Black Panther - Movie Review

I have been anticipating the release of Black Panther for months now. The trailers have been heavily hyped at my local theaters, promising an action-packed adventure into the realm of technology and the supernatural. This film is smashing records at the box office. We chose to see it at the theater closest to our house, which isn't in the best of neighborhoods, but generally has low attendance. We have seen many films at this theater as private screenings. Not intentionally, but because we were the only customers in the theater. Black Panther was nearly sold out at the matinee yesterday. That seemed a good omen.

Black Panther is more than a superhero. He is a king. It is a dual role for the king of Wakanda. When King T'Chaka (John Kani) is killed during a speech at the United Nations, he son T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is the natural heir to the Wakandan throne. The king of Wakanda serves as king to all five tribes. The panthers, white gorillas, hyenas, crocodile and lions (although it appears the original tribes have been modified, replacing one with the rhino). At T'Challa's coronation, the other tribal leaders are permitted to challenge for the crown. In a break from tradition, the king of the white gorillas, M'Baku (Winston Duke) challenges for the throne, being forced to yield to T'Challa.

T'Challa's kingdom is challenged by an outside threat almost immediately after his ascension. Vibranium, a precious natural resource that forms the core of advanced Wakandan technology has been stolen and is due to be sold in South Korea. The mercenary known as Klaue (Andy Serkis) is aided in his theft of Wakandan technology by Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) whose mysterious past is about to disrupt the balance of power in Wakanda. As the tribes are divided in their loyalties, a massive conflict threatens to destabilize world peace.

Origin stories often lag as they build the foundation for the story. Exceptional origin stories are able to pick up the backstory on the fly, keeping viewers engaged with action and story lines while filling in the blanks. Black Panther does this a little bit, but the pacing is still sluggish at times in the first half of the film. When the action starts, it is climactic and visually appealing, but the story did bog down a few times, which managed to lose my interest. The overall concept of the characters and backstory is excellent, but the delivery lacked at times.

The characters in Black Panther are intriguing. They chose to go with a much younger sister (Letitia Wright) as their chief technologists. The film also has a special forces cadre of female warriors. They are led by General Okoye (Danai Gurira, who you may recognize as Michonne from The Walking Dead). I suspect we will see more of her alongside T'Challa in the upcoming Infinity War, which promises to be epic. The film has plenty of female stars as a counterpoint to the primarily dark-skinned cast. The two primary white actors are Klaue and CIA Agent Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman). I liked the casting in this film, particularly Gurira, who I have long been a fan of since first seeing her in The Walking Dead. I wasn't really buying Wright as Wakanda's chief technologist, but the rest of the primary cast was excellent. I haven't mentioned one of the other tribal chiefs, W'Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya), but there is a reason Kaluuya is stacking up awards. He has a decent chance to win an Oscar for Get Out. He was solid in a supporting role in this film.

Black Panther is a two hour, fourteen minute film rated PG-13 by the MPAA. The film did an exceptional job avoiding gratuitous violence or other thematic material in favor of big action sequences with a low gore factor. There are some killings depicted in this film, and plenty of violence, but nothing to the extreme. This film is pretty tame by today's standard. I didn't see anything I thought would induce nightmares in young children. The special effects were among the highlights of this film, with some technological treats for viewers.

Black Panther meandered for a while. The first half of the film was very different from the second half, once we established where the film intended to go. The narrative arc was strong once we trudged through the foundational material. The dialogue was sharp, although slightly racist at times. I think it was intended to be edgy, but came across as cheap dialogue. The story was original, although predictable. The characters were unique and engaging. Some characters were more engaging and credible than others. Overall, a solid film worth seeing at the theater. This film will likely come close to setting a new four-day release record. As a "first" in many respects, that makes sense. This film is likely to mobilize audiences. Objectively, it was good enough to see in the theater, but not quite as good as IMDb currently suggests (7.9). I think the rating may drop over the coming weeks. I am close, but not quite there. 7.5/10.

Photos and trailer from Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures.