Black Panther (2018) Review — The Analytic Critic
Don’t listen to the hype: Black Panther is not only a poorly written film, it’s one of Marvel’s worst films to date. And I can’t believe that I have to disclose this, but I’m not racist.
It’s just an awful film that receives praise for doing something that many films have handled better before (e.g., 12 Years a Slave). We shouldn’t reward films just because they feature a diverse cast or an original soundtrack. What do I mean? Let’s take a look.
WRITING:
In the fictional country of Wakanda, vibranium exists in abundance, fuelling the country and keeping it hidden from potential enemies. Ulysses Klaue has stolen vibranium from Wakanda and has become the country’s most wanted criminal.
Meanwhile, T’Challa returns to Wakanda to assume the throne, even though he’s already both the Black Panther and the king. What awaits him is a challenger to the throne… someone from T’Challa’s father’s past that wants to claim Wakanda for himself.
T’Challa wants to keep Wakanda’s secret hidden, while the challenger, Killmonger, wants to inspire revolution for the marginalized black populations worldwide.
Basically, the “good” guy selfishly keeps his country’s wealth and prosperity to himself, while the “bad” guy wants to rectify inequalities by sharing Wakanda’s resources with the rest of the world.
It’s capitalism versus socialism, and Disney — an incredibly rich yet greedy company — chooses the former to victimize.
Does the story sound stupid and unfocused? It should. The plot is just an awful mess, introducing its main villain almost halfway through the movie while distracting us with a secondary antagonist, I might add.
For example, Wakanda is made out to be an advanced civilization with the ability to utilize vibranium in numerous peacekeeping ways. A cloaking shield protects the country from detection.
So why the hell does Wakanda choose its king through ancient, ritualistic, primal combat to the death? Give me a break; the plot is moronic at best.
Black Panther also suffers from introducing too many unlikeable characters, a lack of character development for its supporting cast, awful attempts at humour, and a forced romance subplot. These are all rookie mistakes.
Even worse, action sequences are boring, uninventive, and lacking in tension. Furthermore, T’Challa learns nothing he hasn’t already discovered by the end of Civil War, the film opting for a one-minute epilogue to count as a character arc.
I was cheering for the villain in the end because his goal was actually interesting and intelligent, which is more than I can say for the script as a whole.
CAST:
The cast is a both a hit and a miss.
Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan play the primary characters and, despite the limitations of the poor writing, are able to inject some life and conviction into the material. It’s too bad that only one of their characters is written even decently well.
Lupita Nyong’o plays Boseman’s love interest, which she does terribly. Based on this role, she seems to be unable to properly portray human emotions and lacks any chemistry with the rest of the cast.
Many other members of the cast just aren’t that impressive due to mediocre talent or poor delivery, including Letitia Wright (Shuri), Daniel Kaluuya (W’Kabi), Martin Freeman (Ross), and Winston Duke (M’Baku).
That said, I did really like Danai Gurira as Oyoke, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Forest Whitaker as Zuri, and Andy Serkis as Ulysses. There’s a believable conviction all of them bring to their roles with varying degrees of theatricality, though none of them are ever on the screen for that long.
PRODUCTION:
Some elements of the production are great. Some. The lighting is absolutely fantastic, which is particularly noticeable close to the end of the film during a sunset.
The costumes for T’Challa and Killmonger are also several steps up, in my opinion. The set design is generally pretty immersive, too. Of course, all of this is just covering up the turd underneath.
Black Panther has an odd pairing of ancient costumes and futuristic armour that feels out of place. For an advanced civilization, the characters all wield old melee weapons and overly vibrant clothing pulled from traditional African tribes from the past. The lack of research here is immediately apparent.
Ryan Coogler’s direction is also quite poor. While his dramatic shots can be satisfying and intimate, his action sequences are anything but. This is too big a film for Coogler, if we’re being honest.
And don’t get me started on the horrendous CGI, between a disappearing vehicle, rhinos, and a train track finale. Nothing looks good in this department.
Not to mention the terrible music… A film soundtrack requires an orchestral arrangement of some sort for the film to come alive, to be a character of its own, to captivate its audience. This is what makes films composed by John Williams and Hans Zimmer so satisfying.
Black Panther instead decides to settle for awful rap tunes, boring drum sequences, and over-the-top African singing. To make a compelling soundtrack, you introduce elements of African music, not settle for it exclusively.
SUMMARY:
So why the hell does Wakanda (an advanced civilization) choose its king through ancient, ritualistic, primal combat to the death? Give me a break; the plot is moronic at best.
Overall, Black Panther is one of the MCU’s worst films by a large margin. Between its abhorrent writing, poor casting choices, underwhelming direction, and abysmal soundtrack, there is no reason to watch this pile of crap.
Black Panther gets a 3 out of 10.
