Black Panther by Ryan Coogler

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2019)

The stories about superheroes who take part of a royal family are interesting, to see how the main characters would balance their responsibilities, between being a superhero around the world and being a king in the kingdom where they are from. The main characters would take important decisions for the good of the kingdom and its people, by making sure to not commit the same mistakes of the past that brought heavy consequences. Some of these stories would end with the sacrifice of the main characters, who leave to the people an important message to move forward with the kingdom. Other stories would end with the main characters surviving from a dangerous mission, who will then conclude with what they started. There was an interest to release in the MCU a solo movie about the character Black Panther, to see how he would move forward after the event of Captain America: Civil War. Until the young filmmaker Ryan Coogler came to release the movie about Black Panther, as he decided to make the movie differently than the previous MCU movies. In 2018 came out Black Panther by Ryan Coogler with Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Martin Freeman, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis. The movie's plot: The new king T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns to Wakanda, to assume the throne after the death of his father. In this hidden kingdom filled with incredible technologies, Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) comes to Wakanda with a reason to challenge T'Challa. There was a great risk to make Black Panther, as usually innovative movies became box office failure to be then appreciated years later as important cult. Instead Black Panther surprised the audience and the critics, to become a successful movie with more than $1.347 billion box office. Usually the superhero movies explore in the easiest way the theme good and evil, which is going to be already expected how the story would end. Instead Black Panther explored the theme good and evil in the complex way, to see how some decisions bring heavy consequences which makes the movie intriguing and original. The screenplay was elaborated to be clear how the story would be told, from the beginning to the end, without ruining the narration's rhythm of the story. The movie does not use any kind of clichés to be predictable, but it surprises with unexpected plot twists to be unpredictable. The production designer Hannah Beachler elaborated the settings of Wakanda in a particular way, as she took inspirations from the original Black Panther comic book's settings and also from some of Africa's settings to make the movie creative and visceral for the audience. The lightings, the colors and the camera make some of the most emotional scenes, atmospheric where the audience would get surprised. Some of the most spectacular moments of the movie look like atmospheric paintings, which make these epic scenes unforgettable and emotional in every shot angles. The costume designer Ruth E. Carter elaborated the costumes in a particular way, which make these costumes stylish also thanks to the colors and their forms. It is also interesting to see how some of the tribal costumes, are technologically advanced which make them creative. The score by Ludwig Göransson was creatively elaborated, as it uses orchestral instruments mixed with traditional African instruments. The musician Baaba Maal collaborated with Ludwig Göransson to make the score powerful, especially on the unforgettable tracks which he sang for the most epic scenes. Chadwick Boseman did an excellent performance as T'Challa who has to take an important decision, if Wakanda has to be kept as a secret kingdom or if it has to be revealed. It is an interesting part of the movie, to see what kind of difficult responsibility T'Challa has to take for Wakanda. Michael B. Jordan was really good as Erik Killmonger, who is one of the best villains of MCU. He is a character who has so much anger inside of his soul by searching the justice, in the most violent way for vengeance which can be understood the reason of his anger. Lupita Nyong'o did a well done performance as Nakia who is a strong character, she would do anything to help T'Challa whenever he needs. Danai Gurira did a well done performance as Okoye who is a proud Wakandan and T'Challa's bodyguard, she remains loyal to the Royal's throne no matter if some kings are good men or not. Finally Letitia Wright was excellent as Shuri who is T'Challa's younger sister, she creates incredible technologies to be even smarter than Tony Stark. The special effects were specifically elaborated by making the action scenes, spectacular and visceral in every single details to be breathtaking. Black Panther is one of the best and most creative superhero movies of all time.