“Black Panther” Lets Out an African Roar

Release Date：Feb/16/2018
Genre：Action/Adventure/Sci-fi
Director：Ryan Coogler
Cast：Chadwick Boseman、Michael B. Jordan、Martin Freeman、Lupita Nyong'o

Viola's Rating：8.5

After “Captain America: Civil War”, Marvel aficionados are now more familiar with a new superhero from Africa, Black Panther. The eighteenth feature film of Marvel Comics Universe (MCU) not only opens the Marvel adventure in 2018 but is also the last individual superhero film before “Avengers: The Infinity War” says hello.

With a mainly black cast, the King of Wakanda leads his family, friends and countrymen to fight against any threats they encounter. This adventurous action sci-fi depicts how T’Challa, the Warrior King of Wakanda, rises to the throne in the distant, isolated and technologically advanced African nation, but his claim is challenged by a vengeful outsider who was a childhood victim due to the mistake of T’Chaka, T’Challa’s father.

Acting a part of Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman made his Marvel debut in “Captain America: Civil War”. Coming from South Carolina, Boseman is through-and-through an American, but to play the King of Wakanda perfectly, he has to speak with an African accent. 

According to a chart created by “Buddy Loans”, a website run by professional lenders, T’Challa is the world’s richest superhero, followed by Iron Man and Batman. Owning a whole country, the responsibility he takes on is much more than his Avengers allies. Therefore, all through the flick, the Warrior King of Wakanda has to make decisions based on his people’s interests for they are his priority.

Boseman said in an interview that “Black Panther” is not just an action sci-fi, but also a motion picture about politics. Although Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), the vengeful outsider, is Black Panther’s detractor, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the villain of the piece. Thus, diplomatic efforts can be seen from beginning to end, and the audience get to decide who the real antagonist is.

One of the biggest advantages of “Black Panther” is the screen time of supporting characters. Marvel is usually good at delegating time to each superhero, and even though this movie is an individual work, up to at least four characters play critical roles in the plot.

As mentioned before, the King of Wakanda’s main mission in the picture is to compensate for his father’s mistake. T’Challa was next in line to the throne, but as a result of T’Chaka’s untimely death, he didn’t think he’s ready to become the leader of the nation. Therefore, while “Black Panther” is breaking the ice, it’s demonstrating its coming-of-age process as well.

In the beginning of 2018, “Black Panther” starts the year letting out an African roar and he not only ranks as the richest superhero, but also lands himself one of the best Marvel feature films.

Picture Credit: IMDb