Now that I have seen this movie three times within the last seven days, I think I have formed enough of an opinion to actually write about it. You may have seen this everywhere else already, but I want to echo that same sentiment. This movie is a big deal for me and black people alike. There has never been a big, blockbuster super hero movie like this with a black cast this large.
What's even better, is that in this movie, the characters are not all cookie cutter stereotypes that you find in most black characters in film. This in and of itself is also very refreshing. It is great to see black characters as being fully capable and smart.
As I think about it, this is a movie that I am immensely proud of. It's a movie that I can happily recommend to people because it is also a pretty good movie in it's own right. It is a celebration of black excellence. As I alluded to above, we get positive portrayals of black people here which is counter to what you normally see on screen.
Let's talk about the movie now. After the last couple of Marvel movies (Thor: Ragnarok excluded) it was nice to see a film that had a fresh take and look. This movie does not look like the other Marvel movies and it is all the better for it. Whether it's CG or not, there is a lot of beautiful scenery to take in here.
I also want to add that there is a lot to unpack from this movie. I won't go into TOO much detail, but this movie deals with a lot of issues, which would almost seem heavy for a super hero movie. Here I feel it is done organically without feeling forced. For starters, it deals with Isolationism and the detriment it can have. Wakanda is a nation that is rich, but to the outside world they appear as a third world country. This is by design, as Wakanda looks to take care of their own and nobody else. This is probably the most central them of the movie. When there is a line about not allowing immigrants into the country because they bring their own problems with them at the expense of the host country, this rings true with real world events.
Then you have to deal with the fight between tradition and modern ideas. T'Challa's sister, Shuri, is the best representation of this. You see this in that they have all this wonderful technology, but their clothes and their armor reflect their tradition. This is also evident in the clothes that Shuri wears. What makes this interesting is that with all this technology, they still have hand to hand combat to show who is truly worthy to be the king of the nation. If you think about it, the dichotomy between those two is pretty stark.
Let's not forget how heavy is the head that wears the crown. T'Challa, who has been thrust into a ruler due to extremely unfortunate circumstances, has to constantly juggle whether it is better to look after his own country or be a shining beacon to the rest of the world. All this and he is trying to live up to legacy of his dad, who he idolized as a hero. This also gets challenged later in the film and has a profound effect on him. We get to watch T'Challa grow into his role as the king.
One last theme I want to talk about is the concept of Duty. This struggle is seen in the character of Okoye. As a general, she has to remain loyal to the throne, no matter who sits on it. She is pretty steadfast in her commitment to this, but you can see her also change through out the movie. I hope with her performance, Danai Guirara put the world on notice. She is the best part of Walking Dead and she steals the show here.
How about we talk about probably the most compelling character in this movie, Eric "Killmonger". He was wonderfully portrayed by Michael B. Jordan. They always say the hero is only as good as his villain and Killmonger shines in this movie. Sure, he kills people and that makes him bad, but he had a compelling argument for his actions. For him, the fact that Wakanda stood idly by while the rest of black people have been enslaved or impoverished, served as a reason for him to bring down the monarchy. Also, as part of his quest, he does begin systematically tearing down Wakanda from the inside, forcing the nation to have to change. He wasn't so much an agent of chaos as a villain that was cold and calculating. Also, the best villains are the hero in their own story and that is Killmonger in this movie to a T.
I also want to mention the Dora Milaje. Not only them, but the characters of Okoye, Nakia and Shuri. Here you have three different and distinctly strong black women on film. The fact that they are black is secondary to their strength, but it goes to show how little of that we get in big budget super hero movies. It was great to see so many strong women kicking ass on screen.
I could go on and on, but the cast was fantastic here. I've gone all this way and I am just now mentioning that Forest Whitaker and Angela Bassett are in this movie.
I don't want to discredit the job that Chadwick Boseman did with this movie. In such a large cast, it would be easy to fall in behind so many other strong performances, but he is excellent in this film. He put a lot of hard work into preparing for this role and it shows. He is completely committed to the character and that makes him a joy to watch. You want to root for him and in some of the showings I went to, there was open applause when he appears near the end of the film.
I loved that this movie was self contained in that you do not see a lot of the other Marvel films having any bearing on what happened here, other than the death of T'Challa's father, which happened in the Captain America: Civil War film. I thought the movie was paced well. It had a great infusion of humor that never seems forced. Everyone is not here to make quips like we've seen in many other Marvel films. The stakes felt very real and the way it was playing out, you weren't sure who was going to live or die. I was definitely on the edge of my seat.
There area lot of fantastic action sequences in this movie too. From the hand to hand combat of the fights for the throne, the car chase scene in Busan, the last battle scene of the movie, the action helped balance the non-action sequences very well.
My only complaint is that I really hate CG stuntmen and there was a lot of that here. I know it is here to stay, but I can't help but to complain every time I see it. It can make it look more like a video game and less like actual actors doing some of these stunts.
I am so glad they made this film and that it is doing extremely well. Black Panther is my favorite Marvel Character and I'm glad to see him treated so well here. I also hope that people are watching it and catching some of the themes I mentioned above. I know it can be lost amidst the noise of a super hero film.
If you haven't seen this film, please go see it. It comes with my highest recommendation. After seeing it three times, I think I can officially unseat Captain America: Winter Soldier as my favorite Marvel film and put this movie into it's place. I've watched all the films, so I don't come by this lightly. I know a lot of my own personal feelings are wrapped up in this, but isn't that what a film is supposed to make you do?
Wakanda forever.
