I searched this forum to see if there's any thread on this movie. Couldn't find anything on it, clear evidence that you all are a hivemind of racists who poke holes in your sheets.
..............
I'm kidding, by the way.
So, I saw Black Panther in theater last night. I wanted to share my non-spoiler thoughts on it immediately, but I did the mature thing of waiting until today in order to let the hype wash off. My opinion in this movie - and I'm saying this as a MCU fan - is that it was great. I loved it. I am also a hundred percent certain that the majority of the viewers will find this movie enjoyable for the most part, but the level of enjoyment that they can draw from it will fluctuate between each person. I've heard some people claim it was the best thing since "The Dark Knight" while I've heard some others get angry at the fact that it has a higher approval rating than "The Dark Knight", completely missing the fact that TDK still has a higher average (8.6) than BP (8.3) and that is what matters more. So, did I think the movie was better than The Dark Knight? Well, it's hard to say. For starters, BP is different in the sense that it fully embraces the madness of the source material. I won't spoil it for you, but there's stuff in that movie that'll make you do a double take. But if I had to compare the two, I'd say The Dark Knight edges it out in most aspects asides from a few that I'm about to mention - heart, being a prime example. Unlike TDK's mediocre attempts to make me believe that there was a love triangle between Dent, Rachel and Bruce, BP does a great job honing all the characters so that you fear for them when sh!t hits the fan. Also, because the movie fully embraces its comic book-ness, it is easier for the viewer to accept some of the outlandish schemes that are concocted in the movie, which is something that TDK had trouble with, especially during the final act. The fight scenes were also more frenetic in BP than in TDK, but they were undermind by the CGI which was quite 'meh' in some parts.
Another superhero flick that I have to compare BP to is Wonder Woman. Just like WW, BP also is being lauded for being progressive. There were many parts in the movie where director Ryan Coogler could have taken the bait and adopted an Us vs. Them stance like some comic book writers have in some BP comic runs (like when that time Wakandan councilmen decided to withhold the cure for cancer from the West), but just like fellow director Patty Jenkins, he avoided doing so expertly. The movie made sure to portray that any revolution that condones black supremacy is nuts and should be condemned. Of course, I'm certain that won't stop hate groups from misconstruing the overall message and lashing out, but any person with a good head on their shoulders will see the movie for what it is.
Now it all comes to the final question - how does the movie fare as an MCU entry? Well, for starters, what I appreciated about the movie is that it is mostly standalone and does not go out of its way to set anything up. The second thing I appreciated is the humor. It was moderate and did not poke its head whenever there was a serious scene happening (looking at you, Ragnarok!). The way how they handled humor in this movie was similar to how they did it in The Winter Soldier. What's also awesome, and this is slightly more meta and maybe it's something that non-MCU fans won't appreciate as much, is the fact that Ryan Coogler was given the green light to do the movie on his own terms and it SHOWS. It doesn't have the factory-made feel of previous installments, boasting awesome soundtrack (hip hop with a tribal motif) and awesome cast of supporting characters (Shuri, M'Baku and Kilmonger are especially great). The costumes are also amazing and do a great job of displaying Wakandan tradition. If this movie ever generates Oscar buzz, it's gonna be for the costume designs.
I think the movie ranks right up there with the Marvel greats: The Winter Soldier, Civil War and Iron Man. A piece of advice though - if you're not an MCU fan, don't waste your time with the post-credit scenes. The first scene simply visualizes what the ending of the movie implies, while the second one is quite dull and does nothing other than to tell you something that you already know from the Infinity War trailer.
I give this movie a 9.5/10.
Edit: One more gripe that I had with the movie is that it sometimes suffered from the Doctor Strange illness of being vague with time progression. There are some things in the movie that were clearly meant to happen in a span of several days or even months, but it felt like they wrapped up in 24 hours.
..............
I'm kidding, by the way.
So, I saw Black Panther in theater last night. I wanted to share my non-spoiler thoughts on it immediately, but I did the mature thing of waiting until today in order to let the hype wash off. My opinion in this movie - and I'm saying this as a MCU fan - is that it was great. I loved it. I am also a hundred percent certain that the majority of the viewers will find this movie enjoyable for the most part, but the level of enjoyment that they can draw from it will fluctuate between each person. I've heard some people claim it was the best thing since "The Dark Knight" while I've heard some others get angry at the fact that it has a higher approval rating than "The Dark Knight", completely missing the fact that TDK still has a higher average (8.6) than BP (8.3) and that is what matters more. So, did I think the movie was better than The Dark Knight? Well, it's hard to say. For starters, BP is different in the sense that it fully embraces the madness of the source material. I won't spoil it for you, but there's stuff in that movie that'll make you do a double take. But if I had to compare the two, I'd say The Dark Knight edges it out in most aspects asides from a few that I'm about to mention - heart, being a prime example. Unlike TDK's mediocre attempts to make me believe that there was a love triangle between Dent, Rachel and Bruce, BP does a great job honing all the characters so that you fear for them when sh!t hits the fan. Also, because the movie fully embraces its comic book-ness, it is easier for the viewer to accept some of the outlandish schemes that are concocted in the movie, which is something that TDK had trouble with, especially during the final act. The fight scenes were also more frenetic in BP than in TDK, but they were undermind by the CGI which was quite 'meh' in some parts.
Another superhero flick that I have to compare BP to is Wonder Woman. Just like WW, BP also is being lauded for being progressive. There were many parts in the movie where director Ryan Coogler could have taken the bait and adopted an Us vs. Them stance like some comic book writers have in some BP comic runs (like when that time Wakandan councilmen decided to withhold the cure for cancer from the West), but just like fellow director Patty Jenkins, he avoided doing so expertly. The movie made sure to portray that any revolution that condones black supremacy is nuts and should be condemned. Of course, I'm certain that won't stop hate groups from misconstruing the overall message and lashing out, but any person with a good head on their shoulders will see the movie for what it is.
Now it all comes to the final question - how does the movie fare as an MCU entry? Well, for starters, what I appreciated about the movie is that it is mostly standalone and does not go out of its way to set anything up. The second thing I appreciated is the humor. It was moderate and did not poke its head whenever there was a serious scene happening (looking at you, Ragnarok!). The way how they handled humor in this movie was similar to how they did it in The Winter Soldier. What's also awesome, and this is slightly more meta and maybe it's something that non-MCU fans won't appreciate as much, is the fact that Ryan Coogler was given the green light to do the movie on his own terms and it SHOWS. It doesn't have the factory-made feel of previous installments, boasting awesome soundtrack (hip hop with a tribal motif) and awesome cast of supporting characters (Shuri, M'Baku and Kilmonger are especially great). The costumes are also amazing and do a great job of displaying Wakandan tradition. If this movie ever generates Oscar buzz, it's gonna be for the costume designs.
I think the movie ranks right up there with the Marvel greats: The Winter Soldier, Civil War and Iron Man. A piece of advice though - if you're not an MCU fan, don't waste your time with the post-credit scenes. The first scene simply visualizes what the ending of the movie implies, while the second one is quite dull and does nothing other than to tell you something that you already know from the Infinity War trailer.
I give this movie a 9.5/10.
Edit: One more gripe that I had with the movie is that it sometimes suffered from the Doctor Strange illness of being vague with time progression. There are some things in the movie that were clearly meant to happen in a span of several days or even months, but it felt like they wrapped up in 24 hours.
