Black Panther (2018)

Comic book films have begun to vary quite a bit in the past couple of years. Deadpool opened the doors to R-ratings in the genre, Logan showed how emotionally compelling and tonally focused those films can be, and Wonder Woman brought a strong female presence to the genre for the first time.

In Black Panther, we have yet another drastic change; this time, though, it is to more than just the superhero genre. Sure, we do finally have a properly fleshed-out black superhero; but the bigger thing here is the subtext. There is so much to this film’s major themes that make it one of the timeliest comic book films ever made.

This is rooted in the film’s villain Killmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan. Besides Jordan’s great performance, this is a highly and uniquely motivated villain. His core motivation is to flip the narrative of blacks worldwide and to leverage Wakanda’s (the African nation at play) premier technology to do so. He wants to oppress their oppressors and demand restitution for all the hardship they have suffered; he wants to upend and break the system.

T’Challa, the king of Wakanda and the Black Panther, opposes this view; he sees an outside world that would bring violence and greed to Wakanda if they found out about their true riches, which they have kept hidden for their entire existence. His role is one of conflict over whether or not his nation can be great if they refuse to help those outside their own borders due to a desire for self-preservation. It’s not an unjustified position at all, especially if you know what he experienced in Civil War. He and Killmonger ask us the audience incredibly hard questions about how we confront the harsh realities and oppression this world dishes to some and mercifully spares others.

Outside of the themes, Black Panther is an excellent film. Director Ryan Coogler has done an excellent job maintaining the film’s unique African influence constantly while also feeling in touch with the current films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.        Ludwig Göransson’s score does this really well, blending traditional orchestral elements with samples of Kendrick Lamar’s recent soundtrack album while also not letting musical influences from the film’s African setting disappear in the mix. The performances are incredibly good all around to the point where pointing out the highlights would literally be me listing the names of every actor listed on the film’s poster. The film’s plot on the whole also skews to the Shakespearean, echoing themes and story beats of Hamlet quite often. There’s very little out of place in Black Panther, showing that its cinematic side is every bit as good as its thematic.

I was not expecting Black Panther to be as thought-provoking as it was or even in the ways it was, and for me that is what made it such a cool experience. There’s little to no Marvel formula present here; it feels like Coogler and the rest of the production team were allowed to go off the beaten path to make a truly great film with flaws few and far between. There has not been a comic book film quite as poignant and timely as Black Panther either, and its ability to be so deep and still so entertaining is a feat worth taking in.

My recommendation: You need to see this movie.

My grade: 90/100