The king is dead – long live the king
BLACK PANTHER (12A, 134 mins)
THE latest entry in the lucrative Marvel Comics universe is a rousing standalone adventure for the eponymous African king, who we first encountered in a snazzy bodysuit in Captain America: Civil War.
Directed with swagger by Ryan Coogler, this frenetically edited odyssey of self-doubt and redemption is in some respects, this is identikit film-making from Marvel – prodigal sons tormented by the loss of powerful fathers, computer-generated characters trading bone-crunching blows in mid-air, a throwaway cameo for comic book maven Stan Lee and additional scenes concealed in end credits.
Genetic flaws aside, Coogler’s slinky picture is barnstorming entertainment of the highest pedigree, which sinks its narrative claws into present-day racial tensions and gender inequality with relish.
Female characters are feisty, intelligent and refuse to sit demurely on the sidelines while engaging yet flawed male counterparts have all the fun.
A predominantly black cast festooned with Oscar winners and nominees adds lustre to a lean script co-written by Joe Robert Cole, teasing out tender romance and bruising bloodline rivalries stained with tears of regret.
T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns to Wakanda – a pacifist, technologically advanced African nation “hidden in plain view” – following the murder of his father King T’Chaka (John Kani) in a terrorist bombing.
Four of Wakanda’s five clans, including the border tribe led by T’Challa’s best friend W’Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya), support his ascension but the Jabari mountain people commanded by M’Baku (Winston Duke) loudly voice their opposition.
Fragile allegiances fracture and CIA-trained operative Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B Jordan) chooses this moment to stage a coup.
Flanked by formidable bodyguard Okoye (Danai Gurira), T’Challa rouses his supporters including his mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett), spunky teenage sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) and old flame Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o).
Black Panther repeatedly flexes its impressive technical muscles. Pulsequickening skirmishes are choreographed at a furious pace, and a car chase through the night-time streets of South Korea employs dizzying slowmotion acrobatics.
Coogler’s film purrs sweetly during quieter moments too, as conflicted characters wrestle with moral obligations to share wealth and knowledge with less fortunate kin.