By Angel
Movie Description: “T’Challa, the King of Wakanda, rises to the throne in the isolated, technologically advanced African nation, but his claim is challenged by a vengeful outsider.”
Story
This is a beautiful coming of age story for Black Panther as he discovers what it means to be a good hearted leader. This film encourages to share knowledge, culture, and loyalty with one another, creating a powerful productive force of unity. The movie immediately hooked me with it’s mythology of the Black Panther and how the people of the tribe respected the King with such sincerity.
All the character arcs are great! The villain is unstable, complex, and interesting. You know a villain is compelling when you can understand their perspective on things and can empathize. There are twists and scenes that have intense emotion filled with rich dialogue, ones that will make you hold your breath, moments that I consider the greatest in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The visual effects I would say are the weakest aspect of the movie, especially in the third act, but the action was so engaging enough that it didn’t throw my attention off that much. All the jokes landed for me, none of them changed the tone. Production design and costumes are incredible, I wanted to be IN the movie roaming around Wakanda in the outfits. I walked out feeling inspired! I couldn’t have asked for a better Black Panther movie, he was done Justice in this origin to take the throne.
Performances
Chadwick Boseman stole the show. He owns the role of Black Panther. I believed him as a leader who is conflicted with himself to make the right decisions, even if it means betraying the things he cares most about. He was smooth, honorable, intelligent, vulnerable, and most importantly…real.
Michael B. Jordan was an amazing villain and brings a ferocity to the character, expanding his range as an actor. He has always played a good guy in films, so his biggest challenge was to convince me that he could deliver as an antagonist. He surpassed my expectations and his motivation sparked from his backstory as the villain was fantastic.
Everyone in the cast gives it their all with committing to their characters! The movie tears down stereotypes, especially with the females who were portrayed as strong and fearless without question! Black Panther’s army of women was epic.
Cinematography
To me, great cinematography is when the visuals are contributing to the storytelling. A film should SHOW us what’s going on rather than tell us. When it comes to analyzing cinematography, simply, I ask myself, “Was this film nice to look at?” Then I can choose to get in depth and look for whether colors were symbolic, placement of characters in the frame, composition, lighting, shadows, and point of view.
Was Black Panther a nice film to look at….ABSOLUTELY, one of the best looking MCU films. The colors, landscape, and culture were all a lovely sight to behold. Some of my favorite scenes took place with the ancestors.
Music
Absolutely majestic! The original score was alarmingly impressive, the sounds of the African drums and beautiful chants are something I could listen to forever. The feeling I have listening to Lion King was replicated here in it’s own unique way. Spectacular!
Message
Lessons I got from Black Panther: A man that has not prepared his children for his own death has failed as a father, fear of discovery prevents us from doing the right thing, don’t let the mistakes of others define who you are, death is better than bondage, it’s hard for a good man to be king, & wise men build bridges while foolish men build barriers.
Overall
This film is the most accurate reflection of the world we live in today. There is enough wisdom in this superhero movie to change the world and help connect us all together. Amazing story, marvelous characters, stunning cinematography, beautiful music, & enlightening message. WAKANDA FOREVER! 10/10
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