Marvel’s mega-hit BLACK PANTHER was only dethroned at the box office just this past weekend. It ran at #1 for the past five weeks in a row – the longest a movie went dominating the box office since AVATAR. As goes with any prominent movie in the media, there’s a large group of people who love it, who hate it, and plenty who shrug and say its okay. I am in the third group: I thought it was amusing that the movie came out on my birthday. I had fun with it, but a month later and I have some problems with it, even if it’s one of the better Marvel movies.
For one, it seems like there are two movies playing. One is okay and the second is very good, but together they represent a problem in tone. For the first half BLACK PANTHER feels like a quasi-Bond film, right down to a casino scene and hammy villain. This is okay; its well-paced and Ryan Coogler is a solid action director. This movie gets tossed to the wayside around the halfway point, though, with the entry of Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger. It’s clear that BLACK PANTHER was intended to be a film about family drama and in-house politics but the film doesn’t have enough time to focus on it. By the end, you wonder where the missing 30 minutes are.
Many characters felt like they could have been cut outright, such as Martin Freeman’s secret agent and Lupita Nyong’o’s love interest. Good actors, but they do nothing to contribute to the overall film. Andy Serkis’ Ulyssey Klaue could have been cut out as well, even though he is having fun. You don’t necessarily have to have Killmonger 86 him in order to get Killmonger into Wakanda. The fact that the film took as long as it did to reveal that Killmonger was of royal lineage didn’t make much sense – he could have easily done this at the gates.
I like that BLACK PANTHER is more insular, and feels more like a self-contained movie. I was less annoyed with it, in comparison to other Marvel ventures, because of how little it felt like a conventional Marvel movie. Marvel should break convention like that more often. It will be what allows them to sustain themselves 10 years down the line.
What’s interesting is that now that BLACK PANTHER is a genuine megahit, there will probably be an Oscar campaign for it. It could very well succeed – AVATAR got nods for best picture and director and almost won. GET OUT got best picture, director, actor, and even won for screenplay. BLACK PANTHER could easily go for best picture, maybe best director. Best supporting actor is possible for Michael B. Jordan. There’s potential for things to get interesting here…
Written by Jeff Turner
