Black Panther

 "You are a good man with a good heart, and it is hard for a good man to be king"  King T'Chaka to King T'Challa in Black Panther.

I have been writing about the Marvel films in groups though a couple of weeks ago I decided to do Black Panther as a solo entry film because I was so impressed with it that I felt it was worthy of a deeper look.  The tragic and unexpected passing of star Chadwick Boseman pushed me to finish it and get it out to all of you.

I had an odd journey to this film.  When I first saw Civil War I was impressed by T’Challa’s debut and admired the journey the character went through from seeking revenge to showing empathy to his father’s killer.  However Black Panther was released a few months after Thor Ragnarok.  While I made an effort to see Ragnorak in the theatre feeling afterwards that I could have waited for that film to come to Redbox, which is what I had been doing for the most part since Civil War.  When the trailer for Black Panther was released I had an indifferent reaction to it.  It looked a little techno heavy so I decided to wait even though I had really liked director Ryan Coogler’s film Creed.  I confess I have yet to see Coogler’s film Fruitvale Station though I hear it is terrific.

Black Panther was released in February 2018 and caused an enormous reaction worldwide and I gradually decided to see it in the cinema, especially since Infinity War was coming out soon and I definitely wanted to catch that on the big screen since it was directed by the Russo brothers who had done such fine work on Civil War and Winter Soldier.  So my wife and I went late one afternoon in April 2018 about a week or so before Infinity War was due to be released and had the kind of experience you always hope for when you go to the movies.

Coogler, amazingly in just his third feature, delivers a story that takes place on Earth but feels almost like another planet.  Wakanda is a wondrous place that mixes ultramodern technology and what appears to me to be traditional tribal values.  The Wakandans have more than delivered on the potential of their technology but also have a sense of honor and a warrior’s spirit.  Africa, which is perceived by many Westerners as a place of war and famine, is shown as a utopia but rulers face a moral quandary due to a longstanding isolationist policy.  I ultimately was far more interested in the plight of Wakanda than that of Asgard because we get to know so many of the characters so thoroughly and that they are played by such a strong cast (including Angela Basset, Lupita N’yongo, Forest Whitakker and Danai Gurira).  This is so successful that the title character is offscreen and presumed dead for about 15 minutes of screen time and the film never loses momentum or interest.

However I must speak to the power Chadwick Boseman brings as T’Challa.  He is handsome, charismatic yet fierce and easily provoked.  T’Challa is trying to find his way as king.  He’s strong but not particularly big and often seems overshadowed by his opponents.  But his sense of honor is profound and in the last act of the film with the guidance of Nakia he is determined to help the world, and particularly his home continent of Africa, with Wakanda’s riches.  His knowing smile in his last shot of the film when asked by the UN representative what Wakanda can offer the world conveys confidence but not arrogance. 

T’Challa commits one grave mistake in the film when he foolishly allows Kilmonger played by Michael B. Jordan (who played the title character in Creed) to goad him into a challenge and then accepts without preparing himself.  As a result of this T’Challa is overthrown (both figuratively and literally) and Wakanda is forced to receive a new leader who speaks coarsely, has no interest in Wakandan traditions, and only wants to abuse its power in a section of the film that feels very prescient to what has occurred in the U.S. since Trump became president.  Unlike Trump though, Kilmonger has a legitimate reason for his anger which has been amplified by the way he has been treated by both the CIA and his own country.  Michael B. Jordan, who is a very intelligent actor, portrays Kilmonger with as wronged man who has seen only the worst of humanity and has a lifetime of anger bottled up as a result.  Kilmonger’s unorthodox look gives the sense of unpredictability.  Upon seeing Kilmonger I quickly forgot about having seen Jordan in any other film.

Black Panther also has fantastic female characters who are crucial to the story.  Suri, T’Challa’s sister is a Q like character who has both a childlike spark and massive intelligence.  Nakia loves T’Challa but also wants Wakanda to help the struggling world.  Okoye is a warrior whose values are truly tested after Kilmonger’s ascension to power.

Coogler also gives the two key white characters in the film plenty to do and are not made to look like fools.  Andy Serkis as the returning Klaue is having a ball as this ruthless mercenary.  Martin Freeman’s Steve Ross is an audience surrogate for the second half of the film who is saved by Wakandan technology.

Coogler stages several terrific set pieces.  The two instances where T’Challa has to defend his kingdom showcase the various tribes, their costumes and are over a beautiful but deadly waterfall.  The casino fight in South Korea has a fantastic tracking shot by cinematographer Rachel Morrison which moves through the casino as each character has a notable moment in the fight.  This is followed by the car chase which uses a virtual car piloted by Suri back in Wakanda.  The ancestral plane scenes give a visual reference to the hierarchy of the two kings of the story and helps explain their motivations.  Amazingly Wakanda was created entirely in Georgia, as most of the Marvel films are now made in Atlanta.

Marvel movies sometimes struggle in the third acts, which can focus more on spectacle than on the characters.  Black Panther provides nothing less than another civil war as the forces loyal to T’Challa and the Jabari tribe work to overthrow Kilmonger.  The battle takes place in a field outside and in a vibranium mine.  The Jabari tribe even use armored rhinoceros which seems fitting given the setting.  The way in a war can tear a culture apart is represented in the final moments of Okoye and W’Kabi’s relationship.  T’Challa proves to be a controlled leader when he shows his cousin compassion in his final moments, while still holding him accountable to his crimes.

Ludvig Goransson who did such a good building on Bill Conti’s classic Rocky themes in Creed, creates a bombastic fanfare with a lot of trumpet. 

I do not know if Boseman’s passing means there will be no more Black Panther films but if this ends up being the only one then it at least his sole outing was with this fabulous film which is the shining star of the Marvel Universe.  It is very sad to see such a charismatic star pass at such a young age and I wish the best to his friends and family during this difficult time.

Black Panther gives me hope that we will see more superhero films starring non-white protagonists.  If this occurs, which the $1.3 billion box office gross suggest it will, I hope they are made by filmmakers as skilled and visionary as Coogler.  *****

P.S. I also highly recommend seeing Boseman in the film 42, which tells the story of Jackie Robinson.