Black Panther

I hope I won’t be called a racist if I express my contentment with a film where the only white guys are two Hobbits ;). The rather serious and the comment-on-world-problems style suits the Panther, it is clear that the roots lie in the Civil War which reemerges here. Coogler knows how to take the right stance and Michael Jordan’s Killmonger cashes in on this in an interesting variation on the anti-hero. Boseman just reinforces his position after his great debut in the third Captain and his T’Challa scores him points at his home (the great storyline about his sister). A leisurely start up with an excellent chase in South Korea easily beats the opulent fight in the finale, which maybe unnecessarily relies on the tried and tested. It certainly won’t disappoint – it just won’t surprise. The visuals are fantastic. Wakanda is fantastic and I can’t wait to take another look at her. The music by Ludwig Göranssonon is a chapter in itself, bristling with Africa and beating to modern black rhythms. Luckily there is just a bare minimum of rap and generally don’t disturb. WAKANDA FOREVER! (15/02/2018)

Direction-wise a solidly crafted Marvel movie with literally amazing action scenes, but with an average main character. The existence of the comic book character doesn’t help him and neither does the fact that Marvel is attempting to balance the representation of genders of the human race. Maybe it wasn’t intended in that way, but it definitely looks like it; Wakanda is so boring and unfunny that it’s hard to find anything positive about it. But yeah, I realize that Black Panther has a place in the universe. He for sure won’t be my favorite hero, though. (19/10/2018)

It's definitely not the best Marvel film, and a big role in the hype is played by the political level which, btw, sounds perfectly fine to me, like when a black boy from the Ghetto tells you a fairy tale that he has been hearing since childhood. T'Challa is a remarkably humble figure by MCU standards - Tony Stark stripped of vice and infected with a mixture of Shakespeare and the Lion King. It's magically naive and refreshing, because unlike other Marvel films, Black Panther is really devoted to its characters and, for example, the villain played by the charismatic Jordan is better depicted here than most of his competitors. Black Panther in turn shrinks the MCU world and curtails it by a cosmic dimension. In fact, it only deals with very familiar and current problems, and as a result, it feels like an even bigger fairy tale and escapism. In a way, Coogler concluded his black trilogy, which creates the figures of black saints. In Fruitvale, his efforts were undermined by social realism and in Creed by a lot of clichés, whereas Black Panther feels like his most convincing film, despite all of its problems with tempo and tricks. It's a pity he doesn't have a slightly sharper edit and a greater use of the hip hop soundtrack. Otherwise, this textbook Afrofuturism is really a very pleasant companion. A film that believes in a better world and that the super-protagonist is sometimes the one who just does something selflessly for the community. Political correctness? I say common sense. (13/02/2018)

Black Panther surprised me. I was worried it would be a scruffy hybrid of the Avenger's colourfulness and mandatory ethnic lecturing to a wider (two billion-strong) audience, but it ended up being one of the MCU's most accomplished entries. The story has a brisk pace, the viewer is thoughtfully introduced to the new world and its possibilities, the balance between serious approach and momentary lightness works perfectly, and above all there is a great and reasonably motivated villain, whose gradual involvement in the game, when he gets to speak at the expense of the previous numero ono villain, is flawless and unparalleled in the Marvel universe. Two hours flowed like water and if there's anything I didn't like (and I did), it's rather small things – namely a few plot holes (the heavy simplification of the capture of Ulysses, who had been on the run for about 30 years; the implausible psychological transformation of W'Kabi; the transparency of the plot despite a narrative based on explanatory flashbacks). Otherwise, though, high blockbuster quality with a couple of witty James Bond references, good actors (especially Serkis, Jordan and, again, the entertaining Freeman), clear action often in long takes and a likeable script that presents Wakanda not as a sexy bimbo introduced for a brief appearance in Infinity War, but as an immersive backdrop to a self-contained plot whose rules the viewer willingly accepts and is swept along by (the duel for the throne is the most emotionally powerful in a long time). Bring in the sequel. 80% (06/09/2018)

You know the rhetoric. A Marvel fanboy yells at a DC fanboy for his heroes being anchored in reality. It is impossible to root for someone who is as rich as Bruce Wayne or as divine as Diana of Themyscira. Then, all of a sudden, the Marvel fanboy now has an African Atlantis starring the royal prince. Hmm. (29/12/2018)