Black Panther - Film Review
'Black Panther' is directed by Ryan Coogler and stars Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, who is the new ruler of an extremely technologically advanced city called Wakanda. When threats appear, T'Challa must rise up to protect his home, while balancing his responsibilities of being king.
Chadwick Boseman plays T'Challa tremendously, and makes the character compelling and as a likeable protagonist. Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia is also really exceptional here. But the standout performance and character here is Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger. He was a terrific villain for this film, and was a character you can care about and understand what he's doing. His motivations for doing what he is doing is very understandable and he isn't just a conniving, moustache twirling villain. He has layers, and justification for his villainy, and it was enthralling.
The cinematography is beautiful, as well as the score which was very unique and was incorporated seamlessly into the final product. The action, while entertaining, didn't have a sense of scope, and felt slightly ham-fisted from time to time. Most of the action scenes were rather derivative, one in particular that looked like it was ripped straight out of Spiderman, when Toby Maguire and James Franco were falling and punching each other; it didn't look good there, and it doesn't look good here.
The first 50 minutes or so of this movie were fairly dull, and didn't really invest me too much. The most intriguing character of the film was gone for about 45 minutes in this first half, which did drain a lot of the intrigue that was initially gained in the opening scenes. But the film picks up significantly and is enthralling from then on. A lot of this film was a political thriller, which was great to see in a superhero film. Wakanda is also a wonderfully realised city, with a mix of a utopian cityscape, and the beautiful grasslands of the African savanna. It was all very unique and visually compelling.
Other than the action, which for the most part was disappointing, and a meandering first 50 minutes, the characters, Wakanda, and the political aspects were all universally great. It's surprising to come out of a superhero Marvel film not thinking about the action, but instead the engaging and grounded characters, especially Killmonger, one of Marvels best villains to date. 'Black Panther' definitely has some shortcomings, but overall was a character and story driven superhero film that landed fantastically on those fronts.
'Black Panther' - 77%
