Black Panther (2018)

Directed by Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed)

Written by Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole (Amber Lake)

It is incredibly difficult to discuss Black Panther outside of its place in the cultural zeitgeist, and I am in many ways too separate from its cultural moment to be able to provide that discussion. While I enjoy this movie, in many ways it is not a movie for me (at least not nearly so much as some of the other films in this series are), and so my commentary has a limited facility. All I can do is attempt to understand the cultural moment that this movie created from the outside, and acknowledge its importance while providing the best analysis of it I can. The movie takes what is arguably the breakout character of Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), and gives him his first standalone adventure. After the death of his father T’Chaka in the previous movie, T’Challa must take his place as king of Wakanda and fight off a threat to the throne in the form of Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), a forgotten son of the country with a legitimate claim to the throne and a raging bloodlust over his lost opportunities. The Black Panther is aided in this fight by a greatly expanded cast of Wakandan allies, including his tech wiz younger sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), his old romantic flame Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), the deadly captain of the royal guard Okoye (Danai Gurira), and exiled tribal leader M’Baku (Winston Duke). Also along for the ride for absolutely no discernible reason is CIA agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), who has no place in this movie, and Andy Serkis as Klaue, who is there to be a weird, vaguely racist South African dude. The surprisingly large cast is eventually united in a gigantic, CGI-filled final fight that will determine both the kingship and the future of Wakanda.

Probably the most important thing to start with on this movie is that its core concept is simply excellent. While I do have some structural and technical issues with the movie, I think that the founding principles of this entry in the MCU are rock solid. I love the Afro-futurist aesthetic of the entire film, and I enjoy that those elements make this feel legitimately different in tone from other Marvel films. The costuming is ludicrously intricate and incredibly well-researched, and it adds noticeably to the texture and immersion in the world. I also really admire the colonial themes that this movie takes even further than Thor: Ragnarok did. In that movie the colonial themes felt like a side note, while here they take absolute center stage. The colonial politics of the movie are well executed and more interestingly nuanced than they might be, as well. Killmonger is, of course, a huge part of this, and is absolutely one of the best villains in any of these movies. He has a stronger justification against the hero than is usually the case. I do think he could have been better developed over the middle third of the movie, but he’s one of the only villains in any of these who actually has a point. He’s angry and violent, but he actually has something resembling a real justification for that anger, which makes him more interesting and captivating. He’s like a Zemo from Civil War, but motivated by politics and sociology instead of personal loss. Framing the entire story through the lens of his experience growing up in the violence endemic to black communities in California in the 1990s is a brilliant idea that gives the movie much of its emotional heft. And on top of that, his story ends with the best last line of a villain in any of these. He’s both chilling and thought-provoking, and that’s a bar that almost no other Marvel villain has ever achieved.

There are problems, though, most of them structural or technical. There’s a huge info dump at the beginning of the movie, and while it’s done relatively well for what it is, there’s really no disguising it. I feel like the info could have been better conveyed through dialogue, or through a journey to the ancestral plane. It’s an unfortunate narrative crutch. In addition, most of the fights in the movie that involve more than two people are pretty weak. Coogler’s action chops show clearly in the two succession duels, and the fight in the casino has enough visual flourish to elevate it, but the rest of it is disappointing. The first fight is filmed too darkly and has almost no stakes, the overlong car chase through Seoul outstays its welcome (except for that one awesome spear vs. car shot), and the entire final battle is a mess of rough CGI that’s difficult to parse or follow. Perhaps worst of all in terms of structure, though, is Agent Ross. As I alluded above, he has absolutely no place in this movie and serves no purpose. Everything that he is allowed to do in the plot seems artificially created for him to do it so that he can have a reason to be in the movie. It’s jarring. Martin Freeman is a really good actor whom I like a lot; it’s just that this movie’s plot has no need of him and is made demonstrably worse by his character’s inclusion. Andy Serkis’s Klaue is also weirdly portrayed. He’s definitely racist, but not as racist as he probably should be? I know that’s weird to say, but if the guy is supposed to be a racist South African, he should probably be really racist, and he’s strangely not here. He says a couple of kinda derogatory things, but it’s left at that. I don’t know if it’s a desire not to be too confrontational or controversial from the Disney overlords or what, but it feels like opportunities with the character were left on the table here.

The rest of the cast is amazing, though. Letitia Wright’s performance as Shuri remains one of my favorite surprises in the whole string of these movies. Her character traits and snarky jokes put me in mind of a more likable Tony Stark, and I hope she gets to be in a dozen more movies. Forest Whitaker is soulful and wise as Zuri, but clearly haunted by his past in almost every scene. Okoye is fierce and intense, but I love that her behavior around her friends shows a stark contrast to that intensity. Lupita Nyong’o really doesn’t need a reputation boost from me, but she does admirable work here as well, and has amazing romantic chemistry with Boseman. Their love story subplot works really well, and reminds me of Coogler’s similar work with the love story in Creed. He does a lot with a relatively small number of lines and amount of screentime, making the romance seem fully fleshed out with a surprisingly small amount of the overall story. And really, that’s what carries the viewer through Black Panther, even when some of the other stuff gets dodgy: the characters. Almost everyone here is well-cast, and watching them struggle and worry about each other and eventually triumph is absorbing and exciting. The CGI in the final fight between Killmonger and Black Panther might be dodgy, but the dialogue absolutely isn’t. For every time I sighed at an action scene that was bigger or more ridiculous than necessary, I smiled at a small character moment or a funny line (mostly from Shuri). The movie is smart and the characters are fun to spend time with, and that can overcome far more dodgy CGI and questionable plot structure than this movie has to contend with. It’s an excellent foundation for what are sure to be many more movies in this not-so-surprise blockbuster.

Overall:

Stray Thoughts:

• Michael B. Jordan’s delivery of “Hey, Auntie,” after revealing his identity deserves to have a special Oscar made just so he can get it. I don’t know what the title of the award will be, and I don’t care.
• The obvious ripoff of ‘Q’ scenes in James Bond movies with Shuri is just great. I love that she has a Bond-esque supergadget lab.
• While we’re on the topic of Shuri, her calling Ross ‘colonizer’ right after he wakes up from surgery is hilarious.
• I love their journeys to the ancestral plane. All three of them are done remarkably well, and add to our understanding of the men undergoing the journeys. “No tears for me, my son?”
• I know other people love the rhino cavalry, but the CG compositing on them is so bad I can never enjoy it. I settled on leaving it out of the review entirely for this footnote.
• Throwing T’Challa to his death after their fight makes no sense, but is necessary for the plot to advance. It’s one of the few examples in this movie of a problem like this, where a character behaves irrationally.
• Post Credits scene 1: It’s a nice little moment, but it’s really rather unnecessary after the conclusion to the film. It seems redundant, and so isn’t my favorite.
• Post Credits scene 2: Good foreshadowing for Infinity War, with a nice little character moment for Bucky, who needs some humanizing. Also, Shuri.
• Stan Lee cameo: Pretty good. Not really a terribly funny joke or anything, but fine. The definition of an average Stan Lee appearance.