--King T'Chaka, Black Panther
At last, a Marvel movie after Doctor Strange that isn't brimming over with unnecessary jokes that kill dramatic tension, isn't overcrowded, and doesn't feature a criminally undeveloped villain! Black Panther is just what the MCU needed to vary itself up in time for the upcoming Infinity War. It takes returning character T'Challa and gives him a story that reveals one of the most unique superhero environments in cinema, along with the most well-realized villain in Marvel's cinematic universe.
Production Values
The acting in this offering is incredible, and not only in a few cases but as a consistent rule. Chadwick Boseman wonderfully acts King T'Challa with a gravity and yet a great ease. Never once does he seem out of character. T'Challa's sister Shuri has a very well-portrayed sense of humor, thanks to actress Letitia Wright--she provides most of the film's effective and strategically-placed laughs. And Michael B. Jordan, impressively, brings the primary villain Erik Killmonger to the screen in a way that is far deeper, personal, and thoughtful than the presentation of any other MCU villain I can think of (I haven't seen all of them but every one I've seen severely underdeveloped the villains). His performance helps set this movie distinctly apart from other recent Marvel offerings. Many other great black actors and actresses make appearances too, from Forest Whitaker to Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya. I also found it very fun to see Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman, as a CIA agent and arms dealer (first introduced back in Age of Ultron) respectively, reunited after The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey! One scene in particular gives them a chance to interact alone to great effect.
Thankfully, the script isn't bogged down by gratuitous comedy, which allows the movie's darker scenes to remain intact, unspoiled by "funny" one liners. This also lets the philosophical/ethical issues of the film get addressed in a way that actually treats them with the seriousness they have and require in real life, something that definitely works to the movie's advantage. Excellent special effects only enhance the spectacle. The scenery is unique, the acting all-around fantastic, and the African-themed soundtrack stands out amidst the MCU's horrendously bland soundtracks (with the soundtrack for The Incredible Hulk being an exception to the usual blandness), with Black Panther making the most of resources invested into it.
Story
(Spoilers below!!)
The African nation of Wakanda has some exposure to the outside world, but the true nature of the civilization therein is concealed beneath an energy dome that hides the fact that it is one of the most advanced regions on the planet, thanks to a highly useful metal called vibranium, carried into the earth by a meteorite crash millions of years ago. The monarchy of Wakanda is such that before every coronation the various tribes from Wakanda are able to have someone challenge the prince to combat, with victory deciding the fate of the throne.
The previous king having died in the events of Captain America: Civil War, Prince T'Challa assumes the kingship, only to face serious threats to Wakanda and other countries from a self-serving arms dealer named Ulysses Klaue and a seeker of the throne. This throne-seeker is Erik Killmonger, a man whose father was killed in America years ago, while Erik was a young child, before he could enact his plan to give vibranium weaponry to American blacks so that they could overpower their social oppressors. The king at that time refused to permit this. Erik, his father the brother of the prior Wakandan king, has a legitimate tie to the bloodline, and thus cannot be immediately dismissed.
Erik, after defeating T'Challa in ritual combat customary to the Wakandan monarchy, becomes a tyrant intent on carrying out a racially-motivated global genocide in order to establish Wakanda as the undisputed leader of the world, the goal being to right past and present wrongs against blacks worldwide. T'Challa, fighting alongside his former lover, sister, and an American CIA member, reclaims his kingdom and pledges to use his influence to help the world that Erik correctly saw injustice in.
Intellectual Content
Like last year's Wonder Woman, Black Panther is a recent superhero film that actually has a thematic message that is both relevant and significant. The central moral clash of the film pertains to the impact of Wakanda's traditional isolationist politics that keep vibranium a secret from other countries as well as to the injustices historically and presently suffered by blacks around the world. Erik Killmonger, like his father before him, wants to use vibranium to empower oppressed black communities and enable them to slay those who hold them down. Erik commits several fallacies in the process, like assuming, or at least strongly implying, that enormous numbers of American whites actively participate in social oppression of blacks, when there is nothing about being white alone that makes one a racist or abusive. Still, he serves as a great example of how someone can embrace hypocrisy and overreaction to the point of mistaking them for things good or just. And this lets the movie take seriously the racial division that has remained in America from centuries past--although America is not even the sole country shown onscreen.
What are the obligations of prosperous nations to the less fortunate regions of the world? What should a powerful leader do when he or she has the chance to act on behalf of the oppressed of other countries? The film tries to answer these questions through an unfolding narrative, and not by mere dialogue alone. Through the story and character actions the morally reprehensible aspects of extreme isolationism are shown, for the isolationism in traditional Wakanda easily produces selfishness. It can indeed be difficult, as T'Challa is told near the beginning of the film, for a good man to be a king, but even a ruler from a society steeped in tradition can recognize the moral folly of continuing the mistakes of previous leaders in the name of tradition.
Conclusion
Black Panther, hopefully, is the start of a departure from the recent MCU comedy and characterization formulas that have overstayed their welcome. It succeeds as a drama and as an action movie, elevated by excellent performances and a script that flees from Marvel cliches. May the other Marvel films to be released later this year embrace the type of storytelling and worldbuilding this movie showcases so well!
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| Photo credit: junaidrao on Visualhunt / CC BY-NC-ND |
Content:
1. Violence: Despite some brawls and deaths, nothing graphic is shown.
2. Profanity: There are only occasional uses of profanity to my recollection.
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