After the tragic death of Chadwick, had thought about watching his movies and this one comes to my mind. This review is my tribute to Chadwick.
This is one of my most favorite films in MCU. This is one of the best films in MCU when it comes to storytelling. The biggest strength of this movie is the characters and their motivations. The outline of the story looks like a throne fight between two brothers but inside it is more than you think.
Chadwick stars as the titular character and fits that role perfectly. As a king, he chooses what is best for his people and also the world but he is the same king as previous kings in Wakanda. Everything changes when the killmonger arrives.
Both Hero and villain journey are more than interesting. The film respects African people and their culture, history. This is one of the MCU movies with a lot of female characters and justifies them. Black Panther is a triumph of universal appeal and demographic specificity.
The film is comparatively light on action, and the pacing occasionally stumbles in the back half, but the sharp character work and rich production design make up for nitpicks here and there. And when the action does arrive, it is brutal and to the point, with a second-act car chase combining real-world action with Wakandian technology that I could watch on a loop for hours on end.
The first act is dedicated to setting up the world of Wakanda (an isolated nation shielded from the outside world and powered by otherworldly technology and arguably a What if Africa had never been colonized fantasy) and T'Challa's from prince to king coronation process.
After we get a real introduction to our key villain (Michael B. Jordan) that we really get down to business. The movie asks knotty questions about reaching out to help those like you who have been persecuted, even if you yourself have escaped the world's subjugation and thrived by virtue of your invisibility. In a time of great social and political upheaval, the question of how much allies should be expected to sacrifice even if the rot hasn't personally affected them yet may be the defining moral question of our time.
The film keeps its righteous anger mostly in the hands of its villain, and it works as a rousing superhero adventure for kids who want to see a black superhero doing the superhero thing. But it is still refreshing to see a Walt Disney superhero movie taking for granted that America is intrinsically detrimental to black lives.
Black Panther is a fine stand-alone action drama that deals with the consequences of a modern civilization made possible by widespread colonization.
The cinematography also very neat and the visuals were stunning. The ancestral plane sequences were top notch. The first fight between Tchalla and kill monger is well choreographed the end fight is full of CGI. The production design and costumes perfectly suited the African nation. The musical score is one of the biggest elements in this film. Salutes to Ryan coogler for this Marvelous movie.
Thanks for giving one of the unforgettable heroic role #RIPCHADWICKBOSEMAH.
