Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ is an intelligent political movie, the studio’s most provocative entry to the ever-expanding cinematic superhero universe’ so far.
That it delves too deep into its political sense, is barely a matter of choice, as the entire narrative, itself, runs on a political backbone that has always been the moral core of Wakandan legacy. But Wakanda is more than just a legend.
For all it represents, it is real, in every sense of the word. Director Ryan Coogler weaves the film’s arguments with a profound commitment, that the ambitious bid he undertakes, results in resonant motivations, fully realized with all the film’s moral and political prejudices.
Chadwick Boseman plays the titular hero, ‘Black Panther’, the title given to the crown king of Wakanda. The most technologically-advanced nation in the world, Wakanda is hidden beneath an illusory forest and a force field, only known beyond its borders as a third-world country in pure isolation. Having struck by a meteorite containing vibranium–a rare energy-absorbing metallic substance–Wakanda is carved somewhere in northeast Africa, thriving to towering extents that other nations could only dream of.
In ancient times, the tiny African country is settled by five warring tribes, which were later on amalgamated by the arrival of the Black Panther. Now assuming the crown and the title, T’Challa (Boseman), has now the responsibility to protect both his country and his people. Boseman fits the character perfectly, as he breathes a soulful verve to a role that requires emotional intellect and socio-cultural expediency. It’s difficult to deny he is meant to take this role and the greatness that comes with it.
Boseman is joined by the equally emphatic actor, Michael B. Jordan, as Erik Killmonger, his inevitable nemesis. Killmonger, like T’Challa, is driven by a philosophical motivation, making him an unconventional superhero movie villain. Jordan articulates Killmonger with resonant coherence, that he ends up delivering one of the most definitive performances from a villain, in superhero movie history. Leticia Wright, who plays as T’Challa’s super-genius younger sister, ‘Shuri, is a blast.
Not only is she the brilliant scientist who designs Black Panther’s energy-absorbing suit, she steals the show with her wit and humor. She is pure delight. The same can be said for the bald-headed, Dora Milaje, Wakanda’s all-female special forces, whose choreographic way of combat, is as beautiful as it is dangerous. Them engaging in a fight with Killmonger is among the most breathtaking action sequences in the film.
There is a lingering sense of humanity across its two-hour stretch that barely makes ‘Black Panther’ strictly a superhero movie. This is a movie that treads through matters of loyalty and morality, its most sensible argument, being, the one that answers which cause should be truly served: the one for the throne, or the one for the country.
This argument gets a highlight during a groundbreaking moment between two of the film’s most important female figures: Okoye (The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira), and Nakia ( Oscar winner, Lupita Nyong’O), and it is one of the most moving scenes in the movie. Nyong’O displays an incredible combat skill as Nakia, a Wakandan spy who is torn between her country’s thrive-in-secrecy policy, and the chaotic outside world’s call for help. An ideologist who aspires to extend Wakanda’s wealth to the rest of the world, Nakia believes Wakanda is powerful enough to protect itself from malignant outside forces while delivering aid to countries in grave need.
‘You get to decide what kind of king you are going to be’, she reminds T’Challa, her former flame and now her king, reaffirming her firm belief in humanity. But T’Challa isn’t only an king challenged by his own visceral questioning, he is more importantly, an authority faced with an absolutist usurper, one whose ideologies may not be of the same form as his, but as fairly inspired.
‘Black Panther’, perhaps, is the most revolutionary superhero film of our time, it’s virtue barely solely anchored upon its technical splendor and its teeming visual richness, but more importantly, on the thematic range, it possesses. An extravagant spectacle of color, texture, and muscular intensity, Ryan Coogler’s vision of the Wakanda and its king, is an emotional cinematic event, whose political and social sensibilities, incredibly strikes a chord.
RATING: 5/5
5 – Excellent
4 – Very Good
3 – Good
2 – Tolerable
1 – Terrible
Marvel’s Black Panther is Now Showing in cinemas nationwide
