Shale
Bluelighter
Black Panther
Movie Blurb by Shale
February 27, 2018
This movie has been out since Feb 16, but I have waited for the opening furor to subside a bit before venturing to the Cinema. It is the origin story of black royalty from an obscure third-world nation of Wakanda, which actually hides an advanced, hi tech civilization that has existed in Africa for millennia. We first got a glimpse of this royalty and Prince T'Challa or Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) when his father King T'Chaka (John Kani) was killed in Captain America: Civil War (2016). This movie picks up after that, when T'Challa becomes king of Wakanda.
Among the royals of Wakanda are T'Challa's mother, Ramonda (Angela Bassett), and his younger teen sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) a precocious and brilliant scientist who makes much of the advanced technology. Then there is Okoye (Danai Gurira) head of the all-female Dora Milaje bodyguards of the king, and Zuri (Forest Whitaker) an elder spiritual leader.
Okoye & Dora Milaje
There is also Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) an undercover agent working in the African nations around Wakanda to stop human trafficking and other problems of those nations. She is also a former love interest of T'Challa.
Nakia & Shuri
The advancement of Wakanda started when a meteor of "vibranium" a metal that is stronger than any other (OK, the nerds are already debating how vibranium holds up to adamantium) and is impervious to most anything, hit that part of Africa. It is the basis of their technology and is woven into the very fabric of Black Panther's suit, making him bullet proof.
Wakanda, being hidden from the world avoided the colonialism that plagued the rest of Africa but could not avoid the internecine rivalry of its own. There is a contender to the throne, a distant relative N'Jadaka (Michael B. Jordan) who was raised in the larger, corrupt world as Erik Stevens and has been trained as a black ops agent and assassin in many of the U.S. wars and has taken the name "Killmonger."
Erik Stevens-T'Challa
This becomes the major threat to Wakanda and Black Panther.
This movie has an almost exclusively black cast. There are a couple of white guys who play a part, the villainous South African arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) and a token good guy, Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) a CIA agent who gets drawn into the intrigues of Wakanda while chasing terrorists with stolen vibranium.
The appeal of this movie to black audiences is obvious but to those white ppl who appreciate African beauty and its native art and culture (Don't forget that ancient Egyptians were not white) it is a refreshing moment to enjoy this fantasy onscreen. As with the DC Wonder Woman origin showing a culture of strong females, this is a refreshing look at an African culture existing beyond the reality of modern Africa and delves into the responsibility of advanced nations to assist those less advanced. Sort of a feel-good moment onscreen.
And, this feel-good movie is very popular among critics and making a killing at the box office. I enjoyed it immensely and recommend those who have not yet seen it to do so. On Rotten Tomatoes the aggregate critics gave it a 97% Fresh and 79% of audiences liked it. Their consensus was; "Black Panther elevates superhero cinema to thrilling new heights while telling one of the MCU's most absorbing stories and introducing some of its most fully realized characters."
Edit:
BTW, a heads up. There are two end-credit teasers. The first, early on is like the next chapter of the movie.
The second you have to wait for 10 minutes of end credits before it comes up at the very end - and it is an interesting & mysterious lead in to something else.
Movie Blurb by Shale
February 27, 2018
This movie has been out since Feb 16, but I have waited for the opening furor to subside a bit before venturing to the Cinema. It is the origin story of black royalty from an obscure third-world nation of Wakanda, which actually hides an advanced, hi tech civilization that has existed in Africa for millennia. We first got a glimpse of this royalty and Prince T'Challa or Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) when his father King T'Chaka (John Kani) was killed in Captain America: Civil War (2016). This movie picks up after that, when T'Challa becomes king of Wakanda.
Among the royals of Wakanda are T'Challa's mother, Ramonda (Angela Bassett), and his younger teen sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) a precocious and brilliant scientist who makes much of the advanced technology. Then there is Okoye (Danai Gurira) head of the all-female Dora Milaje bodyguards of the king, and Zuri (Forest Whitaker) an elder spiritual leader.
Okoye & Dora Milaje
There is also Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) an undercover agent working in the African nations around Wakanda to stop human trafficking and other problems of those nations. She is also a former love interest of T'Challa.
Nakia & Shuri
The advancement of Wakanda started when a meteor of "vibranium" a metal that is stronger than any other (OK, the nerds are already debating how vibranium holds up to adamantium) and is impervious to most anything, hit that part of Africa. It is the basis of their technology and is woven into the very fabric of Black Panther's suit, making him bullet proof.
Wakanda, being hidden from the world avoided the colonialism that plagued the rest of Africa but could not avoid the internecine rivalry of its own. There is a contender to the throne, a distant relative N'Jadaka (Michael B. Jordan) who was raised in the larger, corrupt world as Erik Stevens and has been trained as a black ops agent and assassin in many of the U.S. wars and has taken the name "Killmonger."
Erik Stevens-T'Challa
This becomes the major threat to Wakanda and Black Panther.
This movie has an almost exclusively black cast. There are a couple of white guys who play a part, the villainous South African arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) and a token good guy, Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) a CIA agent who gets drawn into the intrigues of Wakanda while chasing terrorists with stolen vibranium.
The appeal of this movie to black audiences is obvious but to those white ppl who appreciate African beauty and its native art and culture (Don't forget that ancient Egyptians were not white) it is a refreshing moment to enjoy this fantasy onscreen. As with the DC Wonder Woman origin showing a culture of strong females, this is a refreshing look at an African culture existing beyond the reality of modern Africa and delves into the responsibility of advanced nations to assist those less advanced. Sort of a feel-good moment onscreen.
And, this feel-good movie is very popular among critics and making a killing at the box office. I enjoyed it immensely and recommend those who have not yet seen it to do so. On Rotten Tomatoes the aggregate critics gave it a 97% Fresh and 79% of audiences liked it. Their consensus was; "Black Panther elevates superhero cinema to thrilling new heights while telling one of the MCU's most absorbing stories and introducing some of its most fully realized characters."
Edit:
BTW, a heads up. There are two end-credit teasers. The first, early on is like the next chapter of the movie.
The second you have to wait for 10 minutes of end credits before it comes up at the very end - and it is an interesting & mysterious lead in to something else.
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OWER. She still couldn't get into it but having lived in Africa in a country with many tribes, I really appreciated the costuming and the styles as well. I wasn't expecting great and it wasn't great. But it was history in the making and I love it that it's killing it at the box office.