Black Panther Review

Rating: 10/10 (18 February 2018)

Spoliers ahead
First, let me say I did go into this film with very high expectations because of the hype surrounding the film, as well as the nature of what the film represented to a group of people. Most of all, because I'm a avid collector of comics books and black panther happens to be one those series that I collect. In general it is very hard for me to sit through a film adaption of a comic book and look at it from a objective point of view. I always find myself wanting to compare it to the source material, and normally I end up disappointed-not because the film is bad per se, but because it doesn't live up to my expectations.
There have been very few films that have been point on that I've loved. Deadpool, Kickass, the Watchmen, and even though Logan wasn't the version of old man Logan I would of loved to see on the big screen, I loved that film as well. I could even appreciate some aspects of Christopher Nolan's version of Batman. But we're not here to talk about those films, this is about Black Panther.
The film follows T'Challa as he steps into his role as king (I'll try hard not to put too many spoilers or story material in here for those who are still going to see it). The events of this film follow after Captain America civil war. T'Challa is back in his country Wakanda, fictional African nation that is described as the most technologically advanced place in the world. This is due to a very valuable and rare metal called vibranium. T'Challa's goal is to ensure that his people are safe and by doing this, he sets to continue to keep Wakanda a secret. T'Challa believes if the world knew how advanced Wakanda was and knew that they were storing the virabium then his people would surely be attacked by outsiders.
Now, the villain of the film, Killmonger, who I won't go into specific detail about, is the opposite of T'Challa. He is a black militant. Actually, I'll even dare to say that he holds true to the real black panthers' (from the 1960's) way of thinking. Killmonger wants to not only take over Wakanda but he wants to use its advanced resources to do what others have done to his people. Colonize. He believes that the they should use Wakanda's technology to arm their people around to world to overthrow their oppressors and take over every other country.
The story more or less revolves around this conflict of thinking. And while watching it I couldn't help but to think of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom x. As well as Professor Xavier and Magneto whose ways of thinking we're based on the aforementioned. One wanted to take over the world or overthrow those who oppressed them/hated them. While the other sought to co-exist with those who were different from them-to show them over time that they were the same.
This is the stance the story pretty much takes and in the end, T'Challa agrees with Killmonger to an extent. Instead of taking over the world he wants to extend his resources by educating and building up black communities around the world. There are a lot of political elements thrown into the film that brush upon current issues. Past issues and reoccurring issues. And the director does an excellent job of building this into the film while making it entertaining for anyone to be able to enjoy.
He also does a great job of showcasing black panther in a positive light. A hero who has his faults and fails at times but finds a way to overcome his doubts and weaknesses. He beautifully melds aspects of African culture into a fictional universe as well as properly represents the background characters as not just warriors, but also elegant and intelligent people. I think all of these things are not only true to the source material, but also important for other African Americans, especially those of a young age,
to see. It gives them something to be proud of. It gives them characters they can not only relate to, but look up to and strive to be like the powerful intelligent people that those actors were portraying.
There were some minor things about the film that I thought could of been touched up on like the fighting, which I thought was a tad choppy at times especially towards the climax. And the cgi I felt could of been a little better especially towards the end when Black Panther and T'Challa was fighting. I also couldn't help but to think of he lion king at times during the film but again those were minor things to a film that I thought lived up to the hype it created.
The movie was easy to follow even for someone who has not watched captain America civil war or read any of the Black Panther comic books. The plot was engaging and informing, and the people and culture were beautiful to watch on the big screen. There was a great mixture of action and comedy, as well as drama. In the end, it's a Marvel film, but definitely one of the better ones in my opinion. I would definitely recommend it.