Black Panther
The secret to Marvel’s success is arguably the fact that they never make the same kind of film twice, and Black Panther, the eighteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, continues this trend. Less a “superhero” movie in the traditional sense, this is the story of a man trying to find his way as a king, and a country struggling to find its place in the world.
Premise: A week after the events of Captain America: Civil War, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns to the African nation of Wakanda for his coronation as king. But his reunions are cut short when arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) and Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) steal a sample of vibranium and attempt to sell it on the black market.
Review:
In many ways, Black Panther had more world-building to do than any MCU film since 2011’s Thor. Not only is it an origin story (of sorts) for T'Challa, but it also needed to establish the entire civilization of Wakanda (just as Thor had to establish Asgard), and only once that is done could it get down to the business of actually telling its story. As such, it perhaps shouldn’t be a huge surprise that the first half of the film does feel a little slow and bogged down with all of the necessary world-building.
Thankfully, just as Captain America: Civil War gave Spider-Man: Homecoming a leg-up by introducing Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in advance of his first solo film, Black Panther also benefits from the fact that T'Challa had already been introduced in Civil War, so we’re able to hit the ground running now. We already had a good idea of the kind of man that T'Challa is (his epiphany at the end of Civil War about the dangers of becoming consumed by vengeance arguably showed that he had more self-awareness than either Iron Man or Captain America), and we already knew about his Black Panther alter-ago.
“…all of the supporting characters are surprisingly well fleshed out…”
What we didn’t know, going into this film, was anything of substance about his homeland of Wakanda, nor did we know how he would adjust to becoming king following his father’s murder. Therefore, much of the first half of the film is spent exploring Wakanda’s history and culture, and introducing us to Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), T'Challa’s former love and spy, Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright), his sister and Wakanda's technological whizz, Okoye (Danai Gurira), his general and the leader of the royal guard, and Ramonda (Angela Bassett), the Queen Mother of Wakanda.
All of these characters are surprisingly well fleshed out, in a way that, say, the Warriors Three in Thor never were. Nakia clashes with T'Challa over their different perspectives on Wakanda’s place in the world – Nakia believes that Wakanda should be taking in refugees and using its resources to help those in need, while T'Challa believes the best way for him to protect his own people is to keep them hidden. Shuri is funny, but without ever becoming the comic relief – her humour instead comes from her youthful exuberance and enthusiasm, as well as her playful relationship with her big brother T'Challa. She is, in effect, a 16-year-old Q to Black Panther’s James Bond. General Okoye clearly has a long-established friendship with T'Challa (as does her love, W'Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya), the head of the Wakanda border security), but she has to balance this unspoken bond with her fierce loyalty to Wakandan tradition.
“…Michael B. Jordan plays one of Marvel’s most compelling and complex antagonists…”
As good as all of these supporting characters are, the film doesn’t really come alive until Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger steps to the forefront at about the halfway point. That’s not to say that the first half of the film doesn’t work – it does, it’s just that it’s very much about setting the scene and fleshing out the Wakandan culture. Once that is done, the film is free to cut loose and introduce one of Marvel’s most compelling and conflicted antagonists, who could give Loki a run for his money as the most complex of Marvel’s cinematic “villains”. I don’t want to say too much about Killmonger, but suffice to say that his motivations are arguably noble even if his methods are not, and his extremism is born of hardship, not self-interest.
Behind the scenes, there is not a weak link in the film. The cast are universally excellent (even if Michael B. Jordan does come close to stealing every scene he’s in), and I’ve not even had a chance to mention Martin Freeman’s return as CIA agent Everett Ross, or Forest Whitaker’s role as a Wakandan elder. Ryan Coogler does a fantastic job directing (as well as co-writing the screenplay), and the production design is incredibly detailed, building an entire civilisation and culture effectively from scratch. Ludwig Göransson’s score incorporates recordings of local musicians from Senegal and South Africa, and the result is a perfectly pitched blend of superhero orchestral themes and traditional African rhythms. I’m maybe not best placed to speak on a personal level about the cultural significance of this film, but it’s clear the impact that this will have in terms of black representation in films, and I’m struggling to think of any blockbuster movie before it that has had such “mainstream” appeal with an almost entirely black cast. But perhaps one of the film’s greatest triumphs is that you’re often so caught up in the spectacle of the movie itself, that you forget about what the film’s existence means in the real world.
“…when characters question Wakanda’s place in the wider world, it’s hard not to see the allegorical parallels…”
But perhaps what surprised me the most about the film was the philosophical elements, in which the characters question Wakanda’s place in the wider world. With current political tensions being what they are, and several of the world’s “leading” countries becoming more isolationist and deciding to withdraw from working with their neighbours, it’s hard not to see the allegorical parallels. In Black Panther, the characters debate whether Wakanda should use its advanced technology and resources to aid the oppressed and less fortunate around the world, or whether that will put their own people at unnecessary risk. Naysayers argue that allowing in refugees just makes their problems our problems, but other characters argue that they believe that Wakanda is strong enough to help others and still protect their culture. One character even paraphrases the Nigerian proverb that in times of crisis, the wise man builds bridges, while the foolish man builds barriers.
All this philosophising doesn’t get in the way of a gripping and suitably epic third act, that more than makes up for the slightly slower pace in the first half of the film. The end result is a blockbuster that has character-based emotional moments, thought-provoking themes, and impressively staged action sequences - and really, what more could you ask for?
Also, make sure you stay for the two end-credit scenes…
