The season’s initial superhero offering exceeds comic expectations.
The year’s first comic-book tentpole is out, and it might prove to be the best of the bunch. Black Panther takes an engaging story, pairs it with amazing actors, and manages to create a great movie that would be so even without the Marvel marketing machine behind it. This one just works.
After being introduced in Captain America: Civil War, Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther was destined to helm his own ship, and while he’ll jump back on board the Avengers train soon enough, this solo outing is a self-contained story that easily stands on its own.
Beginning in the aftermath of his father’s very public death, the film sees soon to be King T’Challa go back to Wakanda for ceremony, celebration, and not a little conflict. Audiences had been told of the country’s vast technological prowess, but here it is put on full display.
The conceit that what looks like a third-world nation to the rest of civilization secretly hides a place of wealth and power is an interesting one. It doesn’t hold up to much logical scrutiny, but it certainly works on an allegorical level. The Wakandans have what they have because of natural resources, namely vibranium (the stuff behind Cap’s amazing shield), which exists in abundance in this particular part of the world. What would America be without the oil it struck last century or the vast forests and farming lands that have so benefited us? Wakanda is a “What If” that turns the tables on history.
It doesn’t take long before the rest of the crew comes into sharp focus. The cast is without a doubt a strength of this film. Despite its singular name, Black Panther is an ensemble work, with Boseman only nominally the lead and more of a figure around whom the rest of the characters coalesce. Forest Whitaker as a wise shaman and Angela Bassett as the queen are marvelous in (and perfect for) their roles, but even such accomplished actors don’t remain at the fore in this worthy group.
It’s three woman that come alongside T’Challa to help him realize his dreams and seek out justice. Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) plays the dual role of his former lover as well as the country’s foremost spy, a skill that comes into play early with a covert mission to South Korea. Danai Gurira as Okoye, head of the royal army, is all forthrightness and ferocity, loyal to king and country, possibly to a fault. Little sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) is not just a grade-A smart mouth, but also a smarty pants in charge of advancing the country’s already amazing technology. She’s a bit of a Q character, mixed with Ashley Banks from Bel-Air.
It becomes apparent early on that the men will, for the most part, take a back seat. Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya is the new king’s best friend and an important ally. Andy Serkis gets out of the motion-capture suit to play Ulysses Klaue, a villain with a punk ethos and a very odd left arm. It’s Michael B. Jordan that takes a bite out of the screen with his portrayal of Erik Killmonger, an existential threat to both Black Panther and Wakanda alike.
Besides telling a great tale, Black Panther also delves into areas that are some of the ugliest in modern life. The way it subverts tropes and stereotypes usually employed to hurt people of color is laudable. Okoye and the rest of her fellow warriors actually use spears. Yes, the ancient weapon that’s been wielded as an oratory cudgel to smear black people in this country kicks some serious ass. The people of Wakanda, from the their traditional dress to one character’s lip plate, are straight from both National Geographic and real life on the continent of Africa. Black Panther shies away from none of it.
The role of women in this movie is also to be applauded. Not only do they ostensibly “save the day,” but they make the story better for their part in it. This is all to be taken with a tiny grain of salt in that we are still dealing with a patriarchal monarchy here. Taking that into account, it’s still Girl Power all around.
The central conflict between T’Challa and Killmonger is more base. It all boils down to power: brute, knuckles-and-fists power. We see an entire society upended because an unfit person is able to game the system and seize the reins. (Luckily that could never happen in real life…) Even the inevitable saves-the-day moment is just another example of one person exerting his will on another. This advanced civilization lets slide ideas of justice in the face of raw power. Honestly, the fact that Black Panther feels so beyond a normal comic-book movie is the only reason it even elicits this type of overwrought response. That’s a win in and of itself.
The choice of Ryan Coogler for director was both a perfect fit as well as a bit of a surprise. He’s made a couple of outstanding feature-length flicks in Fruitvale Station and Creed (both featuring Jordan), but those works are far from the fantasy universe of Marvel Comics. This movie almost certainly had to have an African-American behind the lens, and given his body of work as well as what he pulled off here, Coogler would have been a brilliant choice for any of these blockbusters.
Black Panther could be half the movie it is and still make a boatload of money and please the great masses, washed and unwashed alike. Its action sequences from hand-to-hand combat to car chases to armies on the field of battle are as fantastic as one would expect. It’s the story’s forthright exploration of difficult topics that takes it to another level. This time, Marvel definitely got it right.
