If the Marvel Cinematic Universe was going to make a film about the company’s first black superhero then now would certainly be the time to do it. Circumstances have aligned to make Black Panther a good deal more relevant than it would have been previously.
There is a cultural momentum working in favour of
this film and it would be almost impossible to take against it without seeming,
at least, churlish. It will undoubtedly be over-praised and much virtue will be
signalled in the process, however it is a good enough film to live up to at
least some of the hype.
Black
Panther is the story of T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) who has succeeded to
the throne of Wakanda, a technically advanced African super society which hides
itself from the world. He has also, if he survives the challenge, to assume the
mantle of the Black Panther, a heroic, super-powered character whose duty is to
guard and protect the people of Wakanda.
T’Challa’s reign, and his non-interventionist
policy, is threatened by Killmonger (Michael B.Jordan), a distant relative who
is determined to use Wakanda’s phenomenal wealth and fabulous technology to
lead anti-colonialist insurrection and revolt throughout the world.
This is essentially a good, and interesting,
story. It has themes of cultural identity, foreign aid, interventionism, and
isolationism which all have a contemporary resonance. Yet at the same time it
seems to shy away from really exploring a lot of these issues and relies on the
old MCU trope of ‘with great power/wealth comes great responsibility’.
Similarly the execution is fairly safe. There are
some serious third-act issues and, despite the talents of director Ryan
Coogler, there are not many boats being rocked here stylistically. This is, to
all intents and purposes, a Marvel movie with all the attendant traits and
tropes. It may be the first film I can recall which borrows from both Frederick
Douglass and Pope Francis but essentially this is a by the book Marvel origin story.
There is always a lot riding on these mega-franchise
films, where the release date is set before a word of the script is written,
and there are a couple of moments which remain unpolished, presumably because
of pressure of time and budget. One or two ‘jungle scenes’ have the look of the
sound stage while some of the crowd CGI seems a little poorly rendered. Still,
it does feature armour-plated combat rhinoceroses which is not something you
see every day.
In a strong cast Boseman is a little po-faced and
reactive as T’Challa; he’s not as imposing as he should be. Jordan is much
better as Killmonger, the best Marvel villain in ages, who is dynamic, and
exciting, and seems to have a proactive purpose. Elsewhere Angela Bassett does
a nice job as the Queen Mother, and Forrest Whitaker pops up as a tribal elder
while Lupita Nyongo is a spy and T’Challa’s love interest.
Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman are the token white
characters: now that’s a phrase I don’t get the chance to write very often.
There are a lot of scenes which seem to be heavily
influenced by The Lion King on stage
and screen, or even the Tarzan movies,
and the film takes itself so seriously at times it doesn’t seem aware that its
sincerity is veering close to parody. In the end though it is saved by its own
good intentions,
I came away from the film thinking that, for me,
the most interesting and lively character in the film is Shuri (Letitia
Wright). She is T’Challa’s sister and apart from being smart and rebellious,
she is also a scientific wizard. A smart, intelligent, funny, independent,
strong woman of colour – not something you see every day in the movies.
In the comics Shuri succeeds T’Challa as Black
Panther. If they were really serious about being transgressive in the MCU then
that would be the way to go next. Somehow I doubt it.
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