Cue the screams!
I finally managed to watch Marvel's Black Panther in the cinemas today. I know, I know, it's way overdue but at least I got to watch it. Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman as King T'Challa/ Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira as Okoye and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross.
As a huge Marvel fan, I am in love with this franchise and these are the reasons why: The good dialogue, epic battle scenes and fantastic intertwine with the other Marvel movies. Black Panther was 134 minutes long. Was it worth sitting through this movie? Read on to find out. Spoilers below, so read at your own risk.
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The Beginning
Black Panther begins with a nice intro. It was interesting to learn a bit about the history of Wakanda through storytelling. Then, we get to see young King T'Chaka visiting his younger brother at his apartment in the States. This was a foreshadow to reveal the true identity of the antagonist, Erik Killmonger, later.
Wakanda
Wakanda is truly a place of paradise, filled with rich culture paired with advanced technology. To protect the rare ore known as 'Vibranium' a.k.a the strongest metal on Earth, Wakanda pretends to be a third-world nation by hiding. Wakanda also has the best warriors called the Dora Milaje, a team of superior women who serve as the king's personal bodyguards. This special forces team is led by General Okoye, played by our resident The Walking Dead heroine actress. Danai Gurira totally slayed in this movie, especially during the car chase scene. Her great personality and funny dialogues made her a very likeable person. And in case you didn't know, she's totally my girl crush.
The Grieving Hero
T'Challa now has to carry the weight of his duties as a king. Torn by two extreme points of view, T'Challa struggles to make a decision to continue protecting his people and ignore the outside world or introduce the outside world to the real Wakanda and provide them with their technology. Neither option was easy to make. T'Challa wants to be his own person and not defined by his father or his previous ancestors and proves himself by correcting the mistakes made in the past.
Nakia plays an important role in this movie, as Wakanda's best spy and T'Challa's source of strength. Nakia and T'Challa are truly a perfect pair.
The Tragic Villain
Now let's talk about Killmonger. I thought Michael B Jordan did a great job and he totally made us fall in love with him (though I did dislike him when he mercilessly killed the other Wakandans). Sadly, Killmonger didn't live to see the next sunset. It would've been nice to see Killmonger and T'Challa in action for Infinity War. I felt that there could be more development to Killmonger's character, especially after how he made us care so much for him. Killmonger could've just been another typical bad villain, but Michael B Jordan added a layer of humanity to this character.
Best Parts
Funny moments in this movie includes Shuri's "What are thoooose?!", Shuri's attitude and well, Shuri in general. The catchphrase "Wakanda Forever" is really catchy, and is now a meme. M'Baku was also pretty funny during the 'can't you reconcile somewhere not in front of my face' scene. And did you see Stan Lee in the movie? He always comes out in unexpected moments, giving you the best of laughs.
Moving on from the funny parts, the fight scenes for the throne were interesting to watch. During the 'civil war', it pained me to see the different tribes attacking one another.
Needless to say, the whole movie is a thrilling start to finish. This is why Marvel movies are so long because they give you the best set-ups, tremendous energy during action scenes and fantastic dialogue.
The White Wolf
Bucky's cameo in the post-credit scene is all I needed. Bucky calls himself 'Bucky' and wants others to do the same. Bucky's arm isn't fixed yet but hopefully he's already freed from Hydra's control. The inevitable war ahead is now approaching faster than ever. I am excited to watch the next Avengers movie and hopefully be ready for a major character death.
Rating
I'd give this movie a 8.5/10. Kudos to all the actors, crew and Marvel for this amazing masterpiece.
Tags: [#WakandaForever #BlackPanther #TChalla #Marvel #TheAvengers #ChadwickBoseman #MichaelJordan #DanaiGurira #movie]