There's a line at the end of Black Panther that I haven't been able to get out of my head in the weeks since I first saw the film. At the risk of being too spoiler-y (you will all complain anyway) I'll remove the context, but it goes something like this: "Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, because they knew death was better than bondage."
It's a powerful moment, one that's tragic and beautiful all the same. This is the moment when Marvel, for the first time, finally transcended the superhero genre. Never has a line in a Marvel movie carried this much weight; it's an idea reserved for great literature or essays, for something much bigger than a Hollywood tentpole.
Following his introduction in Captain America: Civil War, the film depicts T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) as he becomes the king of Wakanda (and the titular character) and is charged with defending his nation and its history of isolationism to protect the kingdom's stronghold of vibranium from the rest of the world. This vibranium has kept the African nation protected from racism, colonialism, and the horrors of slavery. But Eric Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), an American with mysterious ties to Wakanda, understands that these resources can be used to help oppressed people around the globe, creating a powerful thematic conflict with the kind of nuance and grace never seen in a superhero movie before.
Taken strictly as an entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Panther is the franchise's most unique yet. The isolated African nation of Wakanda is depicted as a brilliant afrofuturist utopia where proud traditions are as powerful as their advanced and unplundered technology. So badly I want to wander those busy streets, living in harmony among the towering trees and hovering bullet trains. Hell, I'd watch a sitcom set in Wakanda.
But the film is more than just the statements of empowerment found in its setting. The characters are by far the most complex of any in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o plays the revered spy Nakia, bringing her acting chops to heighten what could have been a smaller supporting role. Danai Gurira is a standout as Okoye, the respected leader of Wakanda's all-female warrior class. Angela Bassett and Forrest Whitaker play two of Wakanda's fearless and stoic elders, while Martin Freeman brings comic relief as an outsider to the kingdom—and whose presence threatens the nation's security and secrecy
Relative newcomers Letita Wright and Winston Duke are a commanding presence as Shuri and M'Baku, respectively: Shuri is the young, brilliant tech expert and sister to T'Challa, while M'Baku is the leader of an adversarial Wakandian tribe who proves invaluable when it comes to the ultimate defense of his nation. Even Sterling K. Brown's N'Jobu creates a lasting, tragic presence; his brief minutes of screen time underscores a small, yet pivotal, role.
And when it comes to the two leads, Boseman as Black Panther and Jordan as Erik Killmonger represent the most complex and fascinating hero-adversary dynamic shown in a superhero film in years. Neither is entirely good or entirely bad. One might identify with Jordan's antagonist as much as they would Boseman's villain.
Fittingly, Black Panther is a movie is much bigger than the studio—an achievement long overdue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and tragically rare in Hollywood as a whole. This is a movie that has the opportunity to widen the scope of American storytelling, one that can convince the entire entertainment industry to invest in diverse stories of all types.
This is a massive burden to put on a film of any genre, let alone a superhero movie. But, astoundingly, Black Panther gracefully takes this place in American cinema. It's a film that eloquently embraces challenging ideas and packages them into a visually stunning veneer for mass consumption.
Just about every scene—from the dazzling action pieces, the intricate costumes, and Kendrick Lamar's incredible soundtrack—is pulsing with pride and life. This would be a necessary film at any time, and it is now more than ever, when the message of tearing down walls comes as the U.S. senate officially begins its debate on immigration legislation. As T'Challa learns by the film's end, "The wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers."
(Omoruyi's Review )
1. This movie is creativity and excellence exemplified. Every bit of it - fashion, script, research, special effects, music, acting, character development- worked. By seeing this movie, you're supporting excellence. Plain and simple.
2. If you're Nigerian/African, your heart will be tied in knots in the first few scenes. The movie pays its respects to a terrible tragedy that happened in Nigeria within the last decade. The writers didn't need to use that Nigerian reference... but they did and I respect and thank them for not doing the typical Hollywood thing of trivializing African history.
3. The image below has everything to do with this movie. For non-Nigerians, the image is the mask of Queen Idia, a famous historical figure of the Edo people of Southern Nigeria. Again, the writers paid homage to not just Nigerian historical icons but a few more from other African cultures... and did so with respect.
4. Architectural influences from Mali, fashion influences from East, West, North and South Africa, geographical landscapes to elicit wanderlust, Black Panther delivers on all of them and challenges Hollywood to a higher standard when it comes to depictions of (and references to) Africa. Again, well done to the writers and researchers.
5. Final reason? Integrity. This movie has artistic integrity. Black Panther is not an African film - it never claims to be. It is not a 'film about Africa' - the producers would have dug a hole for themselves if they had tried to do that. Rather, this film is about paying homage to a continent and its history, its wealth and its traditions, its people and their potential.
Is it perfect? No movie ever is. The accents for instance (Chadwick Boseman I'm looking at you and that Mandela thing you were trying to do) - but overall most of the cast did a decent job. Wakanda street scenes lacked depth but that's perhaps something we might see developed better in the next one.
Comic books are often power fantasies, and Black Panther is the biggest, boldest one yet to make the transition to movies. This is a pulp-fiction dream to move and inspire not merely lonely or unappreciated individuals but entire cultures, entire peoples. I know that I, as a white person, cannot truly imagine what it must be like to be a black person looking at Black Panther and feeling the pride and possibility that it represents… but I think I feel some of that. I’m not a black woman who doesn’t get many opportunities to see women who look like me onscreen… but I sure as hell do love how many awesome black women characters populate Black Pather, as warriors, scientists, spies, and queens. I’m not trying to claim representation that is not mine as my own, or anything like that. I just mean this: Black people have had to try to see themselves in movies about white people since forever, if they wanted to take any entertainment from most movies, that is. The least we white people can do is return the favor.
It’s not like that’s at all difficult with Black Panther! This is a profoundly, powerfully badass exploration of all the things we love comic book stories for. As T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman: Gods of Egypt, Get on Up) takes up the mantle of leadership of his people, he makes discoveries about his father, King T’Chaka (John Kani: The Ghost and the Darkness) — he was killed in a terrorist attack at the end of Civil War but is seen in flashbacks and in visions of the afterlife — and about his family that involve secrets and betrayals and abandonments. It’s all positively Shakespearean. The personal challenge and upset that come with all of that are connected to the dilemmas T’Challa is facing now that Wakanda has taken an inadvertent step onto the world stage after having kept itself isolated for so long. Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Jungle Book), spy and foreign operative for Wakanda whom T’Challa is in love with, is eager to use the nation’s resources to help their African brothers and sisters, in Africa and beyond; our introduction to her comes in a sequence in which she rescues girls who have been kidnapped by, the film suggests but doesn’t make explicit, Boko Haram. But T’Challa’s friend and confidante W’Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya: Get Out, Sicario) worries about Wakanda being overrun with refugees, who would bring big problems and discord with them, if they were to open their borders and let their wealth and capabilities be widely known. In the middle is T’Challa’s genius little sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright: The Commuter, Urban Hymn), who is responsible for much of Wakanda’s high tech, including his newly more powerful Black Panther suit; she doesn’t seem to have much in the way of political opinions, but her toys are what make possible much of what Wakanda has to offer the world.
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