The New Review
"Black Panther"
Directed by: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
So Here We Go...
Background Check: The latest in Marvel's origin/solo movies about a character I didn't know very much about in the comics. I knew the basics, but no real details. Which meant I went in with a completely open mind. So... the basis I have is how it fits in the MCU. And that is simply this movie is the solo movie of a character that was added to "Captain America: Civil War" JUST to set up his place in this movie, and thus his movie in the MCU. And that isn't a bad thing.
Concept: Not long after the death of his father during the events of "Captain America: Civil War", T'Challa must return home to take the mantle of king... and defend his home from enemies both foreign and domestic.(for those who have seen it, see what I did there?)
Execution:
Cast: Casting was set pretty well. Chadwick Boseman belongs in the MCU as a whole, Michael B. Jordan got to redeem himself in a superhero movie. And I declare that Letitia Wright was pretty damn cute as the clearly the
Characters: I have no real comic book basis to go off of, so based on this movie, they made a regal hero that fought not only for his good, but for the good of the world. And a villain that I could easily understand WHY he was fighting for what he was, but took it too far. Jordan's Kilmonger was the highlight of this movie for me. But take NOTHING away from Okoye and Shuri. Nothing at all. Score: 9.5/10
Story: Ryan Coogler was able to give us a NON origin story for T'Challa, but gave us an origin story for country and culture of the entire nation of Wakanda. Gave us THREE stories of redemption in one movie, and they were all well done(T'Challa, Kilmonger, M'Baku). Plus, wove some much culture into the movie... it wasn't a superhero movie at all, and thus, it breaks the mold. Score: 11/10
Visual: Set pieces, the beauty... the colorful cultural costumes blended with futuristic technology. Makes for a pleasant experience...BUT some of the CGI was too... CGI. Mainly the War Rhinos in the final battle, AND the fight between T'Challa and Kilmonger on the train tracks. Close together, the CGI that was needed was right, but when they separated during the fight, it looked TOO animated. Compared to the other MCU movies, I really can't let that one go. Pivotal moment of the movie marred compared to other, more complex CGI scenes earlier in the movie. Doesn't hurt the movie much overall, but not really acceptable this far in. Score: 7/10
Sound: Cultural music mixed with modern beats. And of course, the blanket MCU sound thrown in there. I was impressed. Score: 9/10
Flow: So, the first time I saw it, I some issues with the flow, but I realized with the second time that all of my issues had to do with timeframe. All of the "present day" era scenes were roughly a week or so after the events of "Civil War" which throws off a few details. I realized during the second time that NONE of those effect the flow of the movie itself. The flow of the movie WAS effected by the presentation of the flashback sequences involving J'Nobu. Great scenes... but the transitions were jarring. May have just been me, and the flashbacks were necessary, but I felt they could've gone alittle more smoothly. Score: 8/10
Substance: Enough action... enough humor... enough story... yep, it belongs in the MCU... BUT the cultural side of it added a huge piece of the puzzle that made it more than one type of movie. Enough so that you can enjoy it EVEN if you don't like the superhero aspect to it. Score: 11/10
Closure: The end of the fight between T'Challa and Kilmonger set the tone of the ENTIRE story. Even after everything, T'Challa offered to let him stay... Kilmonger chose to die for what he believed in. And I think not only did it set the tone for this movie, but it set it for the future installments. I'm gonna have to give it props for using it's ending to start righting the wrongs with the world. Score: 9/10
Legacy: I'm basing this completely against the MCU, and I have to say it works. It works BY breaking the mold. It did what "Ant-Man" did for me, it was able to weave another genre into the puzzle that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe... and like "Ant-Man", this movie has done the same. Score: 10/10
Extra Oomph: The death of Ulysses Klaw(Claue, Klaue)... KLAW. I was shocked to see them actually go ahead and kill him off. I really was... the first time. The second time, I realized it was necessary to the story. Quite possibly the most important detail. Without it, the story has no foundation at all. Kilmonger purposely worked with Klaw JUST to break him out of custody JUST to kill him so he could take credit for killing Klaw. All just because he knew his dad had worked with him in the first place.(missed that detail? yeah, I did too). It had all the attention to detail that Zemo had in "Civil War", without the need for timing that could've been screwed up easily. Kilmonger had FULL control of that outcome. And that is how a villain should be done. Score: 10/10
Final Score: 93.5/100 A
Conclusion: This was a great movie. From beginning to end, it checked all the boxes for the MCU, and it has the distinction of being the final movie before "Infinity War"... and I can't think of a better choice.
It's all a matter of opinion: I cannot stress enough that THIS is MY opinion, you can either agree with me or not. I don't have to justify my opinion, because *clears throat" that's what this blog is about. Whether I like it or not doesn't mean you have to or not...... I'ts just my justification behind MY recommendation... Which leads me to my FINAL JUDGMENT...
FINAL JUDGMENT: FUCK ALL OF THOSE RACIST ASSHOLES THAT ARE TRYING TO DOWNPLAY THIS MOVIE!!! EITHER BY TRYING TO SABOTAGE THE RATINGS OR BITCHING ABOUT THE MOVIE AFTERWARD, AND WHO REALLY KNOWS IF THEY ACTUALLY SAW THE MOVIE OR NOT... IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, GO SEE IT. IF YOU HAVE SEEN IT, I SAY GO WATCH IT AGAIN... AND IF YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE RACIST FUCKS WHO CAN'T SEE THE MOVIE FOR WHAT IT IS, THEN FUCK YOU. I mentioned at the beginning that I hadn't really read much of Black Panther... because of the quality of this movie, I may have to change that.
-----------------------------------------------------------
So, there it is, I gave "Black Panther" a 93.5... good enough for an A. Though it wasn't my favorite MCU movie, I know a game changer when I see it... and I fucking saw one.
Stay tuned, another review incoming... and yes, I'm still gonna hopefully finish my first "Building A Legacy" post for "IT"... I'm gonna have to soon for another will soon follow. I apologize for the delay... the reason I shut down my old blog, depression, it showed up... and has kept me from doing some things I love to do. So... hopefully I can get it going. Not going to give up this time.
Seriously, go see Black Panther. Highest grossing movie of 2018... at least until "Avengers: Infinity War"
~The Master is Out
No comments:
Post a Comment