I feel very unqualified to write this post. This is a character that has meant a lot to a lot of people, and I’m not the person to properly express that. But if you wanna get an idea of that, go see this movie opening weekend with a full house. The audience experience is incredible, and unlike any other I’ve felt. I’ve seen some of the most emotional Stardust posts too. That said, we know I at least feel qualified to talk about this from an average filmgoer’s perspective, so let’s at least get into that shall we? And I think I’ll skip over the usual plot summary.
Something I love about Marvel is how they can take the same formula and still make it feel like something completely new. I think a lot of that has to do with their willingness to bring in new directors and new voices. The overall vision is more about story and characters than look and feel, and directors are given fairly free reign. For that reason, Ryan Coogler was certainly a bit part of what made Black Panther a winner.
The way a Stardust friend described it, Black Panther’s country of Wakanda was practically its own character. It was so beautiful, not just aesthetically, but culturally. Everyone involved in the production design wove African culture into every fiber of the film to create this new but grounded world and it was stunning.
I think for me, though, the cast was the film’s greatest strength. Chadwick Boseman was truly regal with his refined strength and restraint. But his adversary Michael B Jordan, OH MY GOD, absolutely in the running for best Marvel villain (sorry Loki). A baddie with real motivation and a noble (if misguided) cause? Yesssssss
But this isn’t all a boys show. Oh no. This film featured some of the absolute strongest ladies that we’ve seen thus far in the MCU. Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and a scene stealing Letitia Wright (yeah nerd girl!) were everything.
I love that this is the direction Marvel is taking to shake things up, and I’m even more excited to go into Infinity War knowing we have some of these amazing people on deck. I’m kneeling before the King of Wakanda.
Black Panther – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/