‘Black Panther’ receives high praise amongst film critics
By Drew Henderson // A&E Editor
Directed by Ryan Coogler, “Black Panther” is the newest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Black Panther” stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis. After the death of his father, King T’Chaka, T’Challa (Boseman) returns to his home of Wakanda to be crowned the king of Wakanda. When his father’s mistakes come to haunt T’Challa in the form of Killmonger (Jordan), T’Challa must protest his people and become the Black Panther.
“Black Panther” just might be the most hyped up movie since “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” back in 2015. This hype inevitably creates a wall blocking out all criticisms against the movie. The only negative Rotten Tomatoes reviews for film trended on twitter and received an absurd amount of backlash.
I didn’t believe I would have many criticisms with “Black Panther” because I love the other two films Ryan Coogler has directed, “Fruitvale Station” and especially “Creed.” I also loved how Black Panther was introduced in “Captain America: Civil War,” as Chadwick Boseman played the role as the middleman between Captain American and Iron Man’s conflict. I can thankfully say that “Black Panther” is one of the best entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Boseman continues to be fantastic as the Black Panther.
Coogler does a fantastic job presenting the futuristic city that is Wakanda, and makes the audience relate to T’Challa in his struggle to become a great leader. Wakanda is made of vibranium, the metal that Captain America’s shield is made of and the most powerful element in the world. The element has made Wakanda the most technologically advanced region on the planet, and the Wakandan people hide their city and discoveries to keep them out of the wrong hands.
Danai Gurira gives a joyful performance as T’Challa’s sister, Shuri, as she develops all of his technology and is just a fun presence in the film. However, the best part of “Black Panther” is Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger. Marvel has had a problem with their villains in the past. The best Marvel villains are easily Loki, Vulture from “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and Hela from “Thor Ragnarok” because the audience can understand their motives and relate to the villains, while they also are charismatic and fun to watch.
Killmonger could possibly be better then all three of the villains above. Killmonger doesn’t want to just simply destroy the world like the weaker Marvel villains. He wants to do something that makes sense and that the audience can understand. He is also the source of my only criticism with “Black Panther.”
Killmonger is not given nearly as much screen time as he deserves. Klaw (Serkis) plays the villain for the first half of the movie. Klaw is fine, but very generic and just average compared to Killmonger. He has an awesome introduction in the beginning of the film, and then he disappears for almost an hour, and then returns. It’s just a shame because he was so much fun to watch and I would have loved to see more of him.
I really have no other issues with “Black Panther” and would highly recommend the movie, as Coogler makes not only a great superhero movie, but a great film. I love how Marvel brought together such a talented and diverse cast to make an amazing movie, and I hope that the profit this movie makes will lead to more superhero movies led by fantastic diverse casts.