'Black Panther' film review
- By atthemomentmanila@gmail.com
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- 24 Feb, 2018
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The colors and visuals are too gorgeous to miss! To date, this is the first Marvel film to truly embrace diversity and representation.
IMDB overview: T'Challa, the King of Wakanda, rises to the throne in the isolated, technologically advanced African nation, but his claim is challenged by a vengeful outsider who was a childhood victim of T'Challa's father's mistake. (PG-13)
Main cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman
Release Date: February 14, 2018
Running Time: 2h 14min
As we continue to follow and enjoy each movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there's general knowledge that the studio is adapting to the current trends -- bending gender division by introducing characters similar to 'Valkyrie', celebrating out of this world love, and women empowerment! (Friendly ((and excited!)) reminder that they're also working on the solo films to Black Widow and Captain Marvel.)
We've seen African-Americans as supporting characters in the previous MCU films but the studio has yet to fully explore diversity and representation until they released Black Panther!
Finally, we have a movie highlighting a nation's rich culture and pride! Leading this path is the exceptional acting of the film's main stars -- Boseman, Jordan, and Nyong'o. They are know as serious actors from their previous films (Boseman's 'Get On Up', Jordan's 'Creed', and Nyong'o's debut at '12 Years A Slave') and much-deserved awards. In Black Panther, we see new sides to these three which just shows their versatility as actors.
We just need to figure out how Captain America and Bucky Barnes will move along the Wakandan warriors. (SPOILER ALERT! 😜 Remember how Black Panther saw Bucky as villainous at first, but is now under the supervision of Shuri!)
The review:
Characters: 5/5
Our favourite thing about this film is how there is character development. You'd think a character is unimportant but they actually have a major part in the story, and they grow as the film goes on.
Kudos to the costume designers and the design department who make the characters look more interesting -- the colors, the hairs and clothing details! Remember when T'Challa was choosing Black Panther's new suit? He chose the subtle and simple one just like him, while Killmonger chose the one imprinted with gold. Sure, he doesn't have other options but it suited him as he was a visionary king who wanted to show the world how powerful he is.
It was also nice seeing Sterling K. Brown for a short while in the movie. His part and role tugged our heartstrings especially after the way we feel for him for being in NBC's hit series 'This Is Us'!
Story: 5/5
Most of the MCU films are keeping a thread leading to the long march toward the Thanos showdown. Black Panther is somewhat different. Even though this will eventually play a big part on the upcoming film, MCU sets a record by highlighting Black Panther's openness to diversity and representation.
They're still using the same formulas - funny, engaging, relatable, and visually enthralling. But the studio finally had the courage to gear away from selling the next franchise and just focus on what people really need to know about this particular hero.
SPOILER ALERT! During one part of the progression of the story, there was a scene when T'Challa wanted to kill Klaw but Okoye told him that people were watching so he couldn't do what he wanted to do. One person on Twitter noted how this was too representative of the way black people have to act around the world -- most often, they have to be the bigger person just so they wouldn't conform to stereotypes. We give our black brothers and sisters too little of a credit, when in fact, it's time we recognized their greatness. This was one of the best points of the film, as well as the connection it makes with the real world.
We love our Marvel heroes including their vulnerability and imperfections. Black Panther's package is like that.
"A king's greatness depends on how many people he rules; without them, he is nothing." We think this phrase best describes T'Challa. Even though his time to rule has come, he recognized that his youthfulness and vulnerability may be a big deal. Luckily, he is surrounded by good people who never took advantage of him. Instead, they continued to give their full trust as he proved that he is the rightful heir to the throne.
We also admire Killmonger's story that is stitched to the untold story of Wakanda. He's a boy who lost everything and saw the world as cruel -- which is how he became a monster. Wakandans were stunned by his appearance but it was also a major realization to them, especially to T'Challa.
As time went by, T'Challa was able to show his strengths and his wisdom. Later on, humanity was able to develop and strengthen their belief to him.
You might wonder why we gave Black Panther 4/5 since it was one of the most celebrated films of MCU to date. We have one reason -- watching it on 3D is not worth it. The film has a great plot, awesome characters and design elements, but we wanted to see it on 3D.
The technological advancement of Wakanda is not too obvious unless mentioned or noted by the characters. Comparing to other Marvel films, it was only noticeable inside Shuri's laboratory.
You can enjoy watching this is in the regular 2D cinema. You'll also be able to save more! Watching it on 3D will only make you compare it with other films that look gorgeous on 3D or IMAX.
We loved the creativity of Kendrick Lamar and the other artists who contributed to the film soundtrack. Most of the songs suited the theme especially when you add it with ethnic flavours and unique music elements. 8 songs from the film were included in the Billboard Hot 100! (But of course, it's open to your opinions!
Overall atmnl rating: 5/5
At one point while watching the film, we actually wished that Wakanda was true. Just imagine how awesome it would be for our African-American brothers and sisters to have vibranium that can enable them to have technological advancement.
Black Panther is such an inspirational hero, embodying equality and diversity. This convinced us that the rave and the hype is well-deserved!
**Still giving us chills when we remember Wakanda's ethnicity and how its people are dedicated to their nation. :)
In case you haven't seen it yet, watch the trailer here:
