BLACK PANTHER
THE lucrative Marvel Comics universe will expand exponentially in the next 12 months. Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man And The Wasp are waiting in the wings, ready to discharge their hyper-kinetic energy during the summer blockbuster months.
First out of the blocks is a rousing standalone adventure for the eponymous African king, who we first encountered in a snazzy vibranium-enriched bodysuit in the superhero battle royale Captain America: Civil War.
If Black Panther, directed with swagger by Ryan Coogler, is an indicator of things to come from the comic books pantheon then roll on 2018. This frenetically edited odyssey of self-doubt and redemption is the big cat’s whiskers.
In some respects, this is identikit filmmaking from Marvel: prodigal sons tormented by the loss of powerful fathers, computergenerated characters trading bone-crunching blows in mid-air, a throwaway cameo for comic book maven Stan Lee and additional scenes concealed in end credits.
But Coogler’s slinky picture is barnstorming entertainment which sinks its narrative claws into presentday racial tensions and gender inequality with relish.
Female characters are feisty, intelligent and refuse to sit demurely on the sidelines.
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.
T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns to grief-stricken Wakanda – a pacifist, technologically advanced society “hidden in plain view” – following the murder of his father, King T’Chaka (John Kani), in a terrorist bombing.
Four of the African nation’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) stages a bloody coup.
Flanked by formidable bodyguard Okoye (Danai Gurira), T’Challa rouses his supporters including his mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett), spunky sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) and old flame Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o).
Black Panther repeatedly flexes its impressive technical muscles.
Pulse-quickening skirmishes above and below Wakandan ground are choreographed at a furious pace, and a car chase through the night-time streets of Busan in South Korea employs slow motion acrobatics to truly dizzying effect.
During quieter, contemplative moments conflicted characters wrestle with moral obligations to share wealth and knowledge with less fortunate kin.
That tug of war between self-preservation and philanthropy provides plentiful dramatic meat for the cast to sink their teeth into, exemplified by a tense bond between Boseman and Jordan’s embittered and idealistic rivals.
“The world’s going to start over and I’m going to be on top,” growls Killmonger.
Black Panther comes thrillingly close to joining him at the summit.