Black Panther

The success track record of black superhero film adaptations up until this point has been incredibly embarrassing (with Blade being the exception). During this comic book movie renaissance/over-saturation, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been rather sparse in the diverse leads area as their African American characters (such as Falcon and War Machine) being relegated to standard uninteresting support. But when Captain American: Civil War arrived, it debuted two new heroes for their solo films, Spider-Man (who went through his standard Homecoming) and Black Panther. The latter became my favorite not only for the actors performance but for his character arc, which brings us to this point. He has been portrayed in animated media such as The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and direct to DVD features, where he has been a pretty interesting figure (especially in the former). It has taken the MCU 18 movies and 10 years to reach this kind of adaptation where the director of Creed is helming this largely black casted feature AND releasing it in February (Black History Month, which I'm sure is no coincidence at all). The marketing brought in massive hype and the critical praises have been positive, but whether it was a mediocre Marvel film or something unique had to be determined. I entered the auditorium hoping for a fresh entry from this overlong franchise and left it glad that I saw it (though it's not the masterpiece people are claiming it to be).

Note: There is a spoiler section of this film is below the non-spoiler section with the pros and cons about certain events and characters. If you are curious about my spoiler thoughts on Black Panther, scroll down to that section.

Plot: Following the death of his father, this conflict finds our titular lead wrestling with how his actions affects his people as a newly established king while grappling against an adversary with nefarious intentions. As a whole, the story itself has a mixed execution in terms of the pacing and content. On the positive side of things, it's very refreshing being in a different culture where sovereignty and cultural impact are taken into account for a main protagonist instead of being mostly generic go from point A to B stopping the world ending scenario. The political subtext involved is very relevant to modern times and helps the film standout for the right reasons. It's cultural significance lends itself to a simple but captivating moral message that's handled in a respectful manner. It does a solid effort in showcasing the bonds between its leads and supporting characters in allowing them opportunities to shine. With a lot of these elements combined, it doesn't feel like a studio property at all, which is greatly refreshing at times.

All of that praise being said, however, there's one thing to keep in mind: that Marvel Studio logo and all of the predictable troupes that holding the story down. There's a flashback sequence involved showing an event that holds significance for the main arc that goes where you would expect, which has been done many times before. The first act is noticeably weak in its duties of exposition set-up and slow pacing before things pick up in the second act. In my past Marvel reviews, the humor issue has been brought up and while its presence here is noticeable, thankfully they keep it contained (though it would have been appreciated to have kept out two or three of those quirks out of it for better dramatic weight). The action is kept to a slight minimum (at least by Marvel standards), which is a good choice in order to let the scope of the situation flourish. The ending, however, is rather rushed in a third act that's underwhelming in comparison to everything else. It's also been rumored that 4 hours of the film had been shot and since this theatrical run was trimmed down to 2 hours and 15 minutes, as a result some characters choices are pretty sudden without much reason being given.

Visuals/Environment: The best thing going for Black Panther is the design and color style of Wakanda. The clothing the citizens are wearing such as representatives from the other tribes are pretty vibrant for that type of culture with different patterns and color assortments. Considering how technologically advanced the country is, certain places and rooms visited are interesting to look at.

Action: The fights have some variety to them in terms of the terrain being utilized, number of combatants, and weapon styles. The best ones are those that stray away from what's expected from the studio in question. Most of them are range from one on one matchups down to a neat looking car chase. The state of urgency and limitations in those are worth watching based on their impact on the main conflict. Something worth noting is that the transition between the environments of Captain America Civil War and this entry film affect how T'Challa battles going from tough but great fight choreography from before down to him becoming a CGI video game character where physics and weight of attacks aren't taken into consideration. A dishonorable mention goes to the climax in the third act where it becomes down played by large group fights with CGI going off like crazy, which clashes against the strong care put into the previous action scenes.

Characters: The people to focus on are T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and Eric Kilmonger (Michael B Jordan). T'Challa is the king of Wakanda who undergoes his a journey in deciding what's best for his people while trying to thwart an upcoming threat. Chadwick gives a good performance as this stoic titular lead who learns how to move forward with the world, though it's rather fascinating how incredibly mellow and rather uninteresting than the rest of the characters). Eric is a US black ops soldier whose backstory and motivations propel him into a conflict with T'Challa and the old Wakanda traditions. Michael is solid in this role to the point where his presence enhances the quality of the film, though it should be noted that his screen time is limited by Marvel formula.

Honorable mentions go to Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Shuri (Letitia Wright). Both of these women are distinct enough in their personalities and mindsets, in addition to their respective positions (the head of an all female special forces of Wakanda and T'Challa's tech-genius sister/princess of Wakanda) that help liven up the entertainment. Anyone battling the former when she's wielding any sharp weapons will immediately regret their life choices while the latter is a delight to watch as she brings some nice doses of comic relief while giving Tony Stark a run for his money with her incredible scientific talent.
Lord of the Rings honorable mentions goes to Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) and Everett K Ross (Martin Freeman) with the former being clever but a bit too cartoon-ish considering the environment while the latter is fine enough with the doses of his usage, though the Marvel troupe of awkward silence is rather tiresome and he seems pretty unnecessary here.

Overall Consensus: Black Panther is an entertaining culturally important film with solid performances, a good moral message, strong production design and soundtrack, and a well-written antagonist. ⭑⭑⭑1/2🎟 Runtime: 2 hours 13 minutes PG-13

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You want to see how the story of the titular protagonist continues after his debut in Captain America Civil War. You aren't annoyed with the Marvel formula. You are interested in this rare opportunity of a black superhero movie with a largely African American cast and director being released in Black History Month. You like solid villains given a good script. You enjoy culturally significant films with a good moral message and great set design.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You aren't interested in how the story of the titular protagonist continues after his debut in Captain America Civil War. You annoyed with the Marvel formula and superhero films. You dislike underwhelming CGI heavy climaxes and actions scenes. You don't like seeing the titular protagonist as the least interesting character being overshadowed by everyone else.

Coming up next: We're halfway through February Frenzy with Black Panther providing audiences that experience and subtext that was needed for its own genre. With the end of the month at hand, there's going to be a double review special to finish it off before the onslaught of March release arrive. One of which follows a female research group examining a weird science fiction phenomenon going on, while the other takes place during the prehistoric ages in a stop-motion clay animated film. Tune in next time as Screening Spectacles will be taking a look at Annihilation and Early Man!!!

Spoilers!!!!

Spoilers!!!!

LAST SPOILER WARNING!!!

• Pros:
• T'Challa's 3 'Bond Women": As mentions before, the surprising highlights are 3 key supporting leads who outshine our main lead: Okoye, Shuri, and Nakia. 
• Okoye has a strong screen presence in how much respect she has for T'Challa while following the custom rules of Wakanda. One great example is where Kilmonger wins the ritual fight but when it turns out T'Challa survived the encounter (technically still king) and Eric invalidates his claim to the throne by refusing to comply in complete the challenge, she manages to turn the situation in her favor by leading the Dora Milaje against him. She manages to have a few humor moments like when trying to stay undercover in the casino. And her tendency to threaten to kill people is entertaining. Her action scenes are even better than T'Challa's considering her weapon prowess.
• Shuri is very delightful in her youthful endearing spunk where everyone else around her tends to be stoic and serious. Her enthusiasm towards her latest creations is sweet to watch. One favorite moment is when she dubs her silent shoe invention 'sneakers'... (you know you laughed at that too, admit it). She does a great accomplishment in letting the king smile and emote in their interactions. She even participates in the battle on the field during the climax. 
• Nakia is the least impressive among them but isn't without her strengths. If we're following the 'Bond troupes', then while Okoye is the strong brawler and Shuri is the smarts tech genius, Nakia is the undercover spy who isn't afraid to fight for what's right for Wakanda such as when she took one of the flowers needed for the animal senses of a Black Panther before the rest were set on fire and when she fought alongside the Dora Milaje against Kilmongers insurrection. What holds her back a bit in comparison to Shuri and Okoye is the somewhat lacking romance angle with T'Challa but in comparison to the other MCU 'attempted romantic couples' it's among the least dragging.
• The Casino and car chase sequence: Following a lead that Klaue is going to do a deal with the CIA, T'Challa, Nakia, and Okoye leave to try and capture the former at the a casino in South Korea. However, inevitably a fight breaks out where we get to see Okoye shine strong in action while T'Challa breaks out his claws in a neat one shot-esque battle. Of course since this is a two hour superhero flick, it extends out to a cool car chase where Shuri helps with one of her devices. Watching this take place is a treat to watch, despite CGI Black Panther feeling more like a video game character you won't feel scared for. 
• Eric Kilmonger as a solid villain: One of the biggest reasons for the films positive reception (aside from the production design) has been leaning toward the direction of its central antagonist, Eric Kilmonger. The solid script he was given shows the effort put into making him one of the best MCU villains (though not the best, Kilgrave from Jessica Jones is still #1). He calls out Wakanda for sitting comfortably in its own wealth and advancements while he's experienced how harsh the world has it without their aid. Of course his intent with taking over the country is taken to an extreme following the Trump rules of burning everything to the ground. While it's sad he was written to die, the manner in which he went out was very fitting: being taken to watch the sunset in Wakanda after hearing his own father talk about it and refusing health treatment, instead choosing to die a free man.
• The moral message: The political subtext here is pretty good in how it's presented from the exposition bits. Whether Wakanda should keep their old traditions of keeping their technologically advanced aid to themselves while the world outside of them suffers through limited resources or decide to actually move to become better by offering assistance to poverty stricken regions. It was fascinating to see those conversations between various people such as Nekia and Okoye, T'Challa and his counsel, and most notably Kilmonger. Even T'Challa visits the past kings in the spirit plane and calls them out on keeping to themselves instead of helping other nations (to the point of striving to lead Wakanda in a different way). 
• M'baku (Winston Duke): For a leader of the rival Jabari tribe who challenge T'Challa for the throne in a ritual fight during the first act, it was a pleasant surprise to see him pop up in the third act when the anti-Kilmonger crew went to ask him for his aid. For someone whose ideologies clashes with Wakanda, he has a good sense of honor by saving T'Challa's life following his defeat by Kilmonger (returning the favor after being spared from death by the former after yielding the ritual fight to him). The humor used with him is both charming and restrained enough to enjoy his character. Of course it was predictable that he would help, since the trailers showed him during that climax and it will be nice to see him appear during Infinity War. Also it's great not calling him by his other name, Man-Ape, which would have been a little weird to have here.
• The remote control devices: One of the main vibranium devices that was a personal favorite was Shuri's remote control simulator. It's used sparingly between a car chase and a ship cruiser. While watching them in action, it reminded me of those similar space pods used by the Sovereign in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.
• Cons:
• The third act climax: Compared to the quality of the rest of the film, one of the noticeably weaker aspect is that standard MCU climax. From CGI characters fighting each other down, rhinos charging in, and a bland piloting the ship to destroy the other cargo ships. 
• The past coming back to haunt you: One element from the MCU that comes back here is the troupe of events of the past that might yield an offspring that returns for vengeance. This has been utilized before such as in Iron Man 2, 3, Ant-Man, Thor: Ragnarok, and here is no exception. T'Chaka (T'Challa's late father) learned about N'Jobu, his brother and Eric Kilmongers father, traitorous dealings with Klaue, in addition to his ambition in sharing Wakanda's advance technology with African descent citizens to fight off oppression. T'Chaka ends up killing him when N'Jobu tried killing the undercover spy Zuri and left Eric to maintain a lie about the incident. This plot point was predictable and easy to call right away.  
• Downgrading T'Challa's fighting skills from Civil War: The transition from his debut to this entry in terms of his fight scenes is rather jarring. When he first arrived on the big screen, his fighting prowess was very tough and skillful in terms of fight choreography. However, with the CGI being used here, he appears more as a video game character with the physics losing its value and sense of tension being lost. Of course it gets ridiculous in his final battle with Kilmonger, CGI vs CGI.
• T'Challa being overshadowed: For as great as he was in Civil War, it appears to have lost his charisma a bit when he's king. The writing and directing seemed to steer our titular protagonist to be in such a mellow personality that the only times he seems to break this are his delightful exchanges with Shuri and his "I'M YOUR KING!" eruption. His own arc tends to repeat some elements of thinking about his father, which can get old quick (making everyone else feel refreshing as a result). If any Dark Knight comparison must be made, it's that the villain makes such a strong impression to the point where the lead hero is heavily overlooked. But again, T'Challa isn't without his badass moments as well, such as his fight with M'Baku.
• Everett Ross: While he's needed for that Civil War reference connection, having him here is mixed. Outside of his encounter with Klaue, he doesn't interact with T'Challa at all (an argument can be made for his talks with Shuri), is delegated to the "what is that? What does that do?" troupe, and he's used to drag out the already lackluster climax.
• W'Kabu (Daniel Kaluuya): The only reason he's being brought up is how abrupt his decision was in switching allegiances from T'Challa to Kilmonger. He doesn't have much screen time and had the movie been a little longer, perhaps some of that added footage could have added more in order to justify his betrayal. It was predictable that he would do what he did but the execution is rushed and pretty weak.
• Killing off Kilmonger: There are very few MCU villains who aren't killed off (such as Justin Hammer and Vulture) and it was a shame that the writing chose to kill off a main antagonist instead of letting him live and develop a dynamic for a second entry. With how Spider-Man Homecoming didn't kill their villain, it would have been good for this to follow suit but unfortunately Kilmonger's Marvel health insurance faltered on him in the end. However, major credit is deserved to the way in which he chose to go out, notably his last words.. 
• Limited areas of Wakanda: For the build up of how technologically advanced and culturally rich the country is, it's rather restricted to the throne room, Shuri's tech lab station, the ritual sight, and that same street road being used a lot. Sort of that quality over quantity approach but it's possible an extra area or two could have been left in the deleted scenes section. The way the theatrical cut is edited, it appeared that they didn't have many Wakanda locations to shoot with the other areas and CGI budget needed for other matters.