Black Panther is the superhero movie I have been waiting for. It isn't perfect but don't get me wrong, I loved it. The animated sequence in the beginning sets us up with the cultural traditions of the Wakanda people, the rise of the Black Panther as protector of his people, and how a meteor filled with the alien element Vibranium, led to Wakanda becoming one of the most secretly advanced technology hubs in the world.
What I loved:
1. The Afrofuturism. While still maintaining the ancient rituals and tribal vibe, Wakanda is an advanced civilization with the technology and resources to change the world. (see bottom of post for reading recs)
2. The beautiful, powerful, Black WOMEN! Dunai Gurira as Okoye is amazing and I already love her as Michonne on Walking Dead. Her character in Black Panther is strong, conflicted, and tested. Shuri, T'Challa's sister played by Letitia Wright, is brilliant, savvy, tough, and just adorably delivers the best one liners of the movie. Pepper in actors such as Angela Bassett as the Queen Mother (who can forget her incredible portrayal of Tina Turner?) and Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia (won an Oscar for "12 Years a Slave", watch at your own risk, it's HARD) and you have a pretty formidable cast of remarkable female actors!
3. Wakanda. The one thing I liked about Thor (and I mean the one thing because Thor is an asshole), was the representation of Asgard. Wakanda is beautifully represented but also has a great story. It is steeped with mythology, is rich with culture, and is visually stunning on the big screen. Send the vibranium train...I want to go to Wakanda!
4. Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) as the sympathetic and simultaneously reprehensible villain. George R.R. Martin loves to write these kinds of villains too and they are my favorite kind to engage with.
What I didn't love:
1. W'Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya). His acting was good. He's a great actor and I loved him in the Black Mirror episode "15 Million Credits". His character in Black Panther just fell really short for me. He was underdeveloped and too easily influenced. I was more moved by his lover Okoye's, resolve to kill him if it meant saving Wakanda. He does surrender to her with his best line, "You would kill me, my love?" To which Okoye replies, "For Wakanda? Without question."
2. The waaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy extended, over the top action sequences that always involve gratuitous collateral damage and too much car surfing at impossible speeds. (YAWN)
3. The conflicted characters were brilliant. The political message was strong and important. Yet it felt like there were only two choices in philosophy offered: over-idealism and over-radicalism. Granted, while these choices sometimes seemed trite, it also brought me back into the reality of the Marvel Universe. It resolved itself with T'Challa's decision to engage in arming youths with diplomacy and education as a means of empowerment so perhaps this minor complaint is due to my impatience.
Wasn't this just the best line?
Extended Plot Summary:
Disguised as a Third World Country, Wakanda boasts it's isolationism has kept them from being infiltrated by foreign invaders...until recently. We are set up for T'Challa's (Chadwick Boseman) reign in Wakunda in Captain America: Civil War when his father T'Chaka is killed in an explosion meant to frame Bucky Barnes (Bucky, Captain America's best bud, was brainwashed to become the lethal Winter Soldier and now being treated secretly in Wakanda by Shuri. She is working to heal his wounds and reverse the affects of his brainwashing).
We have enough backstory to bring us to Oakland California 1992 (side fact: also where the activist party, the Black Panthers rose up). King T'Chaka makes a special trip there to confront his brother, Prince N'Jobo for his betrayal of Wakanda and it's people. N'Jobo had begun to question his King brother's decision to keep Wakanda and vibranium a secret when it could help liberate others. This conflict begins the debate over two different philosophies, both wielding incredibly heavy consequences no matter what side you choose (insert Professor X vs. Magneto).
The end result is a radicalized N'Jobo betrays Wakanda because he feels that his people have a duty to do more to help people of African descent who are still living in a reality full of racial tension, crimes against humanity, and social injustices. He wants to arm the oppressed with Wakandan-style weapons so they can defend themselves against their oppressors. On the surface it is difficult NOT to enlist in his revolution...after all, history often candy-coats the hard-to-swallow pill of white America's starring role in slavery and segregation. Couple that with the fact that we are not even remotely far enough away from the continued impact of racial disparity and segregation to deny that racism is systematically perpetuated. Even now. As a white girl who has done a lot of soul searching to find and obliterate my own societal prejudices in exchange for understanding, I might've read N'Jobo's recruitment brochure and found his cause attractive and justified (as long I didn't read the fine print).
But alas, in the superhero world of good guys and bad guys, it is not in the "why" but in the "how". Why N'Jobo betrayed his country becomes irrelevant because how he did it was despicable. He sent a black market arms dealer, Klaue, into Wakanda to steal Vibranium which resulted in many lives lost and a very valuable and dangerous element in the hands of the a real bad guy. King T'Chaka kills his brother to protect his informant after N'Jobo attacks him. They cover up their part in N'Jobo's death by agreeing to not speak of it. They leave N'Jobo's young son behind to live in the aftermath of discovering his father's body and cope with his death.
And now all of the nuts and bolts are in place for the rise of a patient villain who will devote his whole life to becoming a warrior, intelligent enough to challenge and overthrow the Royal family he hated. Enter Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, an MIT graduate and currently a black-ops soldier, his body is branded in a tribal-style, each scar representing a person he killed. He is sympathetic but while his plight is understandable, it is again, not the "why" but the "how". Killing has become far too easy for Erik and in his hate-driven desire for vengeance, he has lost his ability to fully embrace the humanity in fulfilling his father's legacy to liberate people. It becomes clear that this he is too far gone. It's personal.
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Of all the advanced vibranium-infused action scenes throughout the movie, the fighting ritual to claim the throne was my favorite. It was beautiful, taking place at the edge of a waterfall. It was primitive and stripped down. The drums beat for momentum, and the speared warrior women refereeing the battle were pretty bad-ass. T'Challa is thrown over the waterfall by Killmonger and a new, short reign of terror begins. T'Challa is found and saved by a nearby tribe chief and he rises again to take down Killmonger. In a finite and tragic reconciliation that was filled with regret and understanding (T'Challa) but still lacked remorse (Erik), Killmonger chooses death over being saved when T'Challa offers him the choice. His final monologue about enslavement and dying a free man is vulnerable and raw. T'Challa carries the dying man, his cousin, to the perfect place to watch a Wakandan sunset and I'm a bit unhinged.
T'Challa rejects the old way of Wakandan rule and chooses diplomacy and transparency over secrecy and isolation. He is balanced out by his awesome sister Shuri (who is just fantastic) and by his love interest Nakia, a humanitarian who always believed Wakandan rulers should do more to protect the outside world and oppressed people living around them. The conclusion of the movie with T'Challa buying the building where his father killed his Uncle, in order to turn it into a place to educate others and promote science and diplomacy, was a perfect set up for a sequel, a refreshing new start for Wakanda's position in the world, and a touching homage to his fallen cousin, Erik.
LONG LIVE KING T'CHALLA! WAKANDA FOREVER!!
Recommended Watching: Black Mirror-both Daniel Kaluuya ("15 Million Credits") and Letitia Wright ("Black Museum") have great episodes (side fact: both have also appeared in Doctor Who), Captain America: Civil War
(If you like or want to know more about Afrofuturism) Recommended reading: "Black to the Future" essay by Mark Dery and "Binti" Hugo-winning novella by Nnedi Okorafor, (For an alternative to the rave reviews and an insightful, well-written race perspective) Recommended article: "Black Panther is Not the Movie We Deserve". Christopher Lebron offers a rebuttal to the critical acclaim the movie has received and calls the movie out on a variety issues.
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