Black Panther

[kunedog]

A-

See it.


Basically, Good Guy Marvel Studios still hasn't dropped the ball, and this is the best MCU flick since Civil War.

Like Wonder Woman, it's a proper origin story with zero other avengers present, and even free of the usually sprinkled-in shilling of the overarching MCU plotline (remarkable, since Infinity War is next).  It's focused entirely on BP's world, which is almost as isolated and fantastical as GotG's, so you get lots of similar-to-GotG refreshing (if shallow) set designs and world-building.

About an hour in I was thinking "This villian is fairly uninteresting (typical for Marvel) and underpowered (odd for Marvel)."  Both those got fixed in a hurry, and I'll probably see it again for pan-African Hitler alone.

I wasn't bored for a second, unlike substantial parts of Wonder Woman and Ragnarok.  Because I had skipped lunch and my stomach was literally growling, I snuck in a snickers bar, only to notice after the credits rolled that it had melted in my pocket (still all in the wrapper thankfully).  The last movie that kept me engaged like that was Civil War, which I ended up seeing three times and taking multiple people back with me.  I'd expect Black Panther's box office to hold up well in subsequent weeks.

[Pastor of Muppets]

I kinda hated how the entire conflict centered around a government with a bad succession policy.  The bad guy had his big win through a loophole.

[Darth Geek]

I kinda hated how the entire conflict centered around a government with a bad succession policy.  The bad guy had his big win through a loophole.

As weird and fucked up as their political process was, it only lasted a few minutes instead of our year and a half long elections, so I prefer theirs.

[Cyrusso]

I have to put aside my feelings on politics, especially when I'm watching a Superhero movie. The reason being is that it's more important that I feel that the good guy is fighting for what's right or at least something far more important than himself or herself.

[Darth Geek]

Did anybody else think that the movie's score occasionally sounded like a cellphone ringtone?
Kind of like this:

Not necessarily the tune but that they were using that type of instrument.

[Cyrusso]

I didn't notice, then again unless a score is REALLY outstanding I don't tend to notice it.

[Darth Geek]

I didn't notice, then again unless a score is REALLY outstanding I don't tend to notice it.

I don't notice the score much either. I just thought someone's phone was going off a few times in the theater, until I realized they just had sections of the score mostly just using that instrument.

[Darth Geek]

I was surprised that Claw died. I was a little confused why Killmonger was shooting at him in the airfield, but leter understood he was using him as an offering. But I figured that Claw wouldn't actually be dead and revive inside the Wakanda palace to cause further damage in the battle later.

[Pastor of Muppets]

I have to put aside my feelings on politics, especially when I'm watching a Superhero movie. The reason being is that it's more important that I feel that the good guy is fighting for what's right or at least something far more important than himself or herself.

I didn't think of it as politics.  It's more of a matter of law.  Politics is more the discussion of what the government does vis a vis domestic and foreign policy.  Politics would be more the debate of whether Wakanda remains isolated or whether they reveal their advanced technology and resources to the world.  Tchalla and Killmonger's opposing views were politics.  The fact that Killmonger could just walk in and take the throne is just bad planning.  At least when the U.S. elects a new president, another guy can't just come in, from a foreign nation no less, a month later and say "No!  I want to be president now!"  Killmonger's entire plot hinged on the Wakandan people being stupid.

[Darth Geek]

I have to put aside my feelings on politics, especially when I'm watching a Superhero movie. The reason being is that it's more important that I feel that the good guy is fighting for what's right or at least something far more important than himself or herself.

I didn't think of it as politics.  It's more of a matter of law.  Politics is more the discussion of what the government does vis a vis domestic and foreign policy.  Politics would be more the debate of whether Wakanda remains isolated or whether they reveal their advanced technology and resources to the world.  Tchalla and Killmonger's opposing views were politics.  The fact that Killmonger could just walk in and take the throne is just bad planning.  At least when the U.S. elects a new president, another guy can't just come in, from a foreign nation no less, a month later and say "No!  I want to be president now!"  Killmonger's entire plot hinged on the Wakandan people being stupid.

It's not the Wakandans being stupid, it's that he happened to have the right to do so because of his heritage. If he had been the abandoned son of one of the Wakandan generals instead of the king's brother, he never would have been able to do that.
Given their advanced technology, I'm sure at some point offscreen they did a bloodtest to verify he was who he said he was. Otherwise, yes they would be stupid.
And how the hell did T'Challa get a good enough look at the ring Killmonger was wearing anyway?

[Pak-Man]

It was a flawed system, but it tied into the movie's central theme, which was tradition vs. doing what's right. Killmonger was made into a villain because the senior Black Panther was trying to uphold Wakandan traditions. There was safety in those traditions, but it kept them from doing the right thing. So he, in turn, used those traditions to take over.

[Cyrusso]

Call me crazy, but making Killmonger a good villain, at least for me didn't affect the quality of the movie that much. It certainly made it easy to clearly understand his motivations but that doesn't make the movie automatically great. I think I just don't care about villains all that much, to me they're all about the same. It doesn't matter if they're Loki, Ultron, Ego, Francis, Ronin, Hela, Zemo, Vulture or Red Skull. I think what's most important to me is that the movie portrays a strong hero we can identify with and look up to, and their team... if applicable. 

[Darth Geek]

Holy shit, I didn't even realize it at the time, but the cool techie sister of Black Panther is a Disney Princess!

Thanks to The Horror Guru for pointing that out in his vlog.

[Darth Geek]

I like to think the Bond style casino scene was a deliberate fuck you to everyone who said Idris Elba can't be a black James Bond.

[Cyrusso]

Hell I've always thought he'd be a great James Bond.