Black Panther – 2018
First off, I need to applaud the Academy for nominating a superhero movie for Best Picture. I never actually though it had a chance of winning, but the recognition was significant. This, along with other previous Best Picture nominees like Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015, shows that the academy is starting to recognize more than just war films and dramas. At first, I questioned whether or not the film even deserved its nomination. After all, as superhero movies go, I didn’t see anything that set it above its peers. It was a special effects extravaganza with lots of bright and flashy colors that really popped on the screen. There was lots of action and a bit of drama. There was a cast of competent actors who were very athletic, perfectly appropriate for playing the parts of super-powered humans. But nothing really made it stand out.
That is, until I did a little research and realized that I was wrong. This movie absolutely deserved its nomination, and here’s why. There are many reasons why films are nominated for the Best Picture category. One of them is for their cultural significance, and this one is as relevant to our modern times as any film. It is unfortunate that our society still has issues with racism. Every time I think that we, as a society, are taking steps to move past our terrible treatment towards people of color, I see something new on the news, some new story of blatant prejudice, hatred, or extreme violence.
Superhero movies are currently very popular, and this movie has the distinction of being the first one with a black superhero. First, Black Panther, or Prince / King T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman is a wonderful example of a role model. He embodies everything that is good and virtuous in humanity. He is strong, honest, compassionate, intelligent, and, of course, more than willing to fight for what is good and right. But the film also gave him understandable human flaws to make him more realistic. In other words, the character was very will-written. And the fact that he was incredibly good-looking didn’t hurt either!
Second, Black Panther is a perfect example of a black man playing the lead in a genre that has been overwhelmingly white. And not only was the story good, but the entire cast did a fantastic job. And they were not cast in the stereotypical roles of thugs or criminals, nor were they sad blacksploitation characters. They were the heroes, kicking butt with the best of them! I especially liked Danai Gurira in her role of Okoye, the general of Black Panther’s royal guard. She was awesome!
Anyway, on to the film. The story followed the king of a fictional country called Wakanda as he takes the mantle of ruler following the death of his father. He wants to be a good king and tries to follow the example of his sire, until he finds out the man’s shameful secret, the fact that he was once forced to kill his own brother and leave his nephew behind in Oakland, California, denying him his true heritage. This injustice comes back to haunt T’Challa in the form of his now grown cousin, Erik “Killmonger” Stevens.
Killmonger murders Ulysses Klaue, played by Andy Serkis, the man who killed the former king, in order to manipulate his way back into Wakanda. He then challenges T’Challa to ritual combat for the throne and deposes him, becoming king himself. It is his goal to conquer the rest of the world in retribution for how black people are mistreated. Of course, T’Challa does not actually die, but is healed by the efforts of his sister Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, his girlfriend Nakia, played by Lupita Nyong’o, his mother Ramonda, played by Angela Bassett, and American CIA agent, Everett Ross, played by Martin Freeman. They enlist the aid of a rival tribal chief named M’Baku, played by Winston Duke. To make a long story short, they all fight in a big battle to take back the Wakandan throne. Black panther and Killmonger, both imbued with the mystical power of the Black Panther, and each wearing tech-laden super-suits, fight it out until T’Challa kills his cousin.
The fast-paced action sequences were awesome and exciting to watch. The color pallet and costumes used for the film were inspired by traditional African clothing and tribal patterns. I really liked all the bright, glowing colors and beautiful imagery. Whenever the Black Panther powers were bestowed on a character, via the ingestion of the juice of a glowing purple alien flower, the man’s soul was transported to a twilight world where he could briefly commune with his dead ancestors. Those scenes had beautiful skies that looked like pink, purple, and blue versions of the Northern Lights. In other words, the movie was visually gorgeous!
The casting was spot-on, the acting was good, the cinematography was perfection, and the directing by Ryan Coogler was excellent! It’s just too bad that the Academy, while apparently ready to nominate a superhero movie for Best Picture, was not ready to give it the top prize. I now think that Black Panther really stood out above other superhero movies in one of its overlying messages, which is that those who have, have a moral obligation and duty to help those who have not. It is a good message and one that deserves to be recognized. So, well-done everyone!