Look, I may not do much movie reviews as of recent but you know I had to get on this as soon as the first trailer came out. Actually, I was looking forward to this after the end of CIVIL WAR and now, we finally get to see him in his own movie.
Yep, it’s about that time. Welcome aboard, Black Panther.
After the death of his father, T’Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king — and as Black Panther — gets tested when he’s drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people.
VERDICT: OK…..damn, this movie lived up to the hype as this is one of the MCU’s best movie, especially one for their solo hero outings. For one, going inside the world of Wakanda and all its surroundings and advancement in technology is marvelous. Hell, it makes people want to go there….and no, Wakanda is not a real place but we wish it is. it has left a mark in the location being a character itself better than Asgard did in all 3 Thor movies…..I almost forgot about Asgard in most of them.
Although……I do see why they would want to keep it hidden from the rest of the world as they went with their third-world image and also if someone were to discover something like that, well…..it might be fucked. I will say you’ll also forget that you’re watching a Marvel movie at first until you mention some stuff like T’Chaka, the king before T’Challa, dying during the UN attack in Civil War, and T’Challa’s translation into king and while everything else around him I taught was more compelling, it doesn’t mean that his arc ain’t shit. It is still important to the character himself to take charge of becoming a ruler. Chadwick Boseman still continues great work as the title character as he got through what he should do as the new leader of Wakanda.
There is also the villain of the movie, Erik Stevens aka Killmonger and I know sometimes the MCU doesn’t have much strong villains but with Killmonger, it’s the opposite. You’re like “Man, fuck you, dude” but it’s also like “Well…..I can fuck with him on some points he made” and you can understand his motivations behind his cause. Michael B. Jordan is a damn good highlight of the movie as Killmonger and once again, continuing his collaborations with director Ryan Coogler (director of Fruitvale Station and Creed).
All around the cast is amazing here with Lupita N’yongo as Nakia, a spy that operates outside Wakanda and while I did hear that her and T’Challa was a thing or used to be a couple….the film never made it a big deal. It’s like sprinkles on a ice cream cone. I really liked Shuri, the younger sister of T’Challa and genius inventor, played by Letitia Wright and the brother/sister chemistry between the two is welcoming and very funny, especially with one scene when they were testing out the suit and of course, Danai Gurira as Okoye, the head of the Dora Milaje is one bad-ass you don’t want to fuck with and of course, loyal to the throne.
I’m going to admit…it’s weird seeing Andy Serkis not doing motion capture work and as Klawe, dude is definitely hamming it up while having some fun in his small role and Martin Freeman makes a good role of him as Agent Ross. Also, Winston Duke as M’Baku (no, I’m not calling him that name. You know what name it is.) got me liking his scenes, especially towards the third act.
Like many of these movies, I was into the humor here with one joke or two I didn’t laugh much at. I also want to bring up that I was digging the action throughout the movie although one scene in the beginning was almost too dark to make out but for everything else, it was top-notch. I love the score done by Ludwig Gorannson, another Coogler collaborator and it has all the good blends of African music, orchestral sounds and even some trap music thrown in there. Yes, you heard me on that last part.
But, yeah, you know my rating on this. I don’t even have to put it on here. It’s that damn great!
I’m MAK2.0 aka The Blue Panther….not related to the Pink Panther.
The Mind of the Hybrid One 