"The wise build bridges, but the foolish build barriers."
Hello everyone!
I know, I know. It took me long enough.
I feel like, after the disappointment I felt with the Spiderman remake, I needed to step back a little and reassess what I like and dislike when it comes to Marvel. They have many more hits than they do misses, but every once in a while they make a miss so spectacular you just can't help but goggle at them.
Anyway.
A couple nights ago I FINALLY sat back to watch the movie that's been talked about all summer long and which brought in a heck of a lot of green with dollar signs.
I have to admit, that alone made me wary.
But Black Panther stood and delivered.
I honestly went into watching this movie with hopeful expectations after all the praise it garnered, but equally I was apprehensive, because sometimes, when a movie is SO applauded, you end up sitting through it and going 'what did I just watch?'
Luckily for me, Black Panther delivered everything it promised and more, and I think I may have to rewatch it soon.
Our story begins with a voice-over and the explanation of the local history of Wakanda, a territory in Africa that hides its true existence from the world (aka that they're light years ahead in technology and savvy). How did they get there? Well, in said voice-over, it's explained that Wakanda was the area Vibranium crashed into; being the rarest metal in the world, it ignited five tribes to war over it even back then, until the goddess Bast gifted the powers of the Black Panther to one of the warriors, who became the leader of all united Wakanda tribes.
Well, all but one, who slunk away into the mountains.
Remember the fifth tribe, kids, because they have a role to play.
We then skip to a second introduction, during which the then-king of Wakanda, T'Chaka, pays a visit to his brother in America (while said brother seems to be arming himself for some reason or other). It is revealed that the king placed a loyal spy, Zuri, with his brother to watch out for him and report back, and so the king now knows that his own brother helped a notorious black market dealer/gangster Klaue steal Vibranium from Wakanda.
The king will not allow the Vibranium to leave his land. And you don't wanna mess with the king, ok?
Finally, in present day, we tag along with T'Challa (Boseman), the king's son, who is set to inherit his father's mantle after the old king recently passed away, but first he needs to grab Nakia, one of his outreach operatives (and his ex because, why would life ever be simple?) and bring her back for the ceremony.
Without freezing, like an antilope when it sees a panther, but hey, he's a guy.
What DID we expect besides him freezing when he finally sees Nakia?
Anyway, to the eternal chagrin of the future king and his sister Shuri's absolute delight, she gets to tease him about it for near eternity, as sixteen-year-olds are wont to do, but first he has to get crowned.
And here, ladies and gentlemen, comes the fifth tribe, out of the mountains again, to challenge for the kingship.
Luckily, T'Challa is made of sterner stuff, and Zuri (yes, same Zuri) ends up crowning him king by the end of the day, after T'Challa manages to subdue M'Baku, the challenger, and get him to yield.
One of the first duties of kingly business is for the new king to entertain his sister, or for his sister to entertain him with her new design for his Black Panther suit. When she asks him to kick the suit, and then kick it again, everyone and their mother knew it wasn't about to end well for T'Challa, but he was sent sprawling anyway.
Meanwhile, they have bigger problems: a Wakandan artefact just popped up on their radar, after ending up stolen from a museum by none other than Klaue and someone who looks positively Wakandian but calls himself Killmonger (Jordan).
They're going to sell it at an auction. So, off T'Challa, Nakia and Okoye, his chief bodyguard and head of security, go to track it down and get it BEFORE it's sold.
Luck not being quite on their side, they run into an old friend of theirs, Agent Ross of the CIA, here to buy precisely the thing they're after, and politely telling T'Challa to back off. The king can't afford a shoot-out, but neither can he let Klaue walk out alive, so Klaue saves him the trouble of deliberating by starting the shoot-out himself. He's a stellar guy like that.
In the end, after a high-speed chase and some Star Wars callbacks in regards to barbaric guns, Klaue does end up in custody, and Serkis and Freeman probably had a blast sitting opposite one another as Klaue and Ross. I'm betting they did a quick Gollum/Bilbo mock-up then and there.
With luck STILL against them, Killmonger comes to free Klaue out of the CIA's hands, and T'Challa has to let them go despite seeing his grandfather's ring on Killmonger, because Ross, throwing himself in front of Nakia, is now fighting for his life. The group take him back to Wakanda where he ends up at Shuri's mercy, and I swear Freeman stumbling about trying to figure out what's going on is probably one of my favourite moments of his in ANY movie he does.
In the meantime, Killmonger kills Klaue and brings him to Wakanda, where he declares himself T'Challa's cousin, something T'Challa knows well: because he went to question Zuri about the ring, learning that his father ended up killing his own brother, but leaving the child behind. Said child then grew up into a black ops operator and a little bit crazy. So yeah, you know, no pressure.
Unfortunately, however, T'Challa loses his particular battle and seemingly falls to his death. While Nakia scrambles to get the Queen and Shuri to safety, Killmonger gets Black Panther powers and destroys the rest of the heart-shaped flowers which bestow this benefit to the bearers.
He's also going to start sending Vibranium and weapons out into the world to Wakanda spies around the globe, so, you know, he can take over. And stuff.
Fleeing to M'Baku, Nakia reveals that she managed to grab one last flower to offer him so he can become Black Panther and rule Wakanda instead. But the leader of the fifth, exiled tribe does them one better: because T'Challa spared him during their duel, his people saved him from the river and managed to keep him alive. Revived after getting his Black Panther powers back, the king makes his first royal proclamation:
get me a goddamn blanket because I'm freezing my ass off in this snow packed around me.
That said and done, it's time to get Killmonger out of their lives, especially as he obviously picked the gaudiest of the Black Panther suits Shuri made, the one T'Challa initially passed over because he wanted something more subtle. He and Killmonger duke it out while Okoye, seeing her original king still alive, changes allegiances and fights with Nakia and M'Baku's people against Wakanda's own royal army. And Ross?
Yeah, Ross was taken right along with Shuri and the Queen when they originally fled, but now they stick him into a plane so he can go shoot down the aircrafts carrying Vibranium out of Wakanda - he was a pilot, see. And he does admirably well when he didn't have a clue about this technology five minutes ago.
It still would have been a stalemate if not for the fact that, while fighting underground, T'Challa ends up stabbing Killmonger and thus defeating him. He's willing to heal him and let him live, but Killmonger says he'd rather die free than live shackled.
So passes a son of the royal line.
T'Challa, learning his lesson, asks Nakia to stay with him this time, and help him develop an outreach program set in the same building where his father killed his uncle, way back when - she and Shuri will make sure it's run properly. For his part, the king of Wakanda finally does what all his ancestors together couldn't: exposes Wakanda to the world and offers knowledge and help to whoever needs it.
And just to tie the knot into a bow, Shuri is revealed to be helping and healing one Bucky Barnes, whom we lot may all recall as compatriot to Captain America.
FIN
Packed full of innuendos and jokes that make you roll your eyes and then laugh, this movie is probably one of the most enjoyable ones summer could produce. It definitely delivers after all the praise it received, and I'm honestly stoked to finally continue with this Phase of Marvel's and beyond.
Also, can we just say T'Challa and Nakia are goals? K thanks.
Haven't seen Black Panther yet? What're you waiting for? Grab your copy today!
xx
*images and video not mine
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