Black Panther (Review/Spoilers)

Hey there beautiful people, so the movie has been out now for 11 days, and there has been time to marinate in most of your minds, so let's talk about BP and what I liked, what I disliked, and what I look forward to. Let's talk about it! So I'll just get this out of the way. I really loved this movie. From the costume designs, to the city views, to the amazing homage to African culture in general, I was blown away by what I was seeing on screen. The visuals were fantastic, but really in this day in age, they kind of better be? There is a movie that makes CGI apes look completely real, you better bring your A game. Now while most of the CGI was good, or at least serviceable, there were a few scenes that looked less polished. I'm not sure as to the why, and it didn't take away from this movie, but in the end, it isn't going to age as well as some more recent films. However, scenes in the "Ancestral Plane" were not only well done, but also dripping in color that as far as I can remember, not really use to seeing. It made it feel unique at a time when we are at like, what? The 18th film? That's pretty impressive. The story, was really, really good. That's the biggest thing you have to take away from the film, it isn't like a lot of other superhero films in the genre, this one isn't about the action, or even having the badass tech that Black Panther has, it's about the characters. With movies like Logan and GotG Vol. 2 focusing less on the action, and more on the characters and how we feel about them, I feel like we are taking a necessary step in which we need to keep superhero movies, a genre that usually has at least 4 a year at this point, if not more, to keep them fresh. That doesn't mean I want every movie to do this, as it waters it down a bit, but it's nice to reflect on different characters through out the movie that you usually wouldn't. Take the movie's villain for instance, Killmonger. The ONLY complaint I have about this guy, and Michael B. Jordan's portrayal of him, is that we didn't see enough of him. Now it's hard to say if more would have been better or worse, but the guy killed it on the screen, and I was focused on this guy every time he was sharing the screen with anyone. He was sympathetic. The VILLAIN. This is how you make a 3D villain that's compelling and intriguing. Killmonger is every black person in America right now screaming out to anyone that will listen. He's the physical embodiment of pain and sorrow. He teaches the lesson, well many lessons, but the biggest lesson that no matter what you think is right, it will still have a reverberating effect around you. King T'Chaka thought he was doing the right thing killing his brother, and saving his friend and family. He thought it would be the end of the ideas his brother had, but his brothers ideals never died with him. Killmonger helped shape T'Challa into a better king, but not in the stereotypical ways. It gave the villain of the movie respect, and Ryan deserves praise for this, as well as MJB for bringing out every emotion in that character. Marvel has been on fire with it's Villains of late, and I think we have all been enjoying that. From GotG Vol. 2 to Spider-Man Homecoming, the villains have been much deeper and more 3D than ever before. I will admit, thought I actually did like this twist, but I was surprised to see them scrap Klaue. But this makes it so really, who knows who the next villain will be now going forward. But if Ryan helms the next movie, I can't wait. But let's talk a little about T'Challa, as I loved his evolution in the film. At first, he seems, almost dull. But the more you really strip back from him, the more you realize, yeah well duh. Dude is a grown ass man, who has been training his whole life to be a king. It's moments like when he sees his father in the AP that you get to peel back some of those layers and see it though. I loved the line he tells his father "It's not that I'm not ready to be King, it's that I'm not ready to live without you" and it hits you that even though it's been like, 2 years for us, this character has only gone on for like a couple weeks at most without his father, who he loved dearly. Father figures are on full display here in this movie, just like they were for GotG Vol. 2, and I think that's one of the biggest reasons I love this film, and GotG so damn much. It's no secret to those who know me, that I love my father very much, but we have had a complicated relationship my whole life. So seeing T'Challa have to deal with living on without his father, as well as see this man who he put on a pedestal for so long, be stripped back and laid bare as someone who has made grave mistakes hits me in a soft spot most Marvel movies only dream of. As much as Killmonger is not only an evolutionary point for our main protagonist, it's also an evolutionary point for T'Chaka as well. Showing us, like I said before, no matter how pure some actions are, they all have their consequences. T'Challa sees this, as well as so much more as the movie goes on, and it's why he makes the decision to step into the lime light at the end of the film. It was truly great seeing this. The rest of the cast brought it with this movie though as well. The female characters in general were all badass in their own way, without being oversexualized, which was great to see. None of them were driven by their loved ones to keep living or fighting, they were driven by their country, their people, or other ideals, and it was refreshing. None of the characters were really all that throw away except the white characters, and I thought it was hilarious. This 95% black cast was not only excellent, but inspiring. I personally loved Okoye and Shuri as well as the two main leads in T'Challa and Killmonger. I also loved the locales for the most part. I have ONE small complaint to this as well and that is that we saw the same street in the most advanced city on the planet like 2-3 times. Now once again, it doesn't detract from the movie overall, it is a small nitpick that is noticeable and I feel should at least be acknowledged. The costume design like I said earlier, was fantastic, for a multitude of reasons. First of course was what I touched on previously and that is that none of the female characters were in completely ridiculous clothing set only to oversexualize that character. But the bigger thing, is I heard that a lot of the design for the different tribes within Wakanda are taken from real tribes in Africa today, and I think that's great. I loved seeing the different types of culture that are all housed under one roof. I think a lot of that in real life is missed because a lot of people have a stereotypical thought of what "Africa" is, and it's usually wrong. The music, a mix of African tribal music, and new/old hip hop was amazing. I'm not a hip hop fan (Big surprise, I know) and yet the music had me jacked the whole movie. It didn't just "fit" with the culture on the screen, it helped personify so much more than that. To use a smallish example of what I mean, look at a movie like CoCo. The music is more important than just to reiterate the culture on the screen, but it helps tell it's own story as well in a way. The music in anything is very, VERY important, and anyone to tell you otherwise, is a damn dirty liar. It doesn't matter if it's a movie, a video game, or a TV show even, getting the right music matters. There were a lot of lessons and themes spread through out the film, I loved how well everything tied together. Like the line Killmonger tells T'Challa about how his dad "told him fairy tales" and how absurd it was that a kid "Growing up in LA believed in fairytales" and you realize things like the narration in the beginning of the film is that of N'Jobu telling young Killmonger of those "fairy tales" and it just makes you think. The biggest thing this movie will do is make you think, long, and hard. There is no greater compliment I can give it. Hell, it took me 10 days to make the review because I just kept going over and over a lot of what happened in the movie. Which leads really into the biggest "negative" the film has, and I would say it's strange pacing. Some say it's bad, but I just say it's off, more so because the movie has a lot to go over, a lot to set up, and a lot it wants to wrap up before the end credits and so that leads to bit of downtime. However, it's also important too, because it is character heavy movie, that we get downtime with the characters, and so it leads to this weird ebb and flow. I feel like it can be tightened up, which is the only reason I am bringing it up. Overall, I really enjoyed the film. I enjoyed the villains, both Klaue and Killmonger. Klaue I didn't even really touch on, but Andy really nailed it with him too. Giving us a small glimpse into why he's been able to evade Wakanda for so long. The main character, T'Challa was really damn good too, showing he can easily hold his own in his own standalone movie. The rest of the cast was so damn good too, each one having their own hopes, ambitions, desires, and weaknesses, and each one of them used to their full potential rather then just being some throw away character. The music was great, the visuals were pretty damn great, the fight scenes were solid. I really enjoyed myself at the packed theater I saw this in, and honestly, I'm thinking about seeing it again. So my final verdict is... 9/10. The pacing issues for me are the one thing that holds it back from being a 10, other than some of the CGI as well. Hopefully with the next one, if Ryan comes back, it tightens up on these two things, and it will easily be a 10 from me. But what did you guys think? Where do you rate this for yourself in the Marvel movies? For me it's actually third. But that's it from me, hopefully this weekend I'll be able to talk in full about Monster Hunter Worlds. The game is fucking massive, and I've put at least 35+ hours into it already. But hopefully I'll have that this weekend, and maybe I'll talk about the travesty that is Konami and it's terrible title Metal Gear Survive. Until next time guys.