I waited to
see it because I was concerned that it would be a bash the evil white man extravaganza
like Avatar and I swore I would never watch one of those again.
When it became
apparent that Black Panther wasn’t one, I decided to put my money where my
mouth was and give it a look.
I’ll admit
there was a bit of culture shock in the beginning. It’s a real African based
movie, with African dancing, music, and
clothing (to some extent) which is fine as long as they get to the story amid
the cultural unfurling.
As with all origin stories, it’s a little slow at first because you must bring the
viewer up to speed as to the who, what, when, where, and whys. And that’s done
at a reasonable clip
But here’s where I have a problem (there are
possible spoilers ahead so if you haven’t already seen it…) It’s what I call
the Popeye syndrome.
It’s where
the hero is getting the tar beat out of him and would likely die from his
wounds, when all of a sudden, the villain mentions the hero’s girlfriend, and remarkably,
the hero springs back to life and beats the bad guy ala the original Spiderman movie with Toby Mcguire. And in every Popeye
cartoon ever made.
One of the reasons I was convinced to see
Black Panther is because all the reviews said how remarkable it was, how
different, how groundbreaking.
It’s not.
It’s a very good action movie with a talented
cast and a good script. The pacing is sharp, the scenery often breath-taking,
and the tech eye-catching. It is different in the fact that it presents Wakanda
as a country with an advanced culture hidden in central
Africa. The men and women are highly educated, courageous, honorable and free.
Overall a very positive portrayal of black
people. Even the bad guys turn out to be men of honor and the women courageous
and true.
As for the Black Panther, as an action hero, he certainly holds his own. And in the
Marvel tradition, the movie has a few
laughs amid the adventure.
The one
draw-back was the Knight-of-old personality of T’Challa, the story’s hero.
He’s
a man who must do his duty, be strong, valiant, true and forthright. And he
does! But we never get to really know the guy. Not once does he show human failings. And that paints him as a little too
regal.
I rate it a
B+ and if you’re a fan of Marvel movies you won’t be disappointed.
Ignore all
the white liberal nonsense about this movie being the groundbreaking
extravaganza and the best Marvel movie to date. It isn’t. The Avengers movie
was and still is.
Good job
though. The Black Panther has certainly earned his way into Marvel’s A-list heroes.
