Off the Cuff Reviews Black Panther (2018)

(Originally posted March 9th, 2018)

Okay, so we're not re-entering any 'Movie Marathon Month' anytime soon, but you guys have made it very clear that you enjoyed my movie reviews last year. Well, I just watched the first new movie of the year, and I really want to talk about it. Marvel's Black Panther (2018) is not only another great addition into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but is also an excellent movie out of that context, and that is perhaps the film's greatest strength. Starring Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan as Erik Stevens/Killmonger, Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Martin Freeman as Everett Ross, Daniel Kaluuya as W'Kabi, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Winston Duke as M'Baku, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Forest Whitaker as Zuri and Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue.

Black Panther (2018)

This is a beautiful movie. The landscape shots are gorgeous, and the film takes its time to allow you to appreciate the environments. It's a very unique backdrop for a superhero movie, and it's certainly one of the best things this movie has going for it. Another is the culture of Wakanda. In a movie like this, where they're trying to establish an entire civilisation, interesting characters and tell a unique story in and of itself, it's very easy to drop the ball in one or two areas to compensate for the others. Thankfully, the three are interwoven with each other, and as a result, the entire movie just flows so flawlessly. Through the characters, we learn the culture. Through the culture, we get the story. Through the story, we understand the characters. The holy trinity. I walked out of this movie with more of an understanding of the world of Wakanda than I ever thought I'd get, and I bet I could watch this two or three more times and continue to pick up on little things I missed.

Wakanda

The characters are fantastic, and the acting is superb. Chadwick Boseman got a chance to shine in Captain America: Civil War, but here he carries the entire movie almost effortlessly. There are moments here where his portrayal almost made me tear up, and movie don't tend to make me cry very often. He nails all the intricacies and internal struggles of the character to a tee, and I will be outraged if he does not win at least one award for this portrayal. The supporting cast do an excellent job here as well. Every character has their role to play, and they play them perfectly. Lupita Nyong'o was one of the better and most grounded 'love interests' I've seen in a movie in a while, Danai Gurira was badass, Martin Freeman was brilliant (as always), Andy Serkis had me cracking up, Winston Duke was intimidating as hell, they're all fantastic.

Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther

But Michael B. Jordan... holy crap, Michael B. Jordan. He was an excellent villain. I mean that in every sense of the word. He's the kind of villain I like the best: understandable goals, misguided methods, stubborn to a fault. Jordan also nearly had me in tears in certain moments, and I don't usually get that from a villain, let alone a Marvel villain. He's definitely in my top 5 Marvel villains, and he might even be top 3. He had a well-executed and really rather malicious plan, and he was still very grounded in reality. Also, the acting was perfect. Just perfect. Jordan took this character that could easily have come across as shallow or one-dimensional, and he just brought all of the layers to the surface. Through his character, we also explored some nice and relevant themes. There are a lot of talking points in this movie, but it's never too obvious and it never beats you over the head with it, it's just very well executed, and its message is something that is very topical and important to discuss in a movie like this. I can't dwell too much longer on this topic without getting into spoilers, but needless to say that much like the majority of this movie, it was perfect.

Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger

I say 'the majority of the movie', because much like any movie, I do need to address some things I didn't like as much. I don't have a lot of gripes here, but there are a couple. The main one is that Daniel Kaluuya's character was the only one that I felt could have used a little more depth. He goes from being best friends with T'Challa to being enemies for a very valid reason, but I do think the film rushed over it a little, and as a result, the character seemed not quite right to me. It wasn't as subtle as the rest of the film, and I feel like if they'd added in just one scene with the two characters talking about the inciting incident, but kept the same end result, it would have been a little more fleshed out. It wouldn't be so much of a problem if it didn't directly influence every decision the character made after that point, which is a big deal. Also, I'm as much of a fan of putting giant rhinos into a movie as the next cinema-goer, but can you please make them look a little more realistic? It didn't take away much from my experience, but they're giant rhinos. If they don't look real, it kind of draws the eye.

Daniel Kaluuya as W'Kabi

All in all, Black Panther (2018) was an excellent film and another fantastic entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I might consider doing MCU reviews in the run-up to Infinity War, but even if I don't, I'm all caught up, and I cannot wait for what comes next. 9.5/10. Now, bring on Thanos!