BLOOD WORK: SILVER TONGUED SILVER SCREEN: BLACK PANTHER (2018)

The last Marvel Studios film before Avengers: Infinity War has arrived. BLACK PANTHER is the first comic book super hero of African descent from Marvel or any other mainstream comic book publisher. This character literally is a huge piece of comic book/super hero history. Having Black Panther as the first African solo movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is quite fitting considering.

Now, usually with these Marvel films I know quite a bit about the source material going in. I really didn't know a great deal of depth when it came to Ant-Man though. And such is the case here. When I first started collecting comic books in the late 1980's and early 90's there wasn't a Black Panther monthly comic book coming out. It wasn't until 2009 and later when I began reading and learning more about this character. The first Black Panther book I ever purchased starred T'Challa's sister, Shuri, as the new Black Panther. Anyway, I know some, but not a great detail.

Not possessing in-depth knowledge of the source material places me in an interesting position going into the movie. I'm fairly close to a blank slate. This could be good. I am too close to the Guardians of the Galaxy source material to fully embrace those films due to so many deviations. And with Ant-Man, a character I knew little about (Scott Lang's character even moreso), I really enjoyed it. Odds are I will really enjoy this film.

There is a lot of hype surrounding this movie. Now, Marvel hasn't missed a step yet (save Iron Man 3 in my opinion) and it's unlikely they'll do so here. But you never know. As the film right before Avengers: Infinity War, if a misstep were to happen here Infinity War would be perfectly poised to overshadow any blunder. But if this film is as amazing as the critics are saying it will not only boost anticipation for Infinity War to an all time high but it could also change the entire film industry.

Marvel Studios is in a shockingly good place right now.

So... how was the movie?

THE PLOT

After the events of Captain America: Civil War the nation of Wakanda is left without a king. T'Challa, son of the former king and current Black Panther returns home for his coronation. But before he can be crowned king the nation must observe the right of challenge. Anyone from the five tribes of Wakanda can challenge T'Challa for the throne. When a ghost from the past returns T'Challa finds himself in the fight of his life and questioning everything he believed in.

THE GOOD

Wonder and Awe. This movie doesn't have particularly groundbreaking action or an all that awe-inspiring plot. To be clear the action is phenomenal and the story is great, but it's nothing we haven't seen from Marvel before. Where this movie exceeds is in presentation. Remember when you were a kid and you saw Alice In Wonderland for the first time or Star Wars or whathaveyou? Remember seeing a world unlike anything you'd ever seen or imagined before, a world so completely unique down to the tiniest detail? That's what Black Panther is. It is unlike anything to have come before it. To me it was like being seven years old again and seeing a world I never knew possible. The world of Black Panther and Wakanda comes to life beyond anything I could've imagined.

The Acting & Characters. Rounding out this incredible hidden nation are many wonderful and engaging characters. We meet T'Challa's family and friends, his royal guard the Dora Milaje, people from all the different tribes, as well as characters from previous films like Martin Freeman's Everett Ross and Andy Serkis' Klaw. Seriously, there are a ton of great characters populating this movie that it would take a huge amount of writing to cover them all. And the acting. There are performances in this film that are some of the best acting I've seen from these actors. The pedigree of actors on display is staggering.

Balanced. Marvel Studios' films have become known for their humor as much as their action and adventure. By now you've all heard my complaints about the escalation of humor in these films. It's the Guardians of the Galaxy effect. Humor is pushed far more heavily than it was prior to Guardians. Tonally Black Panther feels like a Phase One Marvel film before Guardians. The humor feels more natural and less forced. Also the usage of Bathos is less, which is extremely refreshing. I am well aware that the Guardians effect isn't going away. But Black Panther feels far more balanced than most of the MCU films to have come after 2014. This is the perfect middle ground.

NITPICKS

Overpowered. Did you know that Black Panther can take down the Silver Surfer? True story. One of the less appealing qualities of the Black Panther comic books was how extremely powerful the lead character is. Smart as Reed Richards. Fighting ability as good as Cap. A suit that puts Iron Man to shame. As savage as Wolverine. Even a bit of dabbling in the mystic arts. Anyway, he's no less powerful in this movie. In fact, the only way anything is capable of threatening him in this movie is when his Black Panther powers are taken away. Seriously, he's like the most powerful dude in the MCU. If I didn't think Chadwick Boseman was so great in the role I'd think the character was too much.

Bleeding Rogues. As stated previously I don't know as much as I'd like about Black Panther's comic book history. But what I do know is that some of his top enemies are M'Baku ~ the Man-Ape, Erik Killmonger, and Klaw. SPOILER ALERT! These three are in the movie and two of the three end up dead by the end and the third becomes an ally rather than an enemy. I always dislike when super hero movies kill the villains. Part of the fun of reading comic books is seeing old villains come back. With a few exceptions Marvel has killed a ton of great villains. Chock up two more. So, I have no idea who will be the villain in Black Panther 2 nor where they will go from here. Outer Space? Oh, wait...

THE VERDICT

Black Panther for me was like stepping into another world. The acting is superb and the characters are unique and fantastic. The world of Black Panther and Wakanda are brilliantly realized. And this film is free of the Guardians effect, yet still evokes good laughs. This is probably the best Marvel film in recent years in terms of tone and visual presentation. However, Marvel is still liberally dispensing with their villains rather than building them up. And Black Panther needs a potent villain on the basis of how incredibly overpowered they've made him. At this point I'm betting Black Panther and Wakandan tech could beat Thanos. All in all another homerun for Marvel Studios and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10