Black Panther: I thought it was above average
So today I had the luxury of finding a flight on Qatar Airlines - a company that I quite like if the flight is less than 10 hours (simply because there is no such thing as a good 10-hour flight in economy class.) Unlike most of the airlines that I usually travel with, they have a large selection of films in the seat movie thinger and Black Panther, a film I did not have the opportunity to see in the past due to where I live, was one of the choices.
pretty sweet cover art too
Now, keep in mind that I am not a huge Marvel Universe fan. I didn't even see the last 2 Avengers films because I am just not that interested in superhero films despite the fact that I still have a relatively massive comic book collection from when I was a teenager (I preserved them, I need to have a look and see if I have any valuable ones.)
I tend to not like the Marvel stuff because it is normally visually appealing yes, but well, they are all incredibly predictable and since you already know what the ending is going to be, it is just a question as to how the various characters are going to get there and which couple of minor leads are going to get killed in the process.
The story is based around Wakanda, a nation that has kept its highly advanced technology a secret on purpose in the middle of what appears to the rest of the world to be a very poor and undeveloped African nation. They are actually far more advanced than the rest of the planet due primarily to the existence of an element called "vibranium," which they have in abundance but the rest of the world isn't even aware of the substance's existence.
The story is actually a bit slow-moving in the beginning as it is focused around a new king's rise to power in the Wakandan nation. Once they get that out of the way the real story starts to emerge and the coolest character in the movie named Killmonger appears on the scene because he wants revenge on the Wakandans for not righting the wrongs of the world with their technology oh and also to avenge the death of his father. There is not a great deal of backstory given as to how he is aware of the true nature of Wakanda when the rest of the world doesn't know, but he is a badass and I originally thought the actor was a member of the Wayan family.
seriously, he looks like a Wayan doesn't he?
Turns out he is an actor named Michael B. Jordan, and I believe he is the highlight of the film. Perhaps because I like villains.
The action sequences are fantastically done in this movie but I do find it a bit frustrating that vibranium is invulnerable to pretty much everything and people know this but still fire regular weapons at it endlessly in vain. I could have done without the hokey battle-rhinos too as I don't think they really added much to the film.
I would say that this one is one of the better Marvel films of late and is definitely worth seeing. Just don't expect any sort of mind-blowing plot twists
7 / 10
Black Panther is an imperfect film that falls into some of the same trappings that Marvel tends to have while making a significant improvement on the one of the largest issues that Marvel has: making a compelling villian.
Killmonger reminds me of Magneto in a lot of ways. He has a very rational anger that one could even say is justified, but his methods are too extreme. The hurt that he has from knowing there was a civilization that could have interveined in the suffering of Africans has turned into hate and his narrative is so compelling that in the end, he actually wins on the strength of his argument, convincing Black Panther to bring his nation out of the isolationist mentality that protected his people but allowed many many more to be harmed. Killmonger might have lost the battle, but he also won the moral argument. He pretty much rules every scene he is in.
The bad? Marvel resorts to it's worse trope of having the hero fight the villian in an evil version of the heroes suit once again leading to a really anti-climatic final fight. Seriously. It's a CGI slugfest that just feels tired. Also, Vibranium seems rediculous as a miracle metal that can do whatever the plot needs at the moment. It seems to be hapazardly thrown in everything. I'm surprised they don't put it in their cereal.
i sincerely hope that you blog. That was one of the best things I have read in a long time. I'm following you and I hope you write stuff. Your analysis of the film was infinitely better than my own.
Appreciate the compliment. I posted a long comment like this to sort of test if I wanted to branch out into writing about movies as well as the music I currently largely write about. Glad to see it resonated with you. Thank you for the follow. I'm going to try and do a movie of the week review here in the upcoming weeks.
Nice writeup. As a comic shop owner I love the fact that these films are being made. Black Panther was very good overall but to be honest....I am just happy this stuff is being produced. Lol. The fact that I get to be a kid again while watching all these amazing heroes and villains on screen.....it's a dream come true.
As for your collection...I hope you have some hidden gems there. If you need help identifying any...just lmk and I would be happy to let you know what's good!
Hi @blewitt and congrats on being the owner of what i consider one of the last remaining pieces of pre-tech awesomeness. I spent an awful lot of time perusing the shelves in the shops in my own town and have very fond memories of them. They have all long since gone out of business because i am from a small town in USA. Can i presume that you are in a big city to make this work? If so, i would like to know where and buy some stuff from you. I really don't want comics to die as a printed form of entertainment...
Killmonger was never a villain. He was a product of neglect and he wanted his power and the struggle of his people to be heard and resolved. This movie is so amazing. His death was the most impacting thing I ever seen. I only wish that the poor lost child had lead a life where his king was more dedicated to his people than a selected few. Great actor. Great movie.
interesting and very well-stated point.
thank you sir for your appreciation.
This was supposed to be the newest and best Marvel movie. It was also supposed to be deeper than a super hero movie. Well, basically all they did was put African-Americans in the role of the main characters and followed the same exact formula of every other Marvel movie ever created. The action was mediocre at best. The villain was good, but at the point when he truly started to flesh out his character, I was bored and realized I was watching a movie. I literally said what was going to happen about 30 minutes before it happened. Now if you like super hero films, I am sure you will have fun and enjoy this film. However it wasn't worth the hype. I will give it 6.5/10
i agree with you pal. The problem with all of these Marvel films (or any superhero movie for that matter) is that it is a forgone conclusion... you know the ending already and yes, we can all predict what is going to happen. If am am not mistaken you share my love for Korean cinema and I really wish Hollywood would take a piece of that and run with it
Its called Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Its hard to listen to a review when they start off with the wrong info. This was one of the more average Marvel films, CGI was mehh, story was very predictable, and the villain was over hyped. Killmonger wanted to take over Wakandan tech just to reap war and revenge against the people who have wrong black people. I cant take this review too serious since you havent even seen the first Avengers. Thor Ragnarok, Spider-man, and Captain America Civil all are better than Black Panther and they came out recently.
If you haven't seen Infinity War then you have no business comparing Marvel movies.
word up. But to defend myself the Marvel Universe refers to the fictional shared world in which all the fictional characters live (and this is what i am not a fan of) and perhaps i could have been a bit more specific about that. Marvel Cinematic Universe is the name of the company that produces the films such as this one and the others that you mentioned and more.
Also Disney produces these films, the MCU is just the title for all the films in that universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the film universe you were talking about in your post. I may be confused on what you are referring to.
@gooddream I have this movie a waiting on me to watch. You are right in the fact that Michael B. Jordan does resemble one of the Wayans brothers. I hear that the women in this movie are phenomenal and have a very positive and strong impact in this film. I am saving it for a day when I know I can focus on the beginning because as you mentioned, I heard the beginning was a bit slow and I tend to lose focus on such films that start off slow.
Great plan Jennifer. I hope you end up enjoying it as much as I did... hopefully from a more comfortable seat than an airplane. :)
Yes, I hope to enjoy it from the comfort of my bed in the next few days! :)
Iron Man was the first marvel movie I've seen, I love the graphics but the story was so predictable. Nothing was too strong for the fist man to overcome... Lol
Well, as regard Black Panther, I'm very sure that the graphics would be a quality one. One should expect some actions in the movies too as Marvel always do that in their movies, though the good man would always win no matter what... Hahahaha
7/10 is not a bad rating, I will add it to the list of movies to watch.
Quite true. There are very few economy flights that you will enjoy. The shorter the better is all I can say. 10 hours is fairly long though and I tend to try and stand for half the flight.I agree with your verdict on the film. Not great but watchable.
It turns out Killmonger is a big secret that was brought to death by King T'Chaka since he was young. T'Challa was surprised to hear the secret and finally decided to turn Wakanda into a different country from the leadership of his father and his ancestors. Highlights Wakanda is a country that is tech but remains strong with its ethnic culture. I agree with you, the film is worth watching; There are so many positive things to talk about Black Panther because this movie is not a superhero movie in general both in terms of story and appearance. The audience will be spoiled with beautiful scenery at Wakanda which he said has the most beautiful landscape sunset in the world. Many shooting from Wakanda shows beautiful landscapes of mountains and rivers.
the Marvel movies are really good, Black Panther I have not seen yet but if I saw Capitan America Civil Wars and Black Panther comes out and the actor is very good, he gives that touch of nobility to the most violent moments and that stands out , since I talk in detail about the movie I will give you a look many thanks