Movie Review: Black Panther
From director Ryan Coogler, who has defined his budding career with bold, influential films of truth and fearlessness, comes perhaps the filmmaker's grandest leap in the realm of cinema with his first superhero endeavor, Black Panther. Tasked with continuing the legacy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all while subtly subverting the franchise's formulaic structure with his own enigmatic enthusiasm, the iconic character of T'Challa has sparked to riveting life in a film that revels in its phenomenal visuals and striking humanity. As the film steadily evolved into a modern Shakespearean tragedy, fueled by fearless performances, Black Panther made for one of the year's most defining superhero chapters so far.
Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, which saw the demise of King T'Chaka (John Kani) at the hands of Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), Prince T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns to his home of Wakanda to take his place as ruler of the sovereign African nation. As he slowly settles into his new role as king, T'Challa is faced with a number of challenges, namely the continuing threat of South African arms dealer-turned-terrorist Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis). After a failed mission to capture Klaue, T'Challa begins to question if he is truly prepared to take his father's place as the prime protectorate of his home. His judgement clouded, T'Challa finds himself blindsided when Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) emerges from the shadows of Klaue's dealings. Seeking to take the throne for himself, Killmonger begins to dismantle the peaceful foundations of Wakanda, in favor of world-wide revolution. As anarchy ensnares T'Challa and his family, including sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), his mother (Angela Bassett), and his love Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), the noble power of the Black Panther must be unleashed.
After the game-changing Thor: Ragnarok managed to revive the God of Thunder's film franchise with an overly-satisfying display of director Taika Watiti's bold ambitions for the character, the promise for Creed director Ryan Coogler to inject his own style into Black Panther seemed to be the perfect match. After crafting two phenomenal stories of humanity and sacrifice, one in the biographical drama Fruitvale Station and the other in the Rocky spin-off Creed, Coogler's eye for interrogating the realities at the heart of both fiction and nonfiction stories made him the prime candidate to take on the family drama of Black Panther. While the film and its story surely ran parallel to what can only be described as an extravaganza of African culture and dynamic visuals, its soul lied in its characters and their actions. With Coogler's directing ability on full display here, Black Panther quickly manifested into an enthralling drama, mirroring the sensational tragedies of William Shakespeare.
Before I caught onto the correlation between the superhero film and the musings of the 16th-17th century dramatist, however, my interest in the character at the heart of the film manifested profoundly from Chadwick Boseman's appearance as T'Challa in 2016's Captain America: Civil War. With his entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe perhaps outmatching that of Tom Holland's Spider-Man, the soft-spoken ferocity of Boseman managed to become one of the hallmarks of the pivotal team-up feature. When it was announced that Boseman would lead a predominantly-black cast of characters in his solo feature, I pounced at the project with an eagerness to discover more about the influential character. After seeing the film, it became clear that that eagerness to understand Black Panther and his influence in pop culture was felt in not only the filmmakers but the cast as well. While I'll delve into the cast soon enough, I found the dedication in bringing this character to life to be a collaborative effort among the entirety of the production, making the project feel all the more special to the audience.
While its action scenes and dazzling visuals might have played a large part in defining Black Panther and its atmosphere, the thing I found most intriguing about the film ultimately became its family drama. While the first half of the film might have felt much like a typical "stop the bad guy" situation, as T'Challa and Company hunted Serkis' ruthless Klaue through the neon streets of South Korea, the film sustained its potential as it evolved into an engrossing Shakespearean tragedy. Full of backstabbing, treachery, and sheer brutal force, the entry of Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger and the eventual overthrow of King T'Challa as both king and protector of Wakanda managed to fuel the remainder of the film, as it explored not only T'Challa's inner strength but the injustices hidden within the technologically-advanced monarchy as well. Even while Black Panther worked as an effective and action-packed origin film for its central superhero, it benefited greatly from a strong sublayer of both character and storytelling.
As Boseman led the pack in a round of phenomenal performances, Black Panther displayed some of the most investing characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While T'Challa struggled through his own journey of adopting the throne, the society around him proved to be an equally fascinating subject to explore. From family members and compatriots like Letitia Wright's Shuri and Danai Gurira's Okoye to T'Challa's greatest enemies in Winston Duke's M'Baku and Jordan's Killmonger, Ryan Coogler managed to weave his way around each character with a concentrated focus. Even while T'Challa's journey sat at the forefront of the story, the boiling internal conflicts of each of the characters around him set out to bring the film not only some suspense as to what's to come, but also plenty of humanity. While there were a number of stand-out performances, it was probably Michael B. Jordan's tour-de-force role as Killmonger that won it for me. Ultimately turning the emotional tide of the plot into a realm of uncertainty and anarchy, it was Jordan's charismatic, rage-filled performance that cemented the film's bold character study.
Overall, Black Panther worked on a number of levels. Acting as both an intriguing social commentary and a bold superhero outing for a hero whose influential history in comic culture has deserved to be explored in film for a while now, Ryan Coogler's latest might be his most defining project to date. As we slowly see the director leap more into bigger and braver films, his auteur eye for strong characters and inventive storytelling proves to be one of the most promising in Hollywood. While Black Panther surely suffers from similar troubles of the genre at times, its eagerness to push forth a string of dynamic and memorable characters and a drama full of exhilarating surprises managed to set Black Panther as one of Marvel's freshest deliverables.
I gave Black Panther a 9 out of 10 for its engrossing atmosphere of eye-popping technology and tradition, the dynamic enthusiasm of its director and cast, and its phenomenal ensemble that breathed life into the film's spectacular Shakespearean tale.
After the game-changing Thor: Ragnarok managed to revive the God of Thunder's film franchise with an overly-satisfying display of director Taika Watiti's bold ambitions for the character, the promise for Creed director Ryan Coogler to inject his own style into Black Panther seemed to be the perfect match. After crafting two phenomenal stories of humanity and sacrifice, one in the biographical drama Fruitvale Station and the other in the Rocky spin-off Creed, Coogler's eye for interrogating the realities at the heart of both fiction and nonfiction stories made him the prime candidate to take on the family drama of Black Panther. While the film and its story surely ran parallel to what can only be described as an extravaganza of African culture and dynamic visuals, its soul lied in its characters and their actions. With Coogler's directing ability on full display here, Black Panther quickly manifested into an enthralling drama, mirroring the sensational tragedies of William Shakespeare.
Before I caught onto the correlation between the superhero film and the musings of the 16th-17th century dramatist, however, my interest in the character at the heart of the film manifested profoundly from Chadwick Boseman's appearance as T'Challa in 2016's Captain America: Civil War. With his entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe perhaps outmatching that of Tom Holland's Spider-Man, the soft-spoken ferocity of Boseman managed to become one of the hallmarks of the pivotal team-up feature. When it was announced that Boseman would lead a predominantly-black cast of characters in his solo feature, I pounced at the project with an eagerness to discover more about the influential character. After seeing the film, it became clear that that eagerness to understand Black Panther and his influence in pop culture was felt in not only the filmmakers but the cast as well. While I'll delve into the cast soon enough, I found the dedication in bringing this character to life to be a collaborative effort among the entirety of the production, making the project feel all the more special to the audience.
While its action scenes and dazzling visuals might have played a large part in defining Black Panther and its atmosphere, the thing I found most intriguing about the film ultimately became its family drama. While the first half of the film might have felt much like a typical "stop the bad guy" situation, as T'Challa and Company hunted Serkis' ruthless Klaue through the neon streets of South Korea, the film sustained its potential as it evolved into an engrossing Shakespearean tragedy. Full of backstabbing, treachery, and sheer brutal force, the entry of Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger and the eventual overthrow of King T'Challa as both king and protector of Wakanda managed to fuel the remainder of the film, as it explored not only T'Challa's inner strength but the injustices hidden within the technologically-advanced monarchy as well. Even while Black Panther worked as an effective and action-packed origin film for its central superhero, it benefited greatly from a strong sublayer of both character and storytelling.
As Boseman led the pack in a round of phenomenal performances, Black Panther displayed some of the most investing characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While T'Challa struggled through his own journey of adopting the throne, the society around him proved to be an equally fascinating subject to explore. From family members and compatriots like Letitia Wright's Shuri and Danai Gurira's Okoye to T'Challa's greatest enemies in Winston Duke's M'Baku and Jordan's Killmonger, Ryan Coogler managed to weave his way around each character with a concentrated focus. Even while T'Challa's journey sat at the forefront of the story, the boiling internal conflicts of each of the characters around him set out to bring the film not only some suspense as to what's to come, but also plenty of humanity. While there were a number of stand-out performances, it was probably Michael B. Jordan's tour-de-force role as Killmonger that won it for me. Ultimately turning the emotional tide of the plot into a realm of uncertainty and anarchy, it was Jordan's charismatic, rage-filled performance that cemented the film's bold character study.
Overall, Black Panther worked on a number of levels. Acting as both an intriguing social commentary and a bold superhero outing for a hero whose influential history in comic culture has deserved to be explored in film for a while now, Ryan Coogler's latest might be his most defining project to date. As we slowly see the director leap more into bigger and braver films, his auteur eye for strong characters and inventive storytelling proves to be one of the most promising in Hollywood. While Black Panther surely suffers from similar troubles of the genre at times, its eagerness to push forth a string of dynamic and memorable characters and a drama full of exhilarating surprises managed to set Black Panther as one of Marvel's freshest deliverables.
I gave Black Panther a 9 out of 10 for its engrossing atmosphere of eye-popping technology and tradition, the dynamic enthusiasm of its director and cast, and its phenomenal ensemble that breathed life into the film's spectacular Shakespearean tale.
Comments
Post a Comment