‘Black’ power
MOVIE REVIEW BLACK PANTHER
BLACK Panther, the comic-book superhero who sprang to life during the tumult of the 1960s, arrives in theaters this week with a roar. He faces a formidable villain (Michael B. Jordan) so compelling he nearly steals the show from Chadwick Boseman’s titular hero. And sure, the futuristic African country of Wakanda may be fictional, but it’s brimming with cultural resonance, making “Black Panther” feel more tied into the real world than any Marvel feature since “Iron Man.”
Director Ryan Coogler (“Creed”) has created a dizzying wonderland in which traditional African trappings rub elbows with technological wizardry fueled by the mystical comic-book element vibranium. The plot circles around Black Panther/T’Challa’s face-off with Erik Killmonger (Jordan), a long-lost cousin raised in Oakland, Calif., laying claim to the throne, with militaristic ideas about saving the world’s oppressed.
The last act devolves into the kind of numbing, large-scale fighting that so often dumbs down superhero fare, but Coogler redeems himself with a poignant, Oakland-based coda as T’Challa’s isolationist views grow and change. If there’s any justice, so will the film industry’s views on race, as “Black Panther” looks likely to shred box-office records.
Running time: 134 minutes. Rated PG-13 (violence). Now playing. See full review at NYPost.com. — Sara Stewart