Black Panther

Dir: Ryan Coogler

2018

****

A Black Panther adaptation has been a long time coming and yet again, Marvel have mixed the right ingredients together to produce another fine comic book/superhero film. However, there is something a little different about Black Panther compered to the more recent films in the MCU. The core Avengers have been well established, and even though Doctor Strange,  Ant-Man and Spider-Man were all origin stories, Black Panther is an origin story in a more classical sense. Something we haven’t seen really since Iron Man, the first film of the mega franchise. In this sense, it doesn’t really feel like it is breaking new ground, but I have a lot of respect for Marvel in keeping with the character’s backstory and not skipping over it because of how far the Avengers have progressed. Black Panther has already popped up in Captain America: Civil War, which was the perfect way of introducing the new wave of Avengers, but it is absolutely correct that time be spent telling the tale of Black Panther and the secret country of Wakanda. I’ve been a huge fan of Chadwick Boseman since I saw him portray James Brown in the criminally overlooked Get On Up that came out back in 2014. I was thrilled that he was cast but I had wondered whether Michael B. Jordan would have been a more obvious choice. I honestly thought they would cast Jordan and I said so before he was announced as Killmonger (honest, you can ask my wife). Maybe his roles in Chronicle and Fantastic Four prevented him from playing another ‘hero’ but I thought if Chris Evens could do it, then he probably could too. I’m glad he played the film’s villain, he’s a great hero figure in Creed and the good guy in Fruitvale Station but wow, he really gets his teeth into the bad guy role here and it’s fantastic to see his transformation. The supporting cast is propped up by two old-school legends; Angela Bassett and Forest Whitaker, but it also features some of the best talent of the day. I was thrilled to see Daniel Kaluuya in a big budget superhero film, he fits the character well, even though Andy Serkis’s Klaue seems to have stolen his bionic arm from the comics, and Winston Duke is superb in what is one of his first major roles, as the films big serious warrior and also comic relief. Lupita Nyong’o is strong as Nakia, a Wakandian spy and love interest to T’Challa, Danai Gurira is fantastic as Okoye, commander of the Dora Milaje, a magnificent warrior and a brilliant addition the Avengers and Letitia Wright is great as Shuri, younger sister of T’Challa and a tech genius – probably my favorite character of the film. Those that know the Black Panther comics will know that the three female characters are relatively new but if they stick to what happens in the comics, the MCU could get even more interesting. The three actresses and their characters are brilliant, Black Panther represents the first mainly Black cast of characters in a superhero film (not counting the brilliant but comical Meteor Man) and also a mainly Black cast in a huge blockbuster. It’s a milestone for sure and an important one but I don’t see a cast that is the best of black actors, I simply see one of the best casts of actors working today. It’s also worth pointing out that this is a strong film for women too, with three brilliant female actors in three predominant roles. I say this because I noticed that the cinema audience I sat with was predominantly black. I go to see all of the MCU film on the day they come out, generally at the same time of day, and usually it is a white and altogether nerdy affair. A lot has been made of Black Panther being ‘all black’ but I really wish it wasn’t a thing, it’s a bump we really need to get over and should have done by now, and I look forward to a proper mix of colour/sex on screen and in the audience. Still, it is a big step in the right direction and should be celebrated as such. Martin Freeman’s Agent Ross seemed a little redundant to be honest, he’s not exactly a big player in the MCU yet so he didn’t tie the films together and he really didn’t have very much to add. I loved Serkis’s Ulysses Klaue but felt he was underused. However, the biggest criticism I had with the film was the story. I was happy that it was simple and that it covered the origins of The Black Panther but there weren’t many surprises. It was predictable, not just in itself but also due to what is already known about the next MCU film, Avengers: Infinity War. It must be something of a continuity nightmare for all those involved but for those of us paying attention, the conclusion was clear right from the very beginning and I think the overall film suffers a little bit because of it. I think Ryan Coogler was the perfect choice of director, with only just a few films under his belt he is already someone to get excited about. The MCU films are unique, in that you can’t help but compare them to each other. The previous Marvel film was Thor: Ragnarok and it was brilliant, Black Panther is a totally different film and is, in all honesty, a little less exciting, but brilliant at the same time. People complain of superhero/comic adaption fatigue but seriously, not all cocktails are the same, some are flamboyant and some are just classics; Black Panther feels like a classic and it goes down smooth. I’m not passed out drunk by the MCU just yet though, I’m still dancing on the table.