One cool cat
Check out Nathan Poppe’s review of “Black Panther” along with Matt Price’s column about the new Marvel Studios film hitting theaters this weekend.
PG-13 2:14 HHH½
The king of a Third World country indeed runs around in a bulletproof catsuit.
That fact surprises people in “Black Panther,” but it’s not a stretch in a Marvel Universe full of green rage monsters and Asgardian warriors.
After emerging as the most intriguing hero in “Captain America: Civil War,” T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) makes his proper debut in style as the homecoming king of Wakanda. He returns to his technologically-advanced African nation to pick up the Black Panther mantle after his father’s death. It’s good to be the top cat, but it’s also complicated.
Before digging into this crafted with care and overdue film, it’s worth addressing the hype surrounding it. “Black Panther” is far and away the most touted piece of modern afrofuturism, a genre that blends elements of fantasy, science fiction and philosophy into a world reimagined with a black ideology.
It’s a creation of profound imagination and empowerment that’s been bubbling about the outskirts of popular culture for decades, championed most recently by modern artists like Kehinde Wiley and JeanMichel Basquiat along with musicians like Outkast and Janelle Monae, who might have dual citizenship in the American south and outer space.
So, picture a genre that’s been hiding in plain sight, like Wakanda, and give it a $200 million megaphone for the first time. That’s pretty novel. Co-writer and director Ryan Coogler (“Creed”) did not miss his shot.
“Black Panther” is a super comic book adaptation with a personality of its own. Boseman’s Panther has a dryer sense of humor than the line-a-minute deliver of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and also takes himself much more seriously than Thor does in “Ragnarok.”
It’s not unheard of to have a movie featuring a black superhero — check out Marvel’s own “Luke Cage” on Netflix, “Hancock” and “The Dark Tower” — but “Black Panther” showcases so many prominent African American characters that it operates in a league of its own, as did “Straight Outta Compton.” The production is steeped in so much African art, culture and costumes that you might not even recognize it, on the surface, as a Marvel Studios release.
Similar to what made “Get Out” a success last year, “Black Panther” is a conversation about a black experience made for a black audience wrapped
in a genre piece that’s sharing a universal story. At its heart, the movie’s about re-evaluating traditions and how adverse they are to change. It’s a rather mature, action-heavy story that makes a strong showing in a crowded field of CGI-filled super stories. It definitely benefits from not having to constantly connect back to convoluted Avenger timelines. It tells its own story.
T’Challa’s at the steering wheel as he struggles with the trappings of leadership and faces moments of peril so virile that I felt nervous for Black Panther. Sure, heroes are constantly bombarded with challenges, but it’s rare for them to feel so immediate.
But “Black Panther” isn’t a one-man show.
The female cast shines as if they’ve been playing super people their whole lives. Warriors Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Okoye (Danai Gurira) kicks equal amounts of tail while Shuri (Letitia Wright) gives the popular gadget guru role a fresh take. Her lab resembles something outta James Bond’s MI6 HQ with way better decorations. Much of the film’s stunning costumes and futuristic production design were crafted by women, too.
Wakandans built their tech-filled society with the aid of a fictional meteoric
ore called vibranium. It fuels everything from the Black Panther suit to public transportation. It’s a constant battle whether vibranium belongs outside Africa. Two baddies want to make that decision for Wakandans.
Although he’s not the main villain, Andy Serkis — the “Tolkien white actor” known for his motion capture roles as Caesar the ape and Smeagol from “Lord of the Rings — takes off his digital mask to play the deliciously evil Ulysses Klaue. He has a special gift for bugging the hell out of everyone around him, and it’s hilarious.
But his menace is stunted by Michael B. Jordan’s especially evil Erik Killmonger. His name says it all. The former black-ops soldier thinks the world is ready for a reboot. Funnily enough, his argument to spread vibranium is a bit weak because he’s the perfect example of a person who shouldn’t have it in the first place.
“Black Panther” is bold, but isn’t totally bulletproof. The fights are a bit clumsy and difficult to follow at times, which wasn’t aided by 3-D glasses. It made a few dimly lit scenes too hard to see. Save your money on those dopey glasses and catch it in two dimensions.
The balance of soundtrack and score puzzled me, too. I figured “Black Panther” would be filled to the brim with the Kendrick Lamarcurated hip-hop soundtrack. My expectations resembled a “Guardians of the Galaxy” feel — where the tracks would weave in and out early and often. Only a handful of tracks made the cut.
The score features a lot of rapid, upbeat rhythmic drumming which sets the mood, but I suppose a soundtrack that’s R-rated doesn’t mesh with a PG-13 movie.
Also, the third act feels a bit rushed. Friends and family turn on each other without much explanation. I’m not sure if “Black Panther” is trying to sneak in a few points about politics and civil wars — no, not Marvel’s “Civil War” — but it needed more finesse.
Still, “Black Panther” roars in its debut and leaps to the front of the Marvel pack.
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira. (Prolonged sequences of action violence and a brief rude gesture)