Black Panther

First Marvel film I've seen since Doctor Strange (and overall I think I've just seen Iron Man 1 & 2, GotG1, Doctor Strange, and now Black Panther [Well, and a bunch of youtube videos on the extended universe {particularly infinity stones} because I'm really into the concept of interconnected films but not the content of these particular films]).

Anyway. I basically will see a Marvel film when I have an external excuse to see a particular one, like how Doctor Strange's visuals looked promising (and they were, I greatly enjoyed that the visual aspect was useful within the film, they were actually disorienting and overwhelming which is exactly what I was supposed to feel). I wanted to see this one based on the soundtrack and the promise of intentional political tones.

So first off, I'm a bit underwhelmed by the use of the soundtrack in the film. I think I let my expectations get a little high because I knew beforehand that the movie was filmed before the soundtrack was integrated (that and I enjoyed the RTJ trailer), so I went in hoping the film would kind of acknowledge the uniquely well-fit and talented soundtrack, but it never quite reached the impact I was expecting (honestly, I noticed the score more than the soundtrack).

With the politics, sure, they were a bit more integrated, but to me (one who sees the other films as pretty damn political) it wasn't that much more political (though it was more spread, it touched on a lot of political themes rather than variations on the same political theme).

And I'm a bit mixed on the story arc, which was VERY typical feeling to me. That may be a good thing overall, a sort of "meet them where they are" approach, but I was hoping the form would be a bit different.

That said, it's also the only marvel film so far where I'm still thinking about it more than a week after seeing it.

Did I see the same movie everyone else saw?

(Full disclosure: Spoilers ahead).

I put off seeing the Black Panther until yesterday. It wasn't that I was too busy or that I wasn't interested. I just didn't have anyone to go with... until yesterday. On a Tinder-inspired blind date, I had dinner and a movie.

I didn't know anything about the Black Panther story, but I enjoy Marvel movies and I saw Black Panther in the Civil War movie wherein he was gunning for Bucky. Everyone said it was a fantastic movie, so I was eager to see it.

It was an acceptable movie — no better or worse than... Spiderman, for example. I enjoyed it, but found nothing out of the ordinary. I foresaw the role that the train sonic disablers had in the antihero's downfall. This is typical of all Hollywood movies.

There was only one part of the movie that shocked me — the part where the sister calls the CIA guy 'colonizer.'

Everyone laughed — that was the point. It's somewhat shocking to hear an amenable middle-aged white guy called that. I didn't laugh. I thought about it.

Now, it's possible that she called him that because he is a CIA agent. After all, the CIA engages in (and its admitted in the movie) regime change. The CIA exists to overthrow governments when they are most vulnerable in the interests of US hegemony.

However, it seems more likely to me that she called him that for no other reason than his race. From that moment on, my eyes were opened and, rather than see a film about a superhero in a great outfit, I saw a movie struggling to put forward a certain agenda.

I had already noticed that the antihero (Killmonger) was particularly anti-white. Blaming all of black's problems on white governments, Killmonger proposed a violent kill-whitey solution. This didn't bother me. Why would it? He's the bad guy. The rest of the characters privately agreed that whites were the problem, but differed on the solution.

After getting home, I googled the movie and read several reviews that gushed about the milestone this movie is in terms of advancing black... well, whatever it is that blacks seek to advance. I'm not sure what that is, exactly. I don't know many black people and really don't give them a second thought. Still, the movie was proclaimed as a slap in the face to white guys and giving black people something to be proud of.

Did I see the same movie everyone else saw?

There were only two white guys in the whole movie. The first one, the CIA agent, was in Korea where he was tasked with buying the stolen museum artifact with a briefcase filled with diamonds. His second task was to arrest the other white guy. Black people were not on his mind at all until the Black Panther showed up. Even then, he offered to work something out as long as the Black Panther would just let him do his job.

The other white guy was the kind of guy who would knife his own grandmother if there was a dollar in it. He didn't care about black people one way or another. He was simply interested in getting money, by any illicit means possible, and in his raucous music.

Meanwhile, all the actual conflicts in the movie were the results of black people.

Killmonger -- orphaned when a black man killed his father.
Killmonger -- left on the streets when his black uncle refused to take him in.
Black Panther -- had to attack a convoy of trucks driven by Africans.
Black slaves -- being transported by black slavers.
Black Panther -- can't have a relationship with his girlfriend because she doesn't want to.
Black Panther -- attacked by black chief of opposing tribe.
Black Panther -- loses his captive because a black couple rescue said captive.
Black Panther -- faces down his cousin who recaptured the above-mentioned captive.
Village Shaman -- stabbed by Killmonger when he intervenes on Black Panther's behalf.
Black Panther -- thrown over a cliff by a black man.
Black Panther's mother -- flees for her life ahead of the new, black chief.
Black Panther -- attacked by black head of palace guard.
Black Panther -- must battle it out with Killmonger.
Black Head of Palace Guard -- stopped when the black general stops his charging rhino and puts a spear to his face.
Killmonger -- killed by Black Panther

What am I missing?

You already answered yourself:


and

So a black hero cant come off looking good if his opponent is also black? Do you feel the same way about the ten million movies where a white hero defeats a white villain?

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Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies...

Basically this. Was looking forward to it but the whole thing was quite a dull affair.

Something that I found very irritating was that it NEVER felt like we were in Africa, I don't know if they actually filmed there or not but felt halfway to a fake colourful cartoon filmed on blue screen /studio. Some of the accents weren't helping either.

The whole "the hero is dead, no wait" is very tired.

As for the critics seems another case of full marks for diversity and never mind the story.

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I liked it pretty well, but I thought the villain was one of the weakest in the Marvel Universe so far. I liked some of the hero characters and Wakanda was pretty cool. I enjoyed the dream sequences etc. Good, not great movie.

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What's your standard for a strong MCU villain?

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Loki, Thanos, Magneto, Mystique, Dark Phoenix...


Thinking a bit more about all the villains, I guess I would place Killmonger somewhere in the middle. There are definitely worse, namely Tilda Swinton miscast as Ancient One, the kid from That 70s Show as Venom, Jamie Foxx as Electro, and Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2.

I guess you're expanding it beyond the MCU, then - in any case, the Ancient One isn't a villain.

I only saw Dr. Strange once, but didn't Ancient One manipulate events in a nefarious way?

I think it was more of a morally grey rule-breaking as opposed to the genuine villainy of Mads Mikkelsen's character.

Fair point. Still kind of head-scratcher as to why they went with Swinton, though. Anyway, back to Black Panther, I liked pretty much all the other casting choices, but wasn't a fan of the guy they chose for Killmonger.

Who doesn't like chocolate?

Maybe it's just me, but when I see boobs in a movie it instantly makes it better.

Now I want to see him run like this...




Sorry that one of the most celebrated villains in the MCU didn't do it for you.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Yeah! Speaking of which:

How come they call him Iron Man? He's mostly wearing steel.

Why doesn't Captain American wear a hat with a jaunty brim?

How come Black Widow is played by a white lady?

Why doesn't Spider-Man have eight legs?

Why doesn't Hawkeye fly?

Why is Deadpool both alive and not swimming?

What I meant is that if he ran on all fours he'd be more exciting to watch. While Iron Man isn't cover in iron, there's a huge emphasis on the "iron" part of him, Captain America is from the United States Army, Spider-Man has a lot of "spider" to him, "hawkeye" is a name that describes his precision, like that of hawk, Black Widow is a spy, dark, discreet and dangerous much like the spider, Deadpool causes pools of dead bodies. There's nothing beastly or panther-like about Black Panther other than he has a panther suit.
Also, it's a review meant for something visual so I can see why you'd take it the way you did.

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Ami-Scythe

Maybe it's just me, but when I see boobs in a movie it instantly makes it better.

I meant adding a female, but that's a pretty hilarious response.

Sorry that one of the most celebrated villains in the MCU didn't do it for you.[/quote]

Well, I took a part of my script out of context, I do complement him at the end. He's a better villain than Thanos.

Yeah, I understood, I just don't think that'd be more exciting and it strikes me was a very odd critique.

...which is why "Black Panther" is fine, too. Because there's a lot of Pantherlike qualities to him.

He is exactly as Panther-like as Spider-Man is spider-like.

I have to disagree with that last statement on a technical basis.

Spider-Man (Peter Parker) was bitten by a radioactive spider and somehow that spider's DNA got transferred to Peter and was incorporated into Peter's biological make-up. Thus he's able to stick to walls, has the agility and proportionate strength of a spider and has a spider sense. In essence Peter is literally part spider as his biology replicated spider qualities transferred by the spider bite. (In one movie version they even made his ability to shoot webs biological rather than mechanical - but in the comics Peter's web shooters were a mechanism and his "web fluid" was a concoction he invented himself.)

Now Black Panther (T'challa) has no biological connection to actual panthers. His only "powers" come from a heart-shaped herb that heightens all his natural abilities to enhanced levels. He utilizes tools like vibranium in his boots to give him greater leaping ability and adsorb impact upon landing, and claws in his gloves.

However, there is a mystical aspect to the herb in that it gives him a shamanistic connection to a Wakandan Panther God - not quite sure what that means exactly, but it doesn't seem to add a feline DNA component to his biology the way Peter's spider bite did for his.

Note: these aspects are based on the comic book versions. I never saw the Black Panther movie, so I don't know if they changed the character's essentials.

I'll agree there are differences, but I think the context here was just how much they act or seem like the creature they're associated with. In that sense, I think Black Panther looks more like a panther than Spider-Man looks like a spider. Moves more like one, too.

I mean it's not technically accurate. The suit's a gold titanium alloy, but it's kind of provocative, the imagery anyway.

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