Black Panther

After his introduction in Civil War we waited for Black Panther to get his own film.

Feb 2018 and it is here.

Black Panther.

Fresh off the events of Civil War, T’Challa has returned to Wakanda to be officially crowned king and carry the mantle of The Black Panther. Everything is looking swell for him, until his rule is challenged by an outsider one, Erik “Killmonger” Stevens appears to lay claim to the Wakandan throne. Now toss in some vibranium laced global ramifications if T’Challa loses the throne to him. Add to this a sprinkle of origin story, a tiny bit of love story/family drama and a return of Ulysses Klaue and his sonic arm cannon to pester T’Challa.

Well was it good?

Yes.

Black Panther is a good movie.

It checks all the Marvel comic book movie boxes.

Action

There is plenty and it is damn fun stuff;  car chases, melee combat scenes ( both crisp and well shot and dark and frantic ), explosions and a big spectacle battle.

 

This dude hates motor vehicles.

Comedy

The comedic stuff is  light, but welcome. Without it this film would have been a bit too dour. A lot of this comes from T’Challa’s sister/ princess Shuri as she is both tech genius and quintessential teenage girl. Ulysses Klaue is more amped up than his cameo in Age of Ultron. He has some great moments giving us typical unbalanced and impulsive  villain. Toss in a bit of dry humor from Okoye as the head of Dora Milaje to top off the lighthearted bits of the film.

Never thought I'd be a big supporter of the Man-Ape ever

Comic Book Moxy

First we get Black Panther in a big full movie. Being a staple of the MCU for a bit over 50 years now this guy needed a movie. Thankfully, it was done now with this studio ( and not botched by Sony, Fox, etc. ). We also get to see a lot of Wakanda, the Golden City, and the Great Mound. Then throw in all the vibranium tech to boot. Throw in the Man-Ape ( without the silly ape suit ) M’Baku. His part was unexpectedly awesome. We get the full sonic arm cannon of Klaue. The Dora Milaje did not disappoint. There was also a lot more of CIA agent Everett Ross than I expected. They hit a bit of the spirituality that surrounds the Black Panther with visiting his dead father. There was probably a ton more that I missed since I am not super knowledgeable about Black Panther. Still what they gave me that I knew about was all great stuff!

Story or…After all the action what do we get?

Black Panther is one part origin story and one part self-contained action film. It is a tight story without a lot of drek. It feels very Shakespearian with its royal family issues, secrets, lies and intrigue

It is also the most political of the Marvel films to date. It touches on poor vs. wealthy people/nations, there is the whole isolationism of a country for citizen safety, cultural oppression, finding a place in the world, revolution and even a dig at the current American President. I’m not one for mixing a lot of politics in my comics but it worked well here and wasn’t too overbearing or preachy.

Any downside?   This will be spoilery if you are new to comic book movies skip to the end!

A couple.

First is the typical comic book film villain. If you have ever seen a comic book movie you can guess who is not making it to the sequel. Unless you are Loki, then you are going to be a one and done villain in the marvel universe. Hell, even in the D.C. films it is the same. Why do they keep giving us charasmatic, likeable or just awesome bad guys and then offing them before the end credits. Why keep doing this? It is just annoying. I would have loved to see what they could do with Killmonger in a future film. Hell, even keeping Klaue alive to be a pest in future films would have been good.

Stop killing every villain in every comic book movie!

Secondly, and this is a weak complaint. The second post credit scene is just garbage! I mean really? Did this surprise anyone? I mean we have all seen the Infinity War trailers. We know Bucky “Winter Soldier” Barnes is fighting alongside the Avengers. Why give us this? Why not a minor lead in to the coming Infinity War? Instead we get this bit of Bucky waking up and feeling refreshed. Blerg! What a waste.

That is it all the complaints I have about Black Panther.

Final bits

It is fun. It is serious. It has science. It is colorful. It has a message, but doesn’t hammer you over the head with it. It has action. It is a damn fine first movie for the Black Panther. I am curious to see what and where they go next with T’Challa. I am hoping he takes over the role of Tony Stark when or if he bows out of the Marvel films. T’Challa has the tech, wealth and wits to be the go to guy for this movie universe. How cool would that be?