Created by the legendary Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Black Panther was the first African American superhero created. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 in July 1966, debuting before the founding of the Black Panther Party. Given the time the character was created, it was considered a big deal having a colored person be a superhero. Overtime, Black Panther established himself as a mainstay in Marvel comics, leading to the possibility of a live-action movie. In the early 90s, Wesley Snipes was working with Columbia Pictures on one, but nothing came of it. While Snipes went on to do Blade, the Black Panther movie seemed to be left in development hell. With the MCU going strong, Chadwick Boseman was hired to play Black Panther and appear in Captain America: Civil War. Soon, Ryan Coogler of Creed fame to direct, and 2018 finally saw the release of Black Panther.
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After the death of his father, Prince T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is set to become the new king of Wakanda. A small country in Africa, Wakanda is actually home to the world’s largest supply of Vibranium, the world’s strongest metal. Though they’ve remained hidden for years, people like Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) have managed to steal some of their Vibranium. One day, a man named Eric “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B Jordan) arrives wanting to challenge T’Challa to the throne. Turns out Stevens’ father was originally from Wakanda and planned to share some of their technology with the outside world. However, he was killed before he had the chance, and now Killmonger wants revenge and to take over Wakanda. Though he puts up a good fight, T’Challa is defeated and seemingly killed, making Killmonger king. With help from his sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) and ex-lover Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), T’Challa must stop Killmonger.
There was tons of buzz surrounding this movie since there hadn’t been a black superhero movie since Blade: Trinity. Given today’s PC culture, many people were dismissing anyone who said anything negative about the film as being “racist”. With that in mind, I did enjoy this film, though I did have some issues, none of which involve race. First off, I thought Chadwick Boseman was good in the lead, but he started off somewhat stoic and flat. Contrast that with Michael B Jordan, who absolutely dominated his scenes as Killmonger and was generally more interesting to watch. Eventually, it felt like Boseman was coming into his own, but he had a bit of a rocky start. The rest of the cast, including Nyong’o, Wright, Serkis, Martin Freeman, and Angela Bassett all do a great job. Many of them are given their own shining moments and they’re very memorable.
Coogler does a great job directing, though his signature style felt more prevalent in the Oakland 1992 scenes. Those moments reminded me of his style from Creed, while the rest seemed pretty similar to other MCU movies. The action sequences are well-shot and fun to watch, and there’s quite a bit of variety to the action scenes. There’s car chases, huge battles, close quarters action, aerial fights, and plenty more, each one delivering on the goods. One nitpick I have is that some scenes are slightly too dark, meaning the lighting is isn’t great at times. Granted, the later scenes where it’s dark are better since there’s more color and light, but it was somewhat distracting. Despite some criticisms I have, this is still an enjoyable watch and adds so much to the overall MCU. Overall, though slightly flawed, Black Panther is still a good time no matter your race.
