
T'Challa was the least interesting character in the movie.
Killmonger could have used 3-5 more minutes of screen time to give some further background on his character and motivation, especially since the South Korean scene, while good, added nothing to the story.
Obviously all the good CGI houses were busy working on Infinity War's graphics, so the battle at the end really looked fake. Ditto the railroad scene between BP and EK.
As a BP fan for over 40 years, I admit to being a bit choked up at the reaction worldwide to his flick. That group of South Africans in dashikis singing spontaneously in the theater lobby after the show was just pure awesome.
Overall, too much hype, but happy for its success.
Yoyo
Haven't seen it yet, due to the crowds and the nagging notion that a "joker " will show up and unload his weapons. Fully intending to see it though.
I just saw it and I thought it was really good; I'm not sure if it's my favourite Marvel movie, but it's close to the top. I like how they brought in stuff from a wide range of Black Panther comics ... Killmonger from the old McGregor run, M'Baku, and even Agent Ross from Priest's run.
The Dora Milaje were great, especially Okoye.
Really good action flick. To me the women carried it.
Yoyo is right about the CGI, looked like a video game for the "big fight".
My run with Black Panther ended in 1980 so the bullet proof suit and other enhancements were new to me. Made sense though.
I would liked to have seen BP as the super genius mind that Lee had originally written him. But his sister did a fine job.
Yoyo- I too am pleased with the worldwide reception for the film. Coverage for the cast, and the movie, have been everywhere in the media. Granted, most of the Marvel films have drawn a lot of attention, but this one seems to be getting more 'serious' coverage, rather than 'entertainment' coverage.
Charlie- you will enjoy it; I'm sure...
Mike W. and Killraven- you make good points about the women in the film. I couldn't agree more. In fact, Okoye was my favorite character in the film. Incredible.
Unfortunately I have not seen it yet. Was supposed to go last weekend and life had other plans. Ha. Maybe this weekend.
I LOVED it and think it is my favorite Marvel movie by far.
The CGI in the final battle btwn Killmonger and Black Panther was terrible and the whole thing looked like a video game cut scene, but I didn't have any problem with the CGI in the big battle (like the war-rhinos) and was able to suspend my disbelief.
My biggest criticism is I wish they could have made Killmonger about 10% less bloodthirsty and reckless so that the conflict with him could be more nuanced and tense (He did make some valid points), though I do like that Nakia was the voice of reason between those positions of intervention and isolation. I also wish that instead of being killed, they could have found some way to resolve the conflict with Killmonger and right the legacy of having done wrong by him.
And yes, the women were impressive.
I saw it, and thought it was a a good Marvel movie, but certainly not the best. Captain America: Winter Soldier was better by far, Civil War grander in scale, Guardians 1 and 2 and Thor 3 were both much more fun. More like a mid-tier Marvel movie, good, solid and well done. I was impressed with the opening scenes in Wakanda..just beautiful cinematography with great visuals effects, but I thought the opening scenes and final battle (underground) were too low lit, not bright enough to really appreciate the details.
I was concerned that the social/political themes would be heavy-handed, but I did not find that they were. There were political themes and nods if you wanted to see them, but it did not really over-whelm the film. But I also think it is exactly the idea that you can see those themes if you want to that has propelled the movie to such financial success.
(I forgot if this thread is supposed to be spoiler free, so SPOILER WARNING here!)
The plot was rather straightforward, the old "challenge to the succession of the King" trope. And I really wished they could have worked in the soul gem.
My latest working theory: The soul gem is what is giving the vibranium its special attributes, and the people of Wakanda their spiritual visions. That is why the battle scenes in the infinity war trailer show the invasion of Wakanda. The gem is buried in the heart of the vibranium mountain/meteor and only Thanos knows it is there!
Adam
Adam- good observation about the socio-political content of the film. As a viewer, I was open and receptive to the references that were made. But as you note, they were not a 'hit-you-over-the-head' situation. Just some context and some comments, all appropriate to the story and the characters.
Oh, and nice theory about the SoulGem. Looking forward to that film as well...
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