Iconic Black Panther Movie Wows Audiences
The much anticipated ‘Black Panther’ didn’t disappoint and got people into the spirit of the movie.
People were caught up in the “Wakanda” spirit as crowds of moviegoers cheered and barked upon exiting the cinema. The movie had created an ebullient vibe that interested everyone. Having watched the movie twice now, it is clear that Marvel and director Ryan Coogler set about making a movie that catered and related to a race of over 1 billion people – and they succeeded, spectacularly.
A key thing that Black Panther has going for it is the thematic weight it easily carries on its shoulders. Black Panther has a plethora of themes relevant to the modern-day struggles of POC (People of Color). These themes include ethnic separatism, colonization, differences between Africans and Africans of Diaspora, Afrofuturism, sins of the past, absent fathers as well as the more common themes of heroism, love, and loyalty.
The score composer Ludwig Gorensson did an excellent job at creating authentic African sounds and the movie itself used a few songs that would be familiar to keen ears. Coogler expertly directed beautiful transition shots and spectacular actions scenes – particularly the Car chase and the final battle scenes.
As heavy as the themes were they wouldn’t have been so successful if not for the amazing cast who play a variety of complex, multi-dimensional characters.
The run-time, pacing, execution, directing and story, can be all rated and assigned a value. But, the importance and meaning of the movie, the way in which each person will experience it, will be different. With a runtime of 2 hours and 14 minutes, the movies brisk pace carries the viewer through the movie. The excellent pacing makes it hard to notice that time is passing until the last act of the movie.
Like every movie, it does have its shortcomings. The story isn’t particularly superb but because of the good directing, scene executions and fantastic acting and characterization, it’s easy to overlook the flaws or lulls in the story.
Lupita Nyong’o, who stars as Nakia, says the fictional land of Wakanda encourages female power. “Wakanda offers us a glimpse into the world as it could be — self-determined and developed on their own terms without the interruption of colonialism. [It] has figured out how to make the most of all its citizens,” Nyong’o said. “Women are allowed to realize their full potential and that’s what Ryan [Coogler] wanted to show and he committed to having that number of women around him.”
She says the women contribute to answering central questions the film poses such as, “Who am I?” Nyong’o adds that specifically the character of Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, is an important image for young girls to see given her position as a young, tech-savvy woman.
Race deeply matters in ‘Black Panther’; it explores larger human concerns about the past, the present and the uses and abuses of power. That gives the movie more insight into how the world works than a lot of mainstream movies, even if those ideas are interspersed with plenty of comic-book posturing. It wouldn’t be a Marvel production without manly skirmishes and digital avatars. Yet in its emphasis on black imagination, creation, and liberation, the movie becomes an emblem of a past that was denied and a future that feels very present. And in doing so opens up its world, and the viewers, beautifully.
