Does the Black Panther movie live up to the hype? The answer is, as much as any other Marvel movie with the possible exception of the second Thor.
This current installment of the Marvel franchise felt a wee bit overhyped. Typically, that turns me off of a movie. Forest Gump, Sliver and a few other blockbusters I refused to see because they were so overhyped, I felt the marketing was pushy. Some of the reviews stated things that I new couldn’t possibly be true. The talk of a “game changer”.
It’s pretty much a standard Marvel movie. It’s well executed, has a solid cast and ties into the other movies. Sargon of Akkad thought that the government of Wakanda was too primitive to match its advanced technology. I have to admit, that part is somewhat true. There’s no real explanation given as to why Wakanda can do all these awesome things, but still suffers from tribal politics and living under a benevolent monarchy. The plot of the movie actually points out the inherent weakness, in that, if your monarch isn’t so good, you’re in trouble!
Within the Marvel Universe and the movie, it can be forgiven somewhat because the characters are aspiring to be good and do the right thing. The inherent weakness of the comic is, if Black Panther actually shared all his advanced technology with the world, it would change the world too much. Then future issues of Black Panther wouldn’t be relateable because then you would have to deal with the new problems that arise AFTER you fix the ones the audience deals with. What happens in comics, basically, is that the old problems never really get solved. Batman can’t catch all the villains or what would Batman do? If Wakanda actually lifts every black person out of poverty, then what the Hell is the story about? You can only drag it out in the comic, but in the movie you can provide closure and hope, which is what basically happens at the end.
The plot centers around the crown of Wakanda and who will wear it. The whole cool part of the comic was the idea of a superhero king. The court politics are the strongest parts of the movie. The weakest are the white characters. Andy Serkis is a 2D villain in the maniac vein. Martin Freeman is just sort of there as the token white friend. He’s not really needed. I think the movie probably would’ve been better served by exploring the background of Killmonger, who has a horrible villain name, but a solid performance by Michael B. Jordan.
Chadwick Boseman is a solid lead and they surround him with interesting characters. Only his sister is kind of annoying, but she’s kind of supposed to be that way. How and why Wakanda works is never really explored, but it’s not all that important to a Marvel movie. The major plot points were personal enough to feel weighty. Not sure how they’re going to top that for a sequel, but the writers left enough room and built a solid enough world to explore.
Solid entry in the Marvel line up. Don’t let the overhype make you miss it. I give it a 7.5 out of 10 keggers. (Two after credit scenes, btw.)
