Black Panther (2018)

 
I'm a Marvel guy. No matter how good the competition gets or no matter old I'll get, Marvel, whether it be games, comics or movies will always hold a special place in my heart. Up to about recently though sometime while I was in college, I came across one hero that was a cut above the rest even with his mainstream portrayals being kept at a minimum. Think about it, who's the richest person in the marvel universe with the intellect to put it to good work? Which hero held the infinity gauntlet and for a time with it became Marvel's most powerful hero? That's right, it isn't iron man, it's the king of Wakanda himself Black Panther.

Possible spoilers maybe

Before I go on with this review, let's talk a bit more about T'Challa (Black Panther) lore. First appearing in Captain America: Civil War, the Black Panther was originally portrayed as a sovereign from Wakanda. Now Wakanda is a fictional nation by Marvel located in Africa but unlike the other civilizations of Africa portrayed by the media, is one of the most advanced civilizations in the world. It holds the world's vibranium supply with these being touched on in the movie. What's vibranium you ask? It's only the strongest metal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (up until they introduce adamantium maybe) with one of its noteworthy products being captain america's shield. The shield that took a blow from Mjolnir, bounces around like crazy and survives blows from the Hulk (and damage from Wolverine's claws in the future) is made of the thing the Black Panther's whole nation stands on.

Here's what the film revolves around. Thankfully due to some trailers it's kinda hard to actually spoil anything without giving away every single detail. The nation is in mourning over the death of its sovereign. Supposedly the next of kin for the previous king would go unopposed but not every situation pans out like that. Apparently a betrayal of the nation had taken place in the past leading to some backstabbing and murder. An usurpation of authority takes place with the help of old friends and new. The rightful ruler reclaims his place on the throne and all is now in place for the myriad of sequels and appearances to come. You know what movie's plot that is?

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That's right. It's the Lion King.

All jokes aside though, the Black Panther film asides from being cat related an produced by Disney is a film with a straightforward plot similar to the Lion King. The characters were wonderfully fleshed out with Shuri being to T'Challa as Jarvis/Veronica is to Tony Stark. Remembering that the Black Panther is an actual monarch each moment in the film oozes sovereignty. The way he speaks, the way he acts, each moment he would have dialogue, you can sense the ruler in him coming out little by little.

You vs the guy she tells you not to worry about

It's a marvel film though, so it's not really that hard to expect for its quality to be more than above
average. But let's talk culture. The film feels like a fun introduction to African culture. The colors, the accents, the customs and the fashion, everything comes out in full force while watching the film. There isn't any discrimination at all. The elders even had various traits that show that it's not right to generalize the African nature as there are multiple tribes which follow different customs and beliefs. This film is how you highlight a country's heritage without too much editing for the masses. It felt so culturally sensitive that if I were to compare it to some of or TV series here in the PH, what we offer is so laughable sometimes.

I'd love to give the film a higher score, I really would but when it boils down to it, Marvel spoiled its fanbase so hard that it would feel like giving an introduction out of nowhere or spacing the films so close to each other feels so futile sometimes. Spiderman Homecoming had an okay rating from me because it didn't go back to the beginning because the MCU is so far in terms of its storylines. Everybody knows how Spiderman became Spiderman but telling it the 3rd time feels so redundant but you know what they did? They added some of the current elements already established in the MCU like with Tony Stark and didn't build the film around it but still kept the spotlight on Spiderman. Black Panther's story hasn't been told as much though so its understandable that the spotlight had to solely be on him but a few cameos would've helped the film so much. Even a quick flashback showing the other Avengers would've been good enough considering how the pacing for this film felt slow at times making it feel like your usual Negro crime film with the backstabbing and all instead of the superhero film it is meant to be. Touching up on the scheduling concerns, we have to remember that the film is literally sandwiched in between multiple MCU films. It's only February right now and Avengers is just around the corner. Being the Avengers and all, it's understandable that the promotions would go more in favor of the Avengers but the trailer kept showing a fight in Wakanda leaving no more secrets to be found in Black Panther. There weren't any stakes left for T'Challa because we see him fighting with the Avengers and with his people. I know there's always this dramatic fight scene that needs to be included in the trailer, but c'mon give something that won't spoil the film directly before it.

A celebration of African heritage and superheroics but a victim of its scheduling and Marvel spoiling us, the Black Panther is a good film that doesn't feel necessary when going straight to the infinity war film. Definitely hindered by its screening date, still a good film all the same. If it were shown  at another time it's rating could've been higher but even fans get tired sometimes too.

7/10 watch it or not it's alright because right now we're all on the hype train heading to Avengers: Infinity War

Choo Choo