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Movie Review: Black Panther

Mike Tyrkus

The latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic universe (MCU), the new film Black Panther, surpasses all expectations you may have regarding the modern super hero film. As Christopher Nolan did with The Dark Knight ten years ago, director Ryan Coogler has again reset the bar for the genre. It is thoroughly original and simultaneously feels like a logical next step for the aforementioned MCU and offers proof of the further development of one of Hollywood’s more gifted filmmakers.

After the death of his father, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns to his homeland—the technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda—to assume his role as king. However, T’Challa soon finds his new positions as king and the Black Panther (a mantle handed down from king-to-king) challenged by the son of his banished uncle. Now, he must fight to protect not only himself and his family, but his entire nation and the world from the death and destruction promised by his cousin.

Director and co-writer Coogler—who has previously shown off his considerable skill behind the camera with Creed (2015) and Fruitvale Station (2013)—seems tailor-made for the material here. Watching the film, one gets the sense that this is not a young filmmaker at work, but rather a seasoned craftsman who knows the material through and through and has a clear idea of exactly what he wants to get out of the concept and exactly how to get it. Likewise, there doesn’t seem to be anything wasted on the screen at all. The film’s running time—it clocks in at just around two hours and fourteen minutes—goes unnoticed as there’s never a dull moment onscreen. Characters are introduced with precision and skill. Action sequences are handled in a deft manner that never sways. In short, everything matters.

This economical approach however does not short-shrift the story in any way. In fact, there is so much loaded into this film, it might be hard to unpack it all in a single viewing. Once is not nearly enough to appreciate the costume design work here by Ruth E. Carter (Marshall [2017], Selma [2014]), nor the superb cinematography of Rachel Morrison (recently nominated for an Oscar® for her work on Mudbound [2017]). This may be the most beautiful Marvel movie produced yet.

Chadwick Boseman in “Black Panther.” © 2017 – Disney/Marvel Studios.

Not only is the film something to behold, but it also benefits from some fine performances from lead Boseman as well as co-star Michael B. Jordan (frequent Coogler collaborator) as Erik Killmonger who, as can be told from his moniker, is T’Challa’s nemesis in the film. Also of note is Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya as W’Kabi, the head of security for Wakanda’s Border Tribe. But, Black Panther is not your typical male-dominated comic book-based movie, practically every other strong character in this film is a female. Apart from Martin Freeman’s reprisal of CIA operative Everett K. Ross (last seen in Captain America: Civil War [2016]), most of the characters here are strong females. There’s Nakia, T’Challa’s former lover and all-around bad ass, played with style and grace by Lupita Nyong’o; Shuri, T’Challa’s sister and the Wakandan version of Black Panther’s “Q,” played by Letitia Wright; and Ramonda, the Queen of Wakanda, played by Angela Bassett. Of course, these few characters only scratch the surface of the depth of the universe being created here. The world is so rich and flavorful, it’s easy to get lost in it.

Black Panther is, for many reasons, a game-changer for Marvel; and comic-book movies in general, going forward, will likely never be the same.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com
An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

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