My family and I saw Black Panther in 2D IMAX (real) on Saturday. I think I waited so long to write the review in hopes of convincing myself that I liked the movie more than I did.
Although I love 2D IMAX, this movie did not take full advantage of the medium.
It has not worked.
This month, I have already become an outlier by being the only person on Earth who enjoyed The Cloverfield Paradox. Now I have become the incredibly rare double-outlier as I think I'm the only one who didn't love Black Panther.
I liked Black Panther. I'm glad I saw it. However, I don't think I ever need to see it again. The number of times I will re-watch a movie has become my measuring stick for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At this point, I am going to see every Marvel movie. I am also confident I will enjoy every one. But there are now two distinct categories, films I will buy the day they become available on Blu-ray... and all the rest.
Black Panther falls into that second category.
The Good
The casting is perfect. Not only is Chadwick Boseman athletic enough to be believable as the incredibly nimble Black Panther, he can actually act. This role relies more on acting than your typical super hero movie. His choice to use a very believable African accent was on the money. I think the movie would have seemed "hokey" without that layer of authenticity from all of the characters. Forest Whittaker is incredible (as always). Michael B. Jordan did a fantastic job as the "villain" (perhaps too good... more on that later). Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong'o are very similar to Boseman. They can both fight and act. It was actually quite impressive. It was a real treat to see Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis reunited on screen. I do wish at some point Freeman's character would have asked Serkis' "What have I got in my pocket?"
Letitia Wright steals every scene she is in.
Letitia Wright as Princess Shuri deserves her own paragraph. She absolutely stole the show. Not only can she fight, she is almost the only comic relief in the otherwise super-serious movie. I read today that she has shot up to number one on the list of Disney Princesses... I can't argue.
The effects were like every other Disney produced Marvel movie: stunning. I think I have used that word in every review I have written about the Marvel movies. As soon as it stops being true, I will stop writing it. Both Black Panther suits were incredible. The way they showed the suits absorbing energy was a very cool added bonus. At one point my son and I were so impressed by an effect that we simultaneously turned to each other and said, "Whoa that's cool... jinx." I am always on the lookout for new effects. Black Panther had one. My son and I were both struck by how amazing an effect involving what appeared to be sand transforming into a series of three dimensional objects was awesome.
The action sequences and chase scenes were spectacular. (More on this later)
Although the story was a little complicated, everyone above the age of 10 should be able to follow it. It was interesting enough and fairly plausible (for a super hero movie). Unfortunately there was a huge flaw in it. I refuse to include spoilers in these posts so I will sum it up by saying that I could not get over the fact that a tribe who respected tradition so much would fail to adhere to their ancient tradition for no apparent reason.
Although the music was good, I was hoping for GREAT. I was anticipating a few more heavy hip-hop beats throughout the film. There were some... but I wanted more.
My complaints
I loved Kilmonger. The character is very interesting and portrayed perfectly by Jordan. But here is my biggest complaint: he was kind of right. I could understand his point of view. Although I do enjoy complicated movies that make you think and question yourself and the world, I don't really want that in my comic book movie (unless it's The Dark Knight, but that is a very unique case). I want to sit back and despise the villain and wait for his inevitable and spectacular demise. Unfortunately, during Black Panther I found myself thinking, "He's going about it the wrong way... but he has a point." I don't want a super hero movie to illicit that type of internal conflict in me. I don't want to have to explain to my twelve year old that from the British point of view, George Washington was a terrorist. There are plenty of other movies to spark that conversation. Although I'm actually looking forward to that discussion, I just want my comic book movies to be filled with fun.
Even with a name like "Killmonger", I couldn't totally hate him.
Although not a spoiler, here is something that will only make sense after you have seen the movie. I think Black Panther's father was more of a villain than Killmonger.
Another problem with the characters is the fact that Black Panther wasn't my favorite one in the movie. I liked all three female leads and the villain more than T'Challa. I think the main reason for that is that Black Panther is so serious all the time. Anyone wearing a skintight Lycra cat suit should be able to crack a smile every once in a while.
The movie is also incredibly serious. I don't mind some dark and heavy back story, but in the end, I watch these movies in order to have fun. Instead of running out of the theater energized to play fight with my son, I found myself more in a mood to debate politics. Although the story was good, it wasn't much fun.
Yes please.
There is not enough action. Even with a running time of 2 hours and 14 minutes, there are too few action sequences. Although the ones that did occur were fabulous, I wanted more.
In fact, I think that sums up the entire movie.
I wanted more:
- Action
- Humor
- Fun
- Evil from the villain
- Joy from the hero
- Hip-Hop
- Princess Shuri
Should you see it?
Of course!
It's a Marvel movie with a good story. However, I will be telling my friends to lower their expectations a bit and "Don't believe the hype". It is not the best Marvel movie. For me, it doesn't even crack the top 5.
Geeky Guy's Movie Guide
Number of times I fell asleep: 0
Number of eye rolls: 0 (I knew going in two dudes were going to run around dressed like cats)
Number of face palms: 1 (Huge problem with a tribe dedicated to tradition suddenly ignoring it.)
Number of times I checked steemit: 0
Number of times I said "That's ridiculous": 0
Full price/Matinee/Rental/Free/Not worth the time: Matinee