MOVIE REVIEW | Black Panther
Making a Superhero:
Daring person who puts on tights and mask to retrieve grandmothers gripped handbags, thwart bank robberies and make his uncle or butler proud.
Overpowered creatures of magical, extraterrestrial, or "divine" origins who save the world from colossal threats, and whose mother is probably called Martha.
Cinema Experiments by Marvel, who hunt the old-fashioned superhero ideas properly through the washing machine drum. Black Panther is one of them.
As a superhero blockbuster, Black Panther begins like a classic Origin story, but then suddenly throws loads of James Bond elements into the pot, only to be completely sci-fi in the second half of the movie. Drama to drift off.
Although not entirely free from the predictability of many superhero films. At no point does he leave the shallow fields of popcorn entertainment. But heaps of fresh ideas make it nevertheless a varied and entertaining movie experience, which opens up an independent cosmos around his heroism. So independent that sometimes the support cast gets more prominent than Black Panther itself.
T’CHALLA WHO?
But the basic idea of Black Panther is already wonderfully absurd: Title hero T'Challa represents as a prince the fictional African kingdom Wakanda. After his father was killed in an assassination in Captain America: Civil War, the young man is to be crowned king in a mystical ritual duel against other tribes.
But where the rest of the world sees Wakanda "merely" as a developing country, the inhabitants of the country know its true nature: behind an invisible hologram wall in the middle of Africa hides a high-tech state with spaceships and laser weapons.
T'Challa himself is not just a prince, but was fed a magical berry that gives him superpowers similar to Captain America’s.
In addition, like Batman, he wears a high-tech suit that can be completely concealed in a necklace. No joke. If we throw rhinoceros, ghost worlds, a Dutch arms dealer, and the CIA into the room, you'll hopefully get a vague idea of what a crazy tour this movie is about.
THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS OF BLACK PANTHER
Black Panther's journey does not quite reach the wacky genius of the two "Guardians of the Galaxy" films, but relies on similar virtues: Especially the first half of the film is wonderfully varied, acts in part like a James Bond movie convinces with great choreographed fighting. It not only stands out T'Challa, but also his team.
The Wakand prince is supported by his bodyguard, a spy, and his brilliant engineering sister. The film takes a lot of time for its minor characters and the unconventional world in which it takes place. This has advantages and disadvantages.
The stronger the secondary characters, villains and scenes move into the center, the further T'Challa wanders out of the limelight. As a result, other Marvel heroes have much more intriguing inner conflicts to face. T'Challa does not mature as much as Doctor Strange, Spider-Man or Ant Man.
Personal relationships, love stories, maturity of character - these things are theoretically available, but in the explosive practice are quite under the table.
THIS IS CINEMA-WORLDBUILDING
But around T'Challa, a really exciting world is emerging. Precisely because the idea of a secret African sci-fi state seems so crazy, that i think it's an immense achievement, how comprehensible Wakanda is in its complete structure. By the way, much more than Asgard in the Thor movies. Black Panther runs diligent and really successful Worldbuilding.
As a viewer, you build a relationship with the great side characters and locations. In my opinion, one could have relinquished one or two characters in order to expand the rest, but overall we get a very clear idea of what is at stake here. And that creates a closeness to what many have just missed in Thor 3.
As a bystander, however, this commitment to the action is needed, as in the second half Black Panther becomes much more predictable than in the wilder "James Bond sections." As a result, the film loses its tempo and tension, in some scenes you just wait for the end of events, because you know what happens anyway.
IDENTITY INSTEAD OF SLAPSTICK
That sounds worse now than it is: The finale may be predictable, but here we are still talking about a brilliantly staged effect spectacle. In addition to the images and actors throughout the film, which are well-received by all means, the soundtrack shines through various pieces.
Black Panther breaks expectations at the right spots. Instead of the one-dimensional comic-relief sidekicks of a Spider-Man, Doctor Strange or Ant Man, the film creates a stable ensemble of figures for future trips to Wakanda. “Fundamental” is generally the main setting of the film.
Black Panther liberates itself from the dumb humour of a Thor 3, instead making a rather serious attempt to convince with charm, strong characters, a wacky world and an exciting foundation for a stand-alone Wakanda Marvel. And this attempt succeeds - with deductions in the category predictability.
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