Stubs - Black Panther

Black Panther (2018) Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis. Directed by Ryan Coogler. Screenplay by Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole. Based on Black Panther created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Produced by Kevin Feige. Runtime: 134 minutes. USA. Superhero, Fantasy

Few films have arrived at theaters with more hype and buzz than Black Panther, the latest film from Disney’s Marvel Studios. This hype has turned into a box-office megahit, making about $200 million in its first few days in US theaters. Now hype and box-office success don’t necessarily mean that the film is any good. Fortunately, that is not the case with Black Panther.

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Black Panther made his first appearance in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966). The first black superhero in American mainstream comics, he is the king of Wakanda, a very rich and electronically advanced nation, thanks to the amount of Vibranium that a meteorite deposited there 10,000 years ago. Vibranium, a fictional metal, absorbs sound waves and other vibrations, including kinetic energy, making it the strongest metal on Earth. (Captain America’s Shield is made out of Vibranium and originally thought to have used the entire world’s supply.)

Vibranium is the source of the wealth and advanced technology that separates Wakanda from every other nation in Africa, if not the world. But somehow, despite being wealthy, Wakanda has remained secretive and has, until Civil War, tried to stay out of the league of nations. The country doesn’t trade with other nations and is considered by the rest of the world as an impoverished third-world nation.

This film picks up pretty much where Captain America: Civil War (2016) ends. That film, which brought together most but not all of the Avengers, also introduced Black Panther to the MCU. In that film, after his father, T'Chaka, King of Wakanda (John Kani) is killed, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) becomes the Black Panther, but according to this film, he doesn’t become King until after that story was wrapped.

One thing Wakanda tries to do is keep their supply of Vibranium from leaving the country, though some has left. In addition to Captain America’s Shield, there is an artifact in a London museum. Erik Stevens (Michael B. Jordan), with the help of Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis), steals it, but when they try to sell it, T’Challa, his ex-girlfriend, Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) and Okoye (Danai Gurira), the general in charge of the all-female special forces, are there to stop Klaue. This is all a pretext for Stevens, also known as Killmonger, who has his own connections to the throne of Wakanda and challenges T’Challa for its rule. Also helping T’Challa is Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman), a CIA agent also introduced to the MCU in Civil War.

T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is challenged by Erik Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) for leadership in Wakanda.

The Black Panther is presented as a cross between Batman and James Bond. He’s well trained and well-financed and has a vast menagerie of weapons and devices to choose from. T'Challa's 16-year-old sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) is an inventor of new technologies and serves as this film’s Q when she walks him through her lab offering him enhancements to weapons and uniforms.

Wakanda is a mixture of great technology and ancient rituals. Here, T’Challa is flanked by
 his ex-girlfriend, Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) and Okoye (Danai Gurira), the general in
charge of the all-female special forces who wear more traditional garb.

The culture of Wakanda seems to be a mixture of ultra-modern with ties to the past in the rituals they go through, including a challenge period before the king is crowned. While it is fascinating, it doesn’t always ring true. This is not unique to this film, as many times comic book worlds don’t always work when placed in even their own environments. The possession of an object of great wealth is only valuable when someone else buys it. If Wakanda doesn’t sell Vibranium then it wouldn’t have the great wealth necessary for the Black Panther to function. Think if Saudi Arabia didn’t sell the oil it rests on, their way of life would not be what it is today.

For the most part, the film looks good and the action moves along fairly well. There are times when I sort of lose track of who is who in the fight scenes, but that is nothing unique to this film. The acting is also fairly good, with Boseman, Jordan, Serkis, Nyong’o, Gurira, and Wright all distinguishing themselves. While I generally like Freeman, he’s a British actor and I’m a little surprised that they couldn’t find an American one available to play the part. That is nothing against his performance, only a comment.

While it does help to have seen Captain America: Civil War beforehand, which we did, it does bring up a bit of a plot hole. In Black Panther, it’s suggested that the King is the Black Panther by virtue of being King. And T’Challa is not coronated as King until after he’s gone through a ritual in the film. But he’s already the Black Panther before the film starts, so how did that work? If he became the Black Panther by virtue of his father dying, then when did he ingest what he has to in order to become the Black Panther?

Some of the hype is a little overstated; this is not the first film to feature a black superhero from comics. That honor goes to Steel (1997), a rather forgettable film starring Shaquille O’Neal. While Steel was from DC, Blade is a Marvel comic superhero and was portayed by Wesley Snipes (remember him?) in three films: Blade (1998), Blade II (2002) and Blade: Trinity (2004). But it makes for better copy to say Black Panther is the first, even if only in the MCU.

There are a few odd political moments in the film. At one point, even though he is an invited guest of the King, Ross is greeted as “Colonizer”, an overt reference to his white European background, even though he is not a European character and Wakanda was never colonized. There is another reference made towards the end of the film to the slave ships that brought Black Africans to the New World in chains. While this is not without factual background, it seems a little misplaced when it is spoken. These references seem to come a little out of left field considering the story has nothing to do with either.

All that said, the film is quite good, involving and for the most part a lot of fun to watch. There are some serious moments dealing with black youth in America, though it is certainly not the focus of the film, though they do help to shape the story.

It seems that Marvel films are now less like homework, as Doctor Strange (2016) seemed to be when it was released. After Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and now Black Panther, they seem to be enjoyable fare again. I would not consider this to be one of the best films of the MCU, but it is still in the top half. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who has been following the MCU or is looking for an entry point to it. Even if you’re not a Marvel fan, you may still find yourself enjoying the film.