Last year, we had Wonder Woman as an important and cultural event as we finally got a very good movie with a female role in the spotlight. I thought it was 2/3rds of a great movie but they dropped the ball while going into autopilot with the overblown special effects and clunky dialogue between immortals. However, we have another important and cultural event that presents a prominent black superhero...but, it's not the first as we had Blade and Hancock in the past. I thought the former is a fun movie with its quirky lines and violence and the latter was ok. But, this time Marvel presents a mostly African-American cast in a fictional African world with advanced technology and splendor with some of the same problems that America is facing, both politically and personally within the country, having to do with the throne. In the hands of director Ryan Coogler, the movie has the right balance of action and humor to produce a home run in the MCU. This is a terrific movie.
After the events of Captain America: Civil War, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is set to become king after his father's death. He is on a mission in Nigeria with Okoye (The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira), a Dora Milaje general. They both rescue his ex-girlfriend, Nakia (Lupita N'yongo), as she is a spy in the field of potential soldiers that is full of women and men from mercenaries. After their success, all three return home to Wakanda, a country that has isolated themselves inside a vibranium force field, hiding themselves from sight, so they would not expose to the advanced technology. They reunite with T'Challa's mother, Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and his sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright).
A ceremony is underway as T'Challa has to challenge a person from another tribe for the throne, according to Zuri (Forest Whitaker). He challenges the Jabari tribe's M'Baku (Winston Duke) but the latter surrenders as he was placed in T'Challa's choke hold. As he restores his powers as the Black Panther, T'Challa gets buried in the sand to meet his ancestors. He sees his father and is concerned whether he can be a good king. His father responds that he is a good man, but it is hard for a good man to be king.
Meanwhile, Eric "Killmonger" Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) is helping Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) steal a hammer-like vibranium weapon from a London museum as they kill the guards and get away in an ambulance. T'Challa hears about this event from Okoye and her lover and T'Challa's best friend, W'Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya), wants to join him in capturing Klaue because he killed his parents but denies that request as he orders him to stay and protect the border. After capturing Klaue into custody, Killmonger takes him away and while chasing him, T'Challa notices a ring around Killmonger's neck similar to the one that belonged to his grandfather and he questions who he is and what his plan will be.
I did not know if I would have seen two great superhero movies two years in a row but it has happened. Last year, it was Logan, a farewell to Wolverine, and now a well-contained superhero movie about the characters more than fitting into the storyline of the MCU. I was surprised and enthralled that it did not have to necessarily have to include a storyline setting up The Avengers: Infinity War, which will come out this May. The movie is not setting up the character, but it is setting up the world of Wakanda and what it is and what its politics involving the country and the throne are.
Speaking of the politics in this movie, it is reminiscent to the best aspect of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and a bit of Civil War. There is intelligence and suspense in its political aspect in which some characters disagree and what is good for Wakanda and other nations to preserve the world but also questioning whether to help or harm other nations and that is the crux of the climax as armies are fighting within each other instead of relying on a bib, bombastic CGI-filled climactic sequence. There are stakes for the throne, Wakanda and also other countries as we know Killmonger's plan.
The whole cast is excellent. Chadwick Boseman shines as the king as he displays both a physical and emotional presence within in the world as he rises up to the occasion thinking that he can do the right thing. But, he is pressured by Michael B. Jordan, whose villain is quite more complex than imagined, because you feel his anger and sadness as we learn the truth about him. We understand why he is the way he is and I think he may be one of the most complex superhero villains. The three women in this movie are powerful as they embody the strength, intelligence and sly wit. Danai Gurira is known as Michonne in The Walking Dead but here there is some humor where she makes gestures or comments in certain scenes that make her a well-rounded character as she also has to face loyalty to who she trusts as king. Letitia Wright provides so much charm that you can put her with Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark and you will not get tired of that combination plus you buy her and Boseman as siblings. And, Lupita N'yongo brings an alluring quality as we know her chemistry with Boseman's character. Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whitaker, Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown, Angela Bassett, Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis are all great.
Director Ryan Coogler is 3-for-3 with Fruitvale Station, Creed and now this movie and is one of the best directors of the decade, alongside Denis Villeneuve, Alejandro G. Inñaritu, Wes Anderson and Martin Scorsese. He now has the ammunition of a great director providing such fantastic stories. Yes, he can make a Star Wars movie but hopefully, I would like to see another original story from him. The score and soundtrack, notably from Kendrick Lamar, are awesome. The cinematography by Rachel Morrison creates a crisp and sunny atmosphere in the realm of Wakanda with its sunny African roots and costumes, made by Ruth Carter, alongsidethose action-packed scenes in South Korea and its casino, where Coogler's signature long-take is noticeable. Black Panther hails as a king as the movie puts his prints in the superhero genre. It is not just a great superhero or Marvel movie, it is a great movie, period.
****
Comments
Post a Comment