DCfnaf Movie Reviews: Black Panther

DCfnaf He Never Freezes...or does he?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been extremely active as of late. It feels as if the critically acclaimed Thor: Ragnarok was in theaters just yesterday and everyone just finished providing their feedback. Yet at the blink of an eye, Marvel Studios released Black Panther. It looks like the company is planning to pump out a movie every three months so they can ensure the hype behind their franchise will never die.

The commercials for Black Panther, which is yet another comic book inspired action flick being brought to you by the wondrous Marvel Studios, announce with utmost confidence that it is a revolutionary masterpiece of cinematic perfection and valor. Of course, the immediate reaction to this was an obnoxious rolling of the eyes, as this is something we have been told countless times about installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is what the general public has been clamoring about each and every single one of these movies, and they are almost always incorrect or exaggerating the film's quality. For example, Thor: Ragnarok is not even close to the best movie Marvel Studios has produced and is only a decent watch at best. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 was also severely overhyped and failed at recapturing the original film's perfect balance of incredibly witty humor and an intriguing story. Like most of the movies before it, Black Panther is not anything resembling a masterpiece, let alone a revolutionary title. It is little more than just a solid, enjoyable experience which is worth the ten dollars. And, quite frankly, that is all this film really needs to be.

Since his father, T'Chaka (John Kani), was tragically killed in a terrorist explosion which occurred back in Captain America: Civil War, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns to his come country, Wakanda, to have the mantle of Black Panther bestowed upon him. Unfortunately, the new king will have to find out if he is actually capable when it comes to keeping that throne out of an old enemy's (Michael B. Jordan) clutches. This cruel antagonist is infamously known for having mercilessly killed hundreds of innocents, making him a major threat to the country, not to mention the entire world. With the help of his sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), as well as the Dora Milaje Warriors, our hero must take down this dangerous threat and prevent him from presenting the country's biggest secret to the rest of the world. Will he be able to do it? Or will he become an addition to that exponentially rising number of victims?

Like most installments of the series, Black Panther is chock full of entertaining moments. In terms of the action, the two-hour film presents a thrilling car chase, an intense casino battle, and several other enjoyably fun fights Marvel is consistently good at shooting. One fight scene in particular was way too dark to see, so expect a battle with seizure-inducing gunshots and a Black Panther who is practically invisible. Aside from that though, the rest of the flick's major battles are a total blast to watch and fulfill their goals.

Of course, intense action has always been an element of Marvel's movies, so it is no surprise that it is done spectacularly. But unlike most of their films, Black Panther does something that was not explicitly done before: insert a political message within the story. However, it is not just the politics alone which are impressive for a superhero movie. Instead of directing its messages to a specific political audience, inevitably segregating the general public's viewpoints on it, the film makes the appreciative decision of using arguments of both sides of the political spectrum for the narrative. For example, many conservatives argue that members of the social justice movement should not blame the current generation of white Americans for how their ancestors treated black individuals. The social justice mentality described just so happens to be the behavior practiced by one of the film's antagonists. As for the other side of the political spectrum, the liberals, there is a major conflict regarding Wakanda's lack of communication with other countries, particularly when it comes to their technology which could be incredibly useful to defenseless countries, that they need to sort out. There are a few others scattered within, but the main point is that it is nice to know there was not any bias in terms of who the target audience was because it makes the film much more accessible to a larger audience.

That is not to say this is a masterpiece like it is claimed to be. For the first time in a Marvel flick, the pacing was inconsistent and a tad jarring. This is one of the only Marvel movies where watching it a second time helped to follow the storyline and understand what was occurring on screen. While some may attribute this to the fact that Black Panther was not the most popular or well known of Marvel Cinematic Universe characters just yet, Ant Man was also a lesser-known character before his film was released, and its plotline was easy to follow. It would've been much more satisfying if the movie dedicated a bit more of its runtime to explanation as opposed to action, as entertaining as it was, just so it could be easily followed.

The humor this time around is particularly awful as well. Marvel movies tend to bring a series of horrendously bad jokes to the table, and, of course, this one is no exception. But for some reason, the comedy felt extra tryhard and pathetic here. If there’s one thing that should be considered a sin no matter what the circumstances are, it should be inserting pandering meme references into the narrative to get the young, hip crowd crying from laughter. It takes a large amount of time to write up a script, shoot the scenes, act, insert CGI creatures and characters if necessary, and edit as well as polish up the final product. Internet memes are quickly shoved aside after a good two or three weeks of them existing and polluting YouTube comment sections everywhere. The difference in time is quite noticeable. The particular meme they picked here was one that was popular back in 2015. It is now 2018 and nobody cares about it anymore. It was not even funny from a personal viewpoint either, so finding humor out of the joke was beyond the realm of possibility. The rest of the jokes are also groaners, including a joke referencing a rap song that even the most mainstream of music fans find to be utterly abysmal, and a huge array of jokes referencing popular social media applications that a significant portion of adults may not understand. At the point, these movies have just become pandering in terms of their humor and it’s execution.

Final Thoughts/Recommendation

It may not be the phenomenal experience those pesky commercials are clamoring it to be, but Black Panther is still a fun experience, and it is a necessity for long time fans to give this one a watch. Teenagers and adults who are simply looking for something fun to watch should also consider this an option. Even though some are not similar to the likes of T'Challa and will have to freeze to understand the story, Black Panther is still a solid offering from a company that has consistently created enjoyable content for the masses.

7 -- Good (Black Panther is a solid film that clearly has a captivated audience. The experience may not be very original, but it’s pretty fun if you are capable of understanding what’s going on.)

🍅 97% from critics, 78% of audiences liked it 🍅

💁🏻‍♂️How I Review Movies: https://www.thetoptens.com/#/a/56694

🎵RYM: https://rateyourmusic.com/film/black_panther/🎵

🎥Next Movie Review🎥: Currently deciding between A Wrinkle In Time and Tomb Raider

Comments

Wait a second, I’m still active on this site? *GASP* - DCfnaf (3/21/2018)

I wholeheartedly agree with this review, way too overhyped of a movie. It was good but how in the world is it one of the highest rated movies of all time on rotten tomatoes. It's more accurate on IMDb though. - Phillip873 (3/21/2018)

I have lots of respect for this movie, and I think it will be revolutionary, not for it's quality, but for the new wave of diversity coming into mainstream cinema.

All in all, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. 8/10 - ProPanda (3/21/2018)

Been waiting for this review for a long time. And you truly delivered and kept on your word, DCfnaf. Loved seeing your thoughts on Black Panther. - visitor (3/21/2018)

Are you torturing yourself those two movies Tomb and that thing
Just do Avengers: Infinity War
Also watch Greatest Showman
I like that movie - RandomGuy1234 (4/1/2018)

Great review - Gangem (4/2/2018)

Also, I did not mean what I messaged you, 445566 (can't remember his name) told me to message it to you. Your actually one of my favourite users - Gangem (4/3/2018)

No worries lmao. Will unblock you now. - DCfnaf (4/3/2018)

Put it on p**nhub - Skullkid755 (4/16/2018)

It bothers me... almost every original MCU movie has a sequel or will get an upcoming one. - iliekpiez (8/18/2018)

I watched it...*yawn* so boring and uninteresting. The first Marvel movie that genuinely bored me. - visitor (12/5/2018)