I'll admit that I wasn’t all too excited about Marvel’s Black Panther at first. I’ve nothing against the character or creative team behind the comic’s big screen adaptation. I’m just starting to get a little burnt out from all these Hollywood superhero movies, though I’m still holding out for The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Despite everything I just said I still went into Black Panther because my superhero-movie tolerance hasn’t completely eroded (yet) and because I knew nothing of the production. I hadn’t even seen a trailer (on my own volition as I’m trying to avoid them for films I want to see), and I believe going in blind and with neutral expectations was the right way to go. I ended up enjoying Black Panther far more than the majority of MCU films I’ve seen (though Thor Ragnarok is still my absolute favorite thanks to director Taika Waititi) and was ultimately captivated at Black Panther’s uniqueness and maturity. If you’re still unfazed by superhero movie fatigue, then check out Black Panther, though it may heighten your standards for the superhero genre (sorry DC).
Black Panther’s story takes place shortly afar the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), and if you’ve forgotten the events of that movie (other than the parts where everyone’s fumbling all over each other like marionettes tumbling in a dryer), then you’re in luck! Black Panther’s story has almost no connection to any of the other MCU movies so you can just jump right in. The film follows Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, the new King to the throne of the most technologically advanced civilization in the world, Wakanda; a hyper-advanced futuristic society hiding in plain sight as a third world African nation. Unlike most Marvel movies (or any superhero film for that matter), while there is a central character who carries the plot, the real focus of the film is Wakanda itself, and it makes for some genuinely fascinating storytelling. The main story of the film stems from the nation’s natural resources responsible for their technological processes; while the conflict deals with whether or not Wakanda should share said resources and tech with a world who might misuse it for greed, violence, and war. It’s a geopolitical quandary that I haven’t seen all that much in the wide world of cinema and it makes for a narrative that’s intriguing on its own right, but then there’s still a Hamlet-esque character arch with a man in a cyber-ninja-panther costume. Black Panther is one of the more complex and dynamic cinematic superhero pictures, and it makes for the most engaging Marvel movie I’ve seen.
Apart from having the best MCU plot, Black Panther’s also one of the most visually stunning cinematic experiences derived from a comic book property. The art direction, in particular, caught my attention with everything from the sets to the props and costumes being so vibrant and eye-catching and it sucked me into the world. Boseman’s performance as the titular Black Panther was, for the most part, calm and collective but I found his acting capabilities most impressive while interacting with his fellow actors. Speaking of which, I was also more than a little surprised at well everyone else acted. Marvel movies typically aren’t the kind of film you watch for stellar acting performances (at least not in my experience), but here we are. Letitia Wright is delightfully charming as Shuri, Andy Serkis was an absolute joy to watch as the deliciously vile Klaue, and Michael B. Jordan was remarkably three-dimensional and was charismatic, intimidating, and empathetic simultaneously as Erik Warmonger. But by far the stand out performance of the film belongs to Danai Gurira as the formidable and commanding general Okoye, whose badassery eclipses that of John Wick, John McClane, and John Rambo combined. Old Hollywood machismo, eat your heart out!
I did have minor technical issues with the film, and I doubt they’ll matter to the majority of movie-goers, but they still stood out to me so by golly I’m gonna address them. First and foremost, the sound mixing was incredibly inconsistent. I don’t know if it’s because Marvel Studios needed all their heavyweight audio-FX people working on Avengers: Infinity Wars pt 1 and (sigh) Antman & The Wasp, or if they simply ran out of time before the film’s release. Either way, I found myself distracted by how some sound effects were too loud while others were too soft or nonexistent. There was more than a couple instances where something onscreen happened, but the total lack of any audio cues made for a kind of cognitive dissonance feeling in my brain. I also wasn’t all that impressed by the cinematography, granted it’s better than most MCU films, but I still wish Marvel (and Disney) would just allow their cinematographers to take more chances. The action scenes were also not that all impressive to me. The action’s not “bad,” per say, (cough-cough-JusticeLeague-cough-cough) but I’ve seen more impressive displays of superhuman combat from countless other movies. Though, to be honest, this complaint’s attributed to the fact that I simply found everything in Black Panther to be so much more engaging that every time an action scene commenced I found myself wanting the movie to go back to the world building and character interactions.
Overall I didn’t end up frothing at the mouth in blissful adoration as I did so with Ragnarock, but I was infinitely more engrossed by Black Panther’s cas, mythology, story, and art than any other superhero film in recent memory. It told a different kind of story with a superb ensemble of talented actors and artists, and the end product is something that I believe most audiences will find thoughtful and entertaining. I hope that Marvel/Disney makes more standalone Black Panther movies with director Ryan Coogler, and keeps branching out into different stories for their comic book character’s cinematic counterparts. I seriously cannot express how much more excited I am for future Black Panther installments than I’ll ever be for another Antman movie.
G. Bruno Fischer (2018)
No comments:
Post a Comment