In 1966, Marvel legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the first African-American superhero that ever appeared in mainstream comics. His name was T’Challa, ruler of the African nation of Wakanda and its greatest warrior, the Black Panther. Half a century later, the character would make his official live-action film debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 2016 release, Captain America: Civil War. In the film, T’Challa was played by Chadwick Boseman. Fresh off playing cultural icons like Jackie Robinson (42) and James Brown (Get on Up), Boseman added yet another cultural icon to his resume of film roles thanks to his excellent performance as the stoic regal warrior. And now, the Black Panther headlines his own solo film courtesy of director Ryan Coogler. Since 2013, the Oakland native has made a name for himself in the film industry with some of the most critically-acclaimed films of the past few years; and to put this all into perspective, Black Panther is only his third feature film to date. Prior to this, he directed the 2013 drama Fruitvale Station, which told the true story of the death of Oscar Grant III in the titular Bay Area Rapid Transit metro station, and 2015’s Creed, the unexpected continuation of the iconic Rocky franchise that ended up being its most critically successful outing since the original back in 1976. And with Black Panther, Coogler (and, therefore, Marvel Studios) ends up having yet another critically-acclaimed outing on their hands thanks to it being one of the most emotionally-charged outings of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In Captain America: Civil War, audiences were introduced to T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), prince of the African nation of Wakanda who also serves as its greatest warrior, the ‘Black Panther’. When his father, King T’Chaka (John Kani), was murdered in a bombing at the United Nations, T’Challa embarked on a quest for vengeance against his father’s killer Helmut Zemo, though he ultimately let him live when he decided that he would no longer be consumed by vengeance. Thus, as Black Panther begins, T’Challa returns home to Wakanda to prepare to become its new king. However, he soon finds himself having to deal with two major threats to the peaceful existence of his kingdom. First, there’s Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis), a black-market arms dealer who has spent several years trying to find Wakanda and steal its most valuable resource, vibranium (AKA the material used to create Captain America’s iconic shield). The other big threat comes in the form of Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), a Black Ops soldier (who, as it turns out, harbors a major personal connection to T’Challa that’s tied to a key incident of Killmonger’s past that T’Chaka was directly involved in), who arrives in Wakanda hell-bent on taking the throne and utilizing the kingdom’s resources to initiate rebellions all over the world. This, in turn, forces T’Challa and his main allies, including his ex-lover Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), his tech-savvy sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), and Okoye (Danai Gurira), leader of the Dora Milaje, Wakanda’s special forces group, to stand their ground to prevent Killmonger from taking over the kingdom and, subsequently, the rest of the world.
I’ve stated time and time again that the MCU has always done a fantastic job developing its main characters to the point where it results in some of the most effective emotional moments to come out of the superhero genre (e.g. the ending of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the ‘big reveal’ in Captain America: Civil War, etc.). And with Black Panther, Coogler gives us one of the most emotionally-driven installments of the entire franchise. There’s a real spiritual sense to this film, and not just through its excellent portrayal of the world of Wakanda and its culture. Emotion practically drives everything in this film from character motivations for both heroes and villains to key moments in the plot that reflect modern race relations. All of this helps to make the film one of the most moving and culturally relevant films in recent memory while still being a fun and exciting blockbuster flick, a balancing act that Coogler handles terrifically. Because after all, this is still a Marvel Cinematic Universe film that we’re talking about here, and even at 18 films in, Black Panther still features everything that we’ve come to love from this franchise. Coogler and cinematographer Rachel Morrison (who previously collaborated on Fruitvale Station) more than deliver on the film’s solid action sequences, many of which are backed by the franchise’s consistently solid visual effects. And while Black Panther certainly doesn’t skimp on its emotional poignancy, it still finds plenty of time for the MCU’s trademark sense of humor.
Right from his first scene in Captain America: Civil War, Chadwick Boseman proved to be a major scene-stealer as his iteration of Black Panther was full of powerful, emotional nuance. And now that he headlines his own film, that firm resolve is strengthened even further along with a solid arc in which T’Challa struggles to figure out his identity as the new ruler of Wakanda. But he’s not alone in this endeavor, as he’s backed by some of the greatest female leads in the entire MCU. As Nakia, Lupita Nyong’o has excellent chemistry with Boseman (effectively making them one of the MCU’s best ‘couples’) while still being much more than just a traditional ‘love interest’. As Okoye, Danai Gurira continues her recent track record of playing badass warriors (following her turn as Michonne in The Walking Dead) as the staunch leader of the Dora Milaje who is NOT to be messed with. And as Shuri, Letitia Wright ends up being the film’s biggest standout as T’Challa’s snarky but high-spirited sister whose technological prowess manages to give even Tony Stark a run for his money. Of course, like any MCU film, there are plenty more standouts from this film’s excellent supporting cast. Daniel Kaluuya plays a minor but all-around pivotal role in the film as T’Challa’s best friend W’Kabi, the head of Wakanda’s ‘Border Tribe’ who ends up getting into a rather tough personal conflict with T’Challa over his handling of Klaue. And as for Winston Duke as the imposing M’Baku, the leader of the Jabari tribe who is in constant conflict with T’Challa over his impending rule, he surprisingly ends up providing the film with some of its best humorous moments. Close it all out with some solid turns from screen legends Angela Bassett and Forest Whitaker as T’Challa’s mother Ramonda and the sage-like figure Zuri, respectively, and you have one of the MCU’s best ensemble casts.
Ultimately, though, one of the most well-received aspects of this film is something that you don’t hear of very often from critics and audiences when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, its villains. And while I have gone on record stating that I don’t think that the majority of the MCU’s collection of antagonists are as bad as many claim that they are, I will openly admit that Black Panther features some of the franchise’s greatest villains. First, we have Andy Serkis reprising his brief cameo role in Avengers: Age of Ultron as Ulysses Klaue. Without giving anything major away, Klaue’s role in this film is minor but Serkis is clearly having a ball as the delightfully over-the-top arms dealer who gets plenty of the film’s best humorous lines. But, of course, the real star of the show is Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, who is hands down one of the most layered antagonists of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Keeping in line with the film’s strong sense of emotional depth, Killmonger’s backstory is steeped entirely in emotional sentiment, effectively making him a perfect foil for T’Challa in more ways than I describe here without delving into spoiler territory. His motivations are clear throughout as is Jordan’s fantastic, commanding screen presence in the role. Simply put, Killmonger is one of the prime examples of a ‘sympathetic’ antagonist; while he does serve as a major threat to T’Challa and company, there are instances where you do empathize with where he’s coming from. Not only that, but it’s also good to see Jordan get a top-quality role in a superhero film after his rather disastrous outing as the Human Torch in 2015’s Fan4stic. And for those keeping track at home, that makes two former on-screen Human Torches who ended up getting stronger material when they transitioned over to Marvel Studios (the first, of course, being Cap himself, Chris Evans).
Now, of course, anyone who knows me probably guessed beforehand that I was going to love this film given all the times that I’ve gushed about the MCU in the past… and they would be right. While I usually don’t like to lean so closely towards the film fan community’s consensus towards any given film, it’s hard to deny that Black Panther truly is a landmark installment of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the superhero genre in general. For lack of a better term, director Ryan Coogler infuses this film with so much soul that it ends up being an emotionally powerful cinematic experience. Whether it’s thanks to the film’s deeply-layered plot or Michael B. Jordan’s phenomenal turn as arguably the MCU’s greatest villain to date, Black Panther is sure to hit you with all the feels. And really, at the risk of becoming a broken record, this is just yet another testament to Marvel Studios’ dominance of the superhero genre since the MCU’s inception. For the past decade, they’ve provided us with well-written and well-directed superhero epics that have been highlighted by their excellently written characters, jaw-dropping action sequences, and in their greatest outings, a fantastic sense of emotional poignancy that has made their protagonists endearing icons in the world of pop culture for years to come. Black Panther boasts all those things and then some.
#WAKANDAFOREVER
Rating: 5/5!
No comments:
Post a Comment