Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Freeman, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Andy Serkis
Director: Ryan Coogler
Let’s talk about race, baby
Let’s talk about you and me
Let’s talk about all the bad things
And the worse things that may be.
(With apologies to Salt-N-Pepa)
It may be a superhero pic, but Black Panther is much much more. He was a Stan Lee child from the problematic 60s. He even has Black in his name. He is an African, not African American, which is somehow supposed to make him more palatable to racist readers. He gets his strength and agility from a herb. Oh, those natives. Digging into the history it is hard not to feel that the character was actually an insult to black people. Well, that is also how women started off in comics – sex objects for teenage boys. But times have changed.
The movie was always going to be news, even if it was bad. But then it was far from that. Marvel got the director right. Ryan Coogler was already a really good American director. Not just African American, mind you. Black Panther would always be political. Especially with the then (and now) incumbent in the White House. Kudos to Marvel for understanding and accepting the politics.
We already met the prince of the African nation of Wakanda, T’Challa (Boseman), who wore the mantle of Black Panther after the death of his father in the incidents that led to Civil War. T’Challa is going to be crowned king. We get to see Wakanda in all its technological splendour. A futuristic society hiding under a camouflaging dome. They do not want the world to see the progress they made because they had vibranium, the strongest metal in the world. T’Challa rules with his mother Ramonda (Angela Basset) and little sister Shuri (Wright) by his side. Unfortunately, skeletons in the family closet starts to tumble out. Can T’Challa weather the storm?
Black Panther surprises in that it is unapologetically African. We are in Africa for almost 95 per cent of the running time. It is a brave decision because I don’t recall seeing a mainstream Hollywood movie with so little white people. And, make no mistake, it is completely mainstream. It is to Coogler’s credit that you do not feel like you are watching a minority story.
The performances are top-knotch. Boseman is solid. The grace and swagger he brings to his characters reminds one of the West Indian cricketers of yore. Letitia Wright, actually of West Indian origin, assumes the child genius role with a mischievous twinkle. Lupita Nyong’o enters the MCU as Nakia, the one who makes the Black Panther freeze. Danai Gurira, best-known as the kick-ass Michonne from the Walking Dead series, kicks even more ass as the warrior Okoye. Andy Serkis gives a good example of how good an actor he is, even in non-performance-capture.
Then there is Michael B Jordan. He is Ryan Coogler’s alter ego. If Boseman had not already been cast when Coogler came onboard, Jordan would have made a swell Black Panther. Instead, despite the moniker of Killmonger, he brings to life the best villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You almost agree with his beliefs, sympathise with his hardships and pop your eyes out at how ripped he is.
Coogler doesn’t pull any punches. He makes the central theme one of black identity and the two ways to approach it. He even takes on Hollywood clichés and turns it on its head. Martin Freeman plays a character that is totally unnecessary that you initially dismiss it as the Marvel bosses insisting that there should be a little white relief. Then you realise that Freeman is the token minority character that Hollywood puts in every movie and series for the sake of diversity. He even gets to be brave!
There are movies that end up being seminal events, not just in cinematic history, but history, as well. Some movies are ahead of its time and it takes years and massive re-evaluation to reach their pedestal. Some are expected to be that, but the balloon of hyperbole is fast burst. Some films come in with expectations sky high, and meet them. We count ourselves lucky to be alive when that happens. Black Panther is firmly in the latter group. It means a lot to a lot of people. A conversation of race cannot be discounted. But I do not want to lessen its impact just because I do not belong to the race it champions. I know it is the easy way out, but I prefer to look at it as the movie and not the event.
Stan Lee cameo: Stan the rascal. Stealing chips in a casino.
Post-credits scene: The first one is Wakanda opening itself to the world, in the UN no less. And a white guy asks the most insensitive question possible. Trust me, when I say a lot of thought went into this! The second one tells us that the White Wolf is getting ready to get back into action.
The countdown thus far:
23. Thor: Dark World
22. Incredible Hulk
21. Iron Man 2
20. Guardians of the Galaxy 2
19. Avengers: Age of Ultron
18. Antman and the Wasp
17. Iron Man 3
16. Spiderman: Far From Home
15. Ant Man
14. Doctor Strange
13. Captain Marvel
12. Thor
11. Thor: Ragnarok
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