Ty Watches "Black Panther"
My wife and I, much like the rest of the country, saw "Black Panther" this weekend. It was amazing! This was a perfect music in every single aspect. There is not a single problem that I can find with this movie. It more than lived up to its tremendous hype. I wish all the movies in the MCU were as good, but more importantly, as genius and profound as "Black Panther".
I had never heard of the super hero Black Panther until I saw "Civil War". I loved him in that movie. I loved his suit, his powers and his politics. I was fully on board. Black Panther immediately shot right up there with Wolverine and Deadpool right after seeing "Civil War".
Then, it was announced shorty after that Black Panther was going to get his own movie. I liked the idea. Then, the names that were involved started to get mentioned, and that took my want to see the movie to a whole new level. Of course, Chadwick Boseman was returning to play T'challa, Black Panther, and I have enjoyed him in every performance I have seen of his. Ryan Coogler was then announced as the director. This dude, for me, is 3 for 3 now with his direction. First off, "Fruitvale Station" is one of the best, and most important, movies that I have ever witnessed. Seriously, that movie should be shown in history classes. Then. he made "Creed". I was hyper critical and very nervous that this may mess up "Rocky" for me. Well, "Creed" is amazing as well. For me, it is right up there with "Rocky", "Rocky 2" and "Raging Bull" as best movies about boxing ever made. So, when he was announced as the director of "Black Panther", I was stoked and ready to see it right away. With Coogler came Michael B Jordan. I mean, Michael B Jordan may be my new favorite actor. He was exceptional on "The Wire", as the lead in "Fruitvale Station" and as Apollo Creed's son in "Creed". Even when the movie he is in isn't that good, his performance is fine. For example, he was just fine as the Human Torch in the god awful "Fantastic 4" reboot. He was also decent in that rom com that starred him, Miles Teller and Zack Efron. Michael B Jordan is a very solid actor that will turn in good performances most of the time.
Then, the female cast was announced. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o was cast. I loved it. Then, Danai Gurira, Michonne from "The Walking Dead" was cast. She is the only good person left on that show. And Letitia Wright was cast. I didn't know who she was at the time, but then I watched the "Black Mirror" episode, "Black Museum", and became very familiar with her. Oh, and let us not forget about Angela Bassett. She is wonderful. Some more names that came after the fact were Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, Forest Whittaker, Sterling K Brown and Daniel Kaluuya. Those are all bona fide stars. Hearing all this, then seeing the previews just amped it up to 11 for me. When they attach a Run the Jewels song, that was that. It was a wrap for me. I was going to see this movie, and I was going to see it on opening weekend.
When my wife and I sat down in the sold out theater, and the movie started, I was wrapped by every single second. The way the movie started, flashing back to Oakland I 1991 was perfect. Seeing Wakanda for the first time was amazing. I wish it were a real place, I'd love to visit. The effects and the costumes were astounding. But, what made this movie perfect was the acting and the message. Chadwick Boseman was incredible. He owns this role, and he is perfect for it. Michael B Jordan, as the villain Kilmonger, was hauntingly good. There were moments where I legitimately thought that he was right and everyone else in Wakanda was wrong. He was amazing. Danile Kaluuya, in a small role, was very good. He is becoming a household name now. Lupita Nyong'o was absolutely incredible as the spy that was T'challa's former lover. Nyong'o just crushed this role. She was the strongest female lead, and maybe the strongest person in this movie. Danai Gurira was a total badass, and I loved her. She sure as hell can wield a weapon, but she was also a very strong willed person that answered to no one. Forest Whittaker was very good in his smallish role. He has a very profound moment between him and T'challa. Martin Freeman was pretty good, as a side character, reprising his role from other MCU movies. Andy Serkis, not in motion capture, is a perfect bad guy. Even Sterling K Brown, in a very tiny role, had some great moments. And Angela Bassett was not only beautiful, but wonderful. But the star was Letitia Wright. She was so great in this movie. She played T'challa's techy younger sister. She was the smartest person in a country of extremely smart people. I'm so excited to see what they do with her character moving forward. I hope she is in "Infinity War" because I want to see more of this character.
As far as why this movie is so important, it shows a cultural shift in super hero movies. If we are being honest, pretty much every other super hero movie, that is a big budget movie, is based on a white person. Well, there are only 2 white characters in "Black Panther", and one is evil, and the other is used as a very marginal side character. And it was perfect. This movie belonged to the main cast. Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Bassett, Wright, Gurira, Nyong'o, these were the main characters. These were the people who's stories I wanted to see when watching this movie. They were the most important people, and Coogler put that across tenfold. It was perfect.
I literally have zero complaints about "Black Panther". I'm so happy that it is crushing records left and right. I love that RTJ and Kendrick Lamar have attached their names and music to this movie. I love that Donald Glover came in and did punch up. I love that the movie had jokes in it. I just plain love this movie. Seriously people, go see "Black Panther" for all the reasons I mentioned, and for so many more. It is a perfect movie. I'm so excited to see where they take these characters from here on out. "Black Panther" has made me excited to see super hero movies again.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.
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