Black Panther: The Origins Movie We Deserve
*Contains spoilers*
[EDIT: I started writing this on Tuesday but finished it off Sunday so the facts may be a lil shaky]
It’s been 40 minutes since the end credit scene and I’m lying in bed with a face mask on, trying to piece together the masterpiece I had the pleasure of seeing on opening day. I’ve been raving about it at home, at work, to my friends and to my family since I saw Black Panther have his official welcome in the Captain America: Civil War film. And now I’m trying to find the right words to describe the 2 hour and 14 min long film in a way that will do it justice.
I’ve always rated the (recent) Marvel films quite highly. I know people have mixed feelings when it comes to comic adapted films, I do too. However, with Black Panther, in my head, the bar was already set high. And the fact is, the film was able to break that bar and reach levels of greatness that I couldn’t believe a comic adapted film could reach.
T’Challa, also known as Black Panther, is portrayed by Chadwick Boseman. He inherits the throne of Wakanda, following the death of his father in Captain America: Civil War. In all honesty, T'Challa is the King we all deserve. He's both amiable and honorable and doesn't lose his cool in difficult situations, compared to others in the MCU. The best thing about this origins film, is that there is no 'end of world' scenario, there is no proving to EVERYONE that he is a hero. It's based on him trying to prove to himself that he is worthy of his title. It's based on him trying to figure out how he can use his resources to help the world, instead of destroying it and fixing it again. [A little sly dig at Age of Ultron, whoooooppppssssss].
What's unusual [and what I'm grateful for], is the lack of cameos from anyone in the MCU. There was no Tony Stark with his witty one liners, or Black Widow with her immensely great ability to interrogate. Albeit, the only reference to MCU was a classic cameo from Stan Lee [obv], a baddie from Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ulysses Klaue, and the end end credit scene with Bucky. As an origins story that is basically about T'Challa embracing his Black Panther and King title, it didn't really need anyone from the MCU. I know Bucky and Cap go to Wakanda after Captain America: Civil War, and whilst we didn't see Bucky in the main body of the film, there was a small reference when T'Challa brings Everett Ross to Shuri, his sister, [portrayed by Letitia Wright] to fix his spine and she jokingly says to her brother that he has brought 'another broken white boy' for her to fix.
Erik Killmonger [portrayed by Michael B Jordan] the cousin of T’Challa, plays the baddie. We’ve seen rivalry in families in the past with Thor and Loki. To be quite frank, the MCU haven't really perfected a better rival since Loki, so it was a wonder when Killmonger was introduced and had a touching backstory. The fact of the matter is, I ended up feeling sorry for Killmonger, and I found it difficult to see him as the bad guy in the film. He seemed to have followed a lot of rules and ethics to get himself into Wakanda, and whilst I don't agree with the whole killing spree and tallying it off on his body shenanigans, I did understand the reason behind his actions.
The cast boasts some pretty badass female leads. As mentioned, there's T'Challa's younger sister, Shuri, who is a teen tech guru and she also adds a few laughs throughout the film. If you're wondering, the newly improved Black Panther suit is her design and I must say, I absolutely love the whole collecting kinetic energy from hits and bullets and using that as a weapon. [It also helps us to understand the many uses of Vibranium]. There's Okoye [portrayed by Danai Gurira] who is the boss lady of T'Challa's 'security'. There's a scene in the Korea fight scene that had everyone howling at the big screen, when she- in a super badass way- grabs her wig and chucks it at the bad guy. She's also hilarious, but in a hella serious way! There's Nakia [portrayed by Lupita Nyong'o] who is a warrior/spy and also Black Panthers love interest. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough references to their romance, but to be honest, the film didn't require any romance. The action [with a few hints of laughs] did the entire film justice.
One of the characters that really caught my attention [and had everyone laughing] was M'Baku [portrayed by Winston Duke]. He's technically portrayed as that 'one bully', but he eventually pulls through towards the last few scenes of the film and shows his true loyalty to T'Challa and Wakanda. He honestly had the best one liners along with Shuri. There's also another supporting character. I don't want to mention him, because quite frankly, he disappointed me [that's how invested in the movie I got], but W'Kabi [portrayed by Daniel Kaluuya] was also a pivotal part of the film. From the moment his presence was on the screen, I had a feeling his allegiance would change, and it did. He went from team #T'Challa to team #Killmonger in a heart beat.
I can't write this blog post and not mention KENDRICK LAMARS KILLER ALBUM. Honestly, how does he do it?!!! Each song is worth a Grammy! My favourite, in particular, is The Weeknd and Kendrick- Pray For Me. It's also the background song of the Korea fight scene! Badass song for a badass scene!
And finally, there are so many underlying messages, so many problems that are subtlety touched upon in the film. I won’t go into detail, personally I don’t feel like I’m educated enough to dissect, though there is a line in the film that pulled at the heart strings. A line that I can relate to, but at the same time will never have to experience in this life. The scene where T'Challa takes Killmonger to see the sunset [as his father had told him about the beauty of a Wakanda sunset], he breathes his final words. My memory sucks and I apologise for it not being word for word. T'Challa offers to save him and Killmonger looks at him and says ‘throw me into the ocean where my ancestors are. I’d rather face death than live life in bondage’s’. This line alone pulled on my heart strings [the same way Killmonger pulls out the blade from his chest and breaths his last breath].
And on that note...
Stay lovely x.
A/N: All rights of the images used in this blog post go to the original owners.
You can find Kendrick Lamar's Black Panther album here
