It’s been 10 years since the Marvel Cinematic Universe was kicked off with Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in Iron Man, and it has taken us this long to finally get a non-white superhero in a solo outing. Such has been a major downside of the MCU, although there have been some good movies made in that time, and the arrival of King T’Challa in his own movie is a fantastic step forward as the MCU begins to chart a new course for the future, moving into the nebulous Phase 4 which is still raw and undefined.
Black Panther, in many ways, is an Afro-futurism dream come true. A major black superhero shaped by the rich diversity of the many African cultures, a harmonious and united forward-looking society that is true to its roots, and a superb social message that transcends cultural barriers. Ryan Coogler and his team have pulled off something amazing with Black Panther and although the villains were somewhat lacking in the movie, it did prove to be a diversity extravaganza in every way that matters when it comes to African culture and how characters of color are portrayed, whether men or women.
Growing out of the mess that was Captain America: Civil War a couple years back, Black Panther takes us to the mysterious land of Wakanda. Outwardly a third-world undeveloped country of farmers and hunters, Wakanda is actually the most advanced civilization in the world, keeping its vibranium-powered technological advances hidden behind powerful forceshields and the mystic of the “African El Dorado”. Ryan Coogler pulls the veil back on this magical land of duality and shows what happens when a culture based on peace and equality is given the tools to better itself. The origins of Wakanda are in war and strife, but the five tribes that call Wakanda home have done much over the millennia to create something transcendent.
And that’s what Black Panther as a hero is all about. In Civil War we saw a vengeful prince who was caught up in the emotional feedback of his father’s death. In Black Panther we meet a king unafraid to take up his claws but also one who cares about his people and his lands, one who wants to be a good and decent king, to protect the sanctity of all that he’s grown up with. The graduation of the character from the former to the latter is a good one, precisely because he’s not presented as someone who is caught up in his own emotions. Which is important because in this movie we see that he has a strong core of advisors to help guide him, whether it be his family, his dora milaje bodyguards or the council of Wakanda. That’s what you need to see for a character like T’Challa because you want an evolution of the character.
For someone like myself, who is only tangentially aware of who Black Panther is via the MCU or a limited number of comics read or one of the many Marvel animated series, Black Panther was very much an eye-opener. My previous experience gave me some good insight into what might happen on-screen and I was still very much surprised and overwhelmed with what I saw. The color-palooza of the characters’ costumes, the sheer diversity of the Wakandan people and their tribes, the many strong women of all ages and stations who give this movie a whole new meaning, a straight-forward no-nonsense story about racial identity and so much more. This is a real game-changer of a movie for precisely this. Normally, Hollywood portrays African identity as something that is singular and given to poverty and senseless violence. Not so with Black Panther for here you have an enlightened society that respects nature while living in the future, you have a united people who have their own customs and traditions while still being a strong union. And so on.
Afrofuturism typical describes how the experiences and history of the African diaspora are conveyed through a science-fiction lens. Depending on who you ask, there is a lot of depth to even that simple description and Black Panther as a character may or may not meet such a definition. But, through the lens of Ryan Coogler’s adaptation that combines some of the issues faced by black people in the US with the depiction of Wakanda and its achievements and the beliefs of its rulers, I feel that Black Panther is very much a major work of Afrofuturism. There are comments aplenty about the domination of Africa during the colonial era, of how Wakanda must abandon its policy of non-intervention to share its strengths and resources with the rest of the African diaspora across the world, of how Africa as a whole is more than just what people outside of it believe and know. Looming over all of it is the incredible vibranium-based technology pioneered by the Wakandan tribes (other than the Jabari who are pretty hands-off in general). The really important element here is that Black Panther is a mainstream Hollywood movie that features the African diaspora in something like 95% of the speaking roles, at worst, and that it shows the ingenuity and the strength of the cultural diversity of the same. It puts black people at the forefront like few ever have, certainly like nothing else in the era of superhero movies, other than perhaps Blade which kicked off the mania in the late 90s.
And all of that brings me to the characters themselves before I talk about the story itself. The cast of the movie is excellent. It features some big actors like Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o, Daniel Kaluuya, Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis, Danai Gurira, Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Forest Whitaker, and so many others. And if you notice, it isn’t as if all the color actors are African-Americans, but they themselves represent the African diaspora, coming from all over the world, whether from the US or UK, Zimbabwe or Kenya, or what have you, and that’s pretty damn sweet. Ryan Coogler went truly global with his movie, and it certainly shows. He picked the best actors for his characters, and I am now in love with General Okoye and Princess Shuri in particular.
I’ll be honest, Michael B. Jordan’s Erik “Killmonger” Stevens and Andy Serkis’ Ulysses Klaue were decent characters in their own way but the story did not let them develop into proper threats to the good guys. Sure, you got some great set-piece battles but the story threads connecting them were tenuous and the motivations weak. Regardless, the two actors absolutely brought their characters to life. And so did Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira and the others. The youthful personality of Boseman defines Black Panther and makes him believable in every single scene. Nyong’o’s intensity and sincerity really do make you believe in her character’s beliefs about Wakanda reaching out to the rest of the world instead of hiding in the shadows. Gurira’s ferocity as a warrior and her light-heartedness as a comedian endeared her to me. Letitia Wright’s enthusiasm really draws you into her character’s joys and interest with technology. Angela Bassett brings a certain calm reserve and dignity that is appropriate to Queen Ramonda and so on. Winston Duke as M’baku, the leader of the Wakandan jabari tribe is another piece of fantastic casting.
Each character and the actor portraying them does one hell of a job. Each is unique to each other and each has some great chemistry with the other as well. The camaraderie between T’Challa, Shuri, Nakia and Okoye is definitely a standout element of the movie and more than just the dialogue, it is the performance that really draws you in.
The story itself. The movie starts with a prologue as King T’Chaka meets his brother in Oakland, California in the 90s and has a big pow-wow about a gunrunner named Ulysses Klaue and then quickly moves into the present-day as T’Challa returns to Wakanda for his coronation. From there on, it is an unstoppable tale of revenge and clash of ideals through to an explosive climax as Wakanda’s role in the world is irrevocably changed. On the whole, I really enjoyed the story. It was full of some really great moments, and portrayed the world of Wakanda in all its glory, each of which was really excellent. There’s no “darkness” to the story in the same way that say Iron Man 3 or The Winter Soldier had. It is upbeat and despite some of what happens in the second half, it is very much a movie that puts positive values front and center and shows that even good guys can make mistakes. And I enjoyed that. It doesn’t throw its lessons in your face and beat you over the head with them, but it does everything naturally.
The cinematography in general is also great, whether we are in London or Busan (South Korea) or Oakland (US) or even just Wakanda itself; whether we are doing high-speed car chases at night or ritual combat between a king-to-be or his challenger. Every moment of the movie is a feast for the eyes, and that once again goes back in major ways to the cultural diversity on display here. I read an article a couple weeks back about how the costume designs and set designs of the movie took inspiration from all over the African continent, and that felt so rewarding. It is like Coogler & Co. decided to create a whole new world while in reality this “world” already exists, we just have some really bad misconceptions fed to us through western media.
The action choreography was also A-plus. There’s a lot of work that has gone into making the many big battles and the one-on-one duels and everything in between real and of consequence and it shows. My favourite action scenes are in the climax of the movie as the dora milaje go to battle, led by General Okoye, and those scenes were just too sweet in and of themselves.
In the end, Black Panther has definitely unseated The Winter Soldier as the best MCU movie for me. Yes, the two movies are by themselves doing two very different things, but all the same, I believe that Black Panther has the edge more because of its novelty than being out-and-out better than The Winter Soldier. It is a new type of movie, and it does for Marvel and for superhero movies what Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman did last year. And if the early earnings reports are to be believed, then Black Panther is on track for a record opening that beats out the likes of The Avengers: Age of Ultron and other top-end MCU movies. Which is most excellent news and shows that people are hungry for stories like these, for characters like these. The people are also ready to see heroes who are not existentially conflicted or caught up in their own psyches and emotions.
So much goodness here. So in the end, I will recommend that you go out and watch Black Panther and stop making the excuses. You won’t regret it.
Shadowhawk's Shade 