Black Panther Lacks a Bite

Rating: 5/10 (18 February 2018)

Let me get right to the point. Among the Marvel movies, Black Panther is one of the least successful productions. It's not so much that it lacks any of the major elements of other Marvel films. It has a superhero who kind of has special powers, it has special effects, and it has somewhat innovative fight scenes. No, the problem is in the acting and I'll put the blame for this on the supporting female characters. Their acting is of B-movie quality. It is wooden and stilted causing a lack of any believable emotional connection to other characters in the film. In an effort to make the female characters into powerful male-like warriors, they have sacrificed their humanity,
Most of the male acting is only slightly better. Chadwick Boseman is okay. Michael B. Jordan is a pretty good villain, and Daniel Kaluuya is believable and sincere. But when Sterling K. Brown appears in a cameo, we realize what real good acting consists of and we are suddenly forced to realize what the film is missing.
The plot is predictable, like most Marvel films. It seems to lack some underlying ideal, although it makes an attempt to do this in the conversation we see with Mr. Panther and his father, played very well by John Kani. In the conversation, his father advises him to surround himself with good people, which may serve as an indirect criticism of the corruption that so often appears in African governments. We also have the issue raised by Erik Killmonger (Jordan) who asserts that Wakanda should give its precious super- mineral, vibranium (give me a break), to oppressed black people so that they can fight their oppressors.
Much is made in the pre-release hype about the technologically-advanced, mythical African nation, Wakanda. To me, it looked like Oz's Emerald City without the emerald. There is also a lot of talk on how this film unites black people around the world. Maybe it does. It just seems to me there are so many other films that could do a better job at this and keep us entertained at the same time. In short, there is not much in this film that will keep the average viewer involved. There are some mildly interesting fight scenes and the obligatory car chase has some novel elements, but I would not recommend the film as a whole. Nonetheless, the momentum the film has received from the pre-release media storm will no doubt end up with it making some good box office returns: A triumph of marketing over quality.