Two Cents Preps for BLACK PANTHER by Delivering You a MESSAGE FROM THE KING

Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.

The Pick

When Black Panther first arrived in Captain America: Civil War, it felt like he arrived fully-formed as a new screen icon. Whereas other comic book characters can take multiple films (or multiple franchises) to get fully fleshed out, T’Challa, ruler of Wakanda and wearer of the Black Panther mantle, needed only a few moments to cement himself as one of the MCU’s heavy hitters.

The same could be said for Chadwick Boseman, who seemed to explode onto the scene out of nowhere when he tackled first Jackie Robinson, then James Brown, before being handed the role of Black Panther. Boseman actually toiled for years in one-off TV appearances and a handful of supporting roles in films, at one point even considering giving up acting to focus on directing. But when he nabbed the role of Jackie Robinson in Brian Helgeland’s 42, Boseman started to receive the recognition he deserved, and it wasn’t too long before Marvel came calling.

Now, Black Panther looks set to re-write the rules for superhero cinema and mainstream filmmaking in general. A stunning achievement for Boseman, writer/director Ryan Coogler, and all involved, Black Panther seems primed to be less a movie, and more a cultural phenomenon.

While everyone is hyped for some of that sweet, sweet Wakanda action, Two Cents decided to celebrate with another Boseman-led effort, 2016’S Message from the King. Boseman plays Jacob King, an imposing, mysterious visitor to LA from South Africa, who gets off a plane with the sole intention of locating his troubled younger sister. Before too long, the sister is discovered in a morgue drawer, and Jacob sets off on a rampage through the underground element of the city of stars, determined to find out who is responsible and send them a message they will never forget.

Next Week’s Pick:

The Cloverfield Paradox was the talk of the Super Bowl thanks to its unorthodox marketing method, dropping completely unannounced onto the biggest televised advertising event of the year. But as Netflix gains a reputation for being a dumping ground for high-risk movies, is this a science fiction victory for the platform, or a head-scratcher for people not sure what to make of this franchise’s identity?

The Team

Justin Harlan:

Message from the King is 100% about how awesome Chadwick Boseman is as a quiet and unassuming badass. Along with a chain he bought for a few bucks at a hardware store, Boseman’s Jacob King tears through crooked dentists, Eastern European mobsters, and Draco Malfoy.

The rest of the cast is solid, the story is compelling, and the direction is strong… but… this film really is the Chadwick Boseman show. He’s amazing here and watching this only made me that much more excited to visit Wakanda. (@ThePaintedMan)

Brendan Foley:

It’s fine.

The assembled talent all work to enliven their stock characters with nuance and dimension, but that only draws attention to the fact that they are, in fact, all playing pretty stock characters. Teresa Palmer, for example, throws herself headfirst into finding something raw and real within her hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold character, but there’s no escaping that what she’s playing is a hooker with a heart of gold, there to aid Boseman’s King when he’s down, and be rescued by him when things turn ugly.

Boseman powers through the film with movie star magnetism, but again I’m hard-pressed to find anything about this film to suggest why it was distinctive enough for him to jump aboard. It’s a fairly by-the-numbers little potboiler, of a kind that was already played out 20 years ago when Soderbergh went all post-modern on the form with The Limey. Message from the King is a compelling, easy watch, but it’s neither fun enough to enjoy as lurid pulp, nor strong enough to transcend its genre roots. It’s just sort of there, well-made but unremarkable.(@TheTrueBrendanF)

Austin Vashaw:

Message From The King isn’t anything you haven’t already seen before. It follows your pretty standard revenge-action plot with a badass dude setting out to (find/avenge) his (missing/dead) (wife/daughter/sister) after she gets wrapped up in the underground (drugs/sex) trade. It’s a lot like The Horseman, Hardcore, or The Limey, and probably a few others.

That said, it’s still a solid action movie with a lots of neat cast members popping in as villains, like Luke Evans and Tom Felton. And in a time when Hollywood perversions are under the microscope, Alfred Molina has a memorable role as a powerful media mogul and criminally-connected pedophile.

Boseman’s character is a bit stoic, but it doesn’t stop you from connecting with his pain or moral indignation, or perking up with anticipation whenever his bicycle chain comes out to tear up some fool. (@VforVashaw)

Ed Travis

Can’t wait for Black Panther? This badass revenge film starring T’Challa himself, Chadwick Boseman, flew way too far under the radar and it’s on Netflix right now. Similar to The Limey, this is an outsider trying to find out what happened to one of his family members and physically harming a lot of bad people in the process. You’ll never look at a motorcycle chain the same ever again.

Ed selected Message From The King as a runner-up in his Top Action Films of 2017.

https://cinapse.co/ed-travis-top-10-action-films-of-2017-74d022e45dc3