‘Black Panther’ now looks to dominate DVD market

By RICK BENTLEY Tribune Content Agency “Black Panther”

HHH 1/2 To be released Tuesday The film begins in the wake of the bombing in “Captain America: Civil War” that killed King T’Chaka (John Kani). After the death of his father, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. The transition is threatened from outside forces who want to get their hands on the country’s most valuable asset, vibranium.

The script for the massive box office hit by director Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”) and Joe Robert Cole shows there’s room for both brain and brawn when it comes to the genre. There’s a maturity to their story that’s a major leap forward for a Marvel movie in both respecting the audience and the material.

“Black Panther” does have its problems. Coogler gets a little bogged down with scenes to the point they begin to edge toward the tedious. There’s a massive car chase scene where Black Panther gets to show off his skills that should have stopped a few miles sooner.

And much of where the film is headed is telegraphed so loudly it almost drowns out critical dialogue. Take note. If a character in a movie spends a long time explaining how a piece of equipment works, you can be certain that machinery will become an important part of the story.

It would be enough to herald “Black Panther” because of how it prominently features a black superhero. It’s still a major move forward.

“12 Strong”

Out now The film from director Nicolai Fuglsig looks at the team of Special Forces soldiers from Fort Campbell, Ky., who travels to Afghanistan just weeks after the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. The real story is one of 12 heroic souls who through working with local war lords delivered a heavy blow to the Taliban.

Their story would have been enough to spotlight the accomplishment of the men. But the screenplay by Ted Tally and Peter Craig — based on the book “Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan” by Doug Stanton — has been amped up to make the events look like the biggest military operation since the Charge of the Light Brigade.

If all you want from a military movie is unrestrained action that will spark a deep wave of patriotism, then “12 Strong” accomplishes that. That’s enough to get a passing grade, but the movie could have been so much better if it had focused a little more on stories of the heart rather than tales of muscle. That would have made this “12” stronger.

“Peter Rabbit”

Out now Writer/director Will Gluck has taken the sweet story of a herd of rabbits — led by the spunky Peter (voiced by James Corden) — and turned it into a slapstick battle of wills.

This is like having Charlie Brown beat the stuffings out of Lucy after pulling the football away one too many times or Marmaduke getting rabies.

Peter and the gang are living a freestyle life stealing all the food they want from the local garden and being treated like royalty by the kind-hearted Bea (Rose Byrne). This changes when a new owner (Domhnall Gleeson) takes over the house with the garden and begins a war with the hares. This sets up a series of silly antics as man and bunny clash.

Fans of the original Beatrix Potter stories will find little comparison and instead will have to endure an endless string of goofy moments. This could have been a much better film had the story been as strong as the animation.

The only saving grace is the release comes with an all-new mini movie featuring Peter’s sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail, narrated by Margot Robbie as Flopsy.

“Paterno”

Out now Even a very familiar story can be interesting with the right casting, as is the case with this HBO original film. Al Pacino turns in one of the best performances of his career playing legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. It’s his work that drives the story, which had been played out so completely in the press in 2011.

Pacino plays Paterno during the aftermath of his assistant coach Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse scandal. After becoming the winningest coach in college football history, Paterno must find a way to deal with how these horrible events were taking place without his knowledge. It is the story of a how a person can be so blinded by their professional passions that they miss the obvious.

The film was co-written and directed by Barry Levinson, who makes the production work not because it is a rehashing of the familiar elements surrounding the case, but because the tale unfolds through Paterno’s viewpoint.

It’s a powerful story of a man whose amazing professional legacy comes under fire. And, Levinson gets the perfect performance he needed from Pacino to do that.

Also starring in “Paterno”: Riley Keough (“The Girlfriend Experience”), Annie Parisse (“Friends From College”), Kathy Baker (“The Age Of Adaline”), Greg Grunberg (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) and Larry Mitchell (“Brawl in Cell Block 99”).

“Paterno” is also available for digital download.