Review: Black Panther Is The Most Typical Marvel Movie
- Feb 22, 2018
- 3 min read
Black Panther is supposed to be a lot of things. People told me, going into it, that it was far removed from the rest of the Marvel Universe. The news is crazy about how much the movie is beneficial for people of colour. And finally, I heard that it was a truly brilliant movie, with 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. I mostly disagree with all of these, and found Black Panther to be victim of the same flaws as most Marvel movies and movies praised for their political influence.
The hidden nation of Wakanda is rich with culture, technology, and money courtesy of the incredible properties of vibranium, a metal found in great quantities there. When king and secret superhero protector T'Chaka (John Kani) dies, his son T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) takes up both mantles, and has to defend his right to be king in battle. He is also left to deal with black market arms dealer Klaue (Andy Serkis), who has stolen a Vibranium artifact with the help of Erik Stevens (Michael B Jordan) and intends to sell it to Everett Ross (Martin Freeman). But Erik has his own agenda, and it'll take everything T'Challa has to defend his throne and country.
Black Panther can be compared to a lot of things. It's The Lion King - after his father's death, a king's throne is threatened by a relative, and also the king is a cat - meets Iron Man - an incredibly rich head of an empire fights people with a high-tech suit, but the ownership of the empire is threatened by another man in an identical suit. It plays out exactly the same way as many other movies - the villain's motivations and plans don't consistently line up with his actions, a Chekhov's Gun is the only way to beat the villain, there's at least one scene where someone who has never flown a spaceship successfully pilots one despite the pursuit of trained enemy forces. The tropes and the plot are so predictable that Eamon and I nailed every major plot point before it happened.
I could talk about the inconsistent CGI, the wasted potential of Klaue and Ross, the blandness of the climactic battles, the confusing explanations of the 1992 part of the story, the stupidity of pushing agendas like Killmonger's in such an otherwise progressive movie, and the decision to portray someone fighting oppression as the villain...
But I won't. At the end of the day, it's not trying to be like Hidden Figures; it's trying to be a superhero movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, based on an established character from a politically-natured comic. It may not be great at its own politics, but it's good to see a mostly African-American cast and an African setting in a big-budget Hollywood movie. It's got the same strengths, flaws, and major plot beats as every other MCU movie, but by God the action is great, Wakanda is gorgeous, and the final messages of the movie are wonderful.
PS I'm a straight white man who generally tries to avoid identity politics, and I don't even like movies having political messages. I'm really not concerned about the politics of Killmonger or the casting of the film, but I wanted to give an honest review for viewers who are, not just MCU fans like me.
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