Weekly Film - Black Panther
Black Panther
So I went to see Black Panther after weeks of seemingly being the only one who didn't flock to cinemas on the day of release to see it. The hype around this film was massive ,and is something I'll go into far more detail about later, however from the trailers I didn't see anything particularly outstanding at least as far as the film itself goes however seemingly this goes far deeper than just the film itself. What I will say is that I'm glad I didn't give in to the hype as I'm sure I would've been disappointed. At its core Black Panther is just another Marvel comic book film. That's not to say it isn't a good Marvel film but just that as usual it's very by the book and doesn't do much to stand out. It also has plenty of cliches such as one scene which has Martin Freeman trying to take out fighter jets using a remote control while a fighter is breaking through the window. This scene is basically a countdown scene which is a very overused cliche that often adds very little to the film. As for the cast despite being very good I don't feel simply being black is enough to make me feel anything special for Black Panther. Overall the film is about average and I hope that it gets some sequels so that more can be done to make these stories truly compelling.
Firstly I'd like to talk about the films direction. Ryan Coogler is a brilliant director. There is no doubt about that and Fruitvale Station is a movie I love, and is also far better than this movie. However there is a problem here because Ryan Coogler has never done anything like Black Panther before. Both Creed and Fruitvale Station are gripping dramas with no massive battles or huge CGI set pieces. This is completely new to him and not only that but this film is completely not his style. He has no experience with choreographing battles or CGI fights and that has to be a big reason as to why the CGI is so overused in this film because he has no idea how to correctly use this stuff. This is likely why some of the best scenes are those which have the most weight on them and these are few and far between. For example the very first scene was very hopeful and was definitely the scene where Coogler had the most creative control as it is very well shot and executed however this is mostly lost for the rest of the film. Once again I think Coogler is great but just not the right choice for a film like this. If they had their heart so set on a black director why not someone like Jordan Peele who not only has more CGI experience but could certainly write better jokes. The CGI is used everywhere here and is often not even very good CGI. Its used understandably where stunts are impossible however many scenes such as a car crash use CGI for no reason. I won't try to compare this film to Christopher Nolan's films because that many practical effects are nice but not necessary. Just use them when you can and use better CGI so it doesn't have to be covered up with motion blur. The motion blur acts as a way to distract from the jaunty computer generated movements.
On the subject of jokes most of them in this film are horrendous especially an incredibly dated "what are those" joke which physically made me shudder. Perhaps that was still funny when it was written but they should have the foresight to realise that this kind of internet meme falls out of interest very quickly. Jokes are used in lots of marvel films even those which don't market themselves as comedies. They act as a light-hearted buffer between the stern faced serious action and help the audience, especially young children, remain entertained during dialogue scenes. Black Panther attempts humour but it's very hit and miss. The silly humour is a good indication that the film is largely targeted towards children in order to sell toys as well as the fact that this is a huge market for these films. Other indications that the film is targeted to children is the lack of blood even when a character pulls a knife from their chest and another has their throat slit.
Like most Marvel films Mise-en-scene is not of great concern. Apart from a few background Easter eggs there is very little subtlety in the film. This cannot be criticised too heavily as you must keep in mind that the film must be simple to interpret for children. Apart from this the set designs and costumes are very well researched and take lots of inspiration from African culture such as Killmongers body scarification which is a practice done in many areas of Africa such as Nigeria and Northern Ghana but is falling out of favour in modern times.
The sets use a combination of traditional African designs as well as advanced technology which represents Wakanda as being both technologically advanced and yet still very traditional. The element of tradition is one of my major concerns with the representation of black and African people in the film. Despite showing the country to be very advanced and forward thinking however they're still brutal as they still fight to the death for control of the country which portrays them as both socially unadvanced as well as savage and immoral. Another issue is that there seems to be no democracy in Wakanda. The king inherits the throne and then has full control. The idea that there is no democracy in Africa is a perception held by much of the western world and while there is much corruption in many African countries they mostly are democracies and still hold elections. In fact people in Africa are far more grateful for the vote and will line up all day for their chance to have their say. Perhaps the movie is actually making a comment on the power of corrupt and hated African leaders such as Robert Mugabe, however this is unclear.
In fact the political commentary in this film was very over-hyped. At the end of the day the bad guy wants to kill all the white people (or "oppressors" as they are called in the film) and take over the world but then Black Panther stops him and starts to reach out to the rest of the world. So basically the message is don't hate white people and genocide is bad. So really in my opinion at least there was no need for all the hype.
As for critical response this film did exceptionally well. Just looking on Rotten Tomatoes the film received a massive 97% which makes it the best rated marvel film ever with many critics applauding the political commentary (which is lacking) as well as the strong female characters which are admittedly brilliant and can be good role models to many young black girls. However the 97% rating seems very excessive. It being the best puts it above Guardians of the Galaxy which got 91% as well as Deadpool which got 83%. Not to mention that this means Black Panther has been rated better that The Shawshank Redemption 91%, Room 94% and Star Wars Episode IV 93%. This also makes is equal to Psycho and Casablanca. I think its certain to say that hype has effected the ratings.
Overall the film is fun and has some good set pieces as well as afew good action scenes but it did get lost in a sea of its own hype.
Firstly I'd like to talk about the films direction. Ryan Coogler is a brilliant director. There is no doubt about that and Fruitvale Station is a movie I love, and is also far better than this movie. However there is a problem here because Ryan Coogler has never done anything like Black Panther before. Both Creed and Fruitvale Station are gripping dramas with no massive battles or huge CGI set pieces. This is completely new to him and not only that but this film is completely not his style. He has no experience with choreographing battles or CGI fights and that has to be a big reason as to why the CGI is so overused in this film because he has no idea how to correctly use this stuff. This is likely why some of the best scenes are those which have the most weight on them and these are few and far between. For example the very first scene was very hopeful and was definitely the scene where Coogler had the most creative control as it is very well shot and executed however this is mostly lost for the rest of the film. Once again I think Coogler is great but just not the right choice for a film like this. If they had their heart so set on a black director why not someone like Jordan Peele who not only has more CGI experience but could certainly write better jokes. The CGI is used everywhere here and is often not even very good CGI. Its used understandably where stunts are impossible however many scenes such as a car crash use CGI for no reason. I won't try to compare this film to Christopher Nolan's films because that many practical effects are nice but not necessary. Just use them when you can and use better CGI so it doesn't have to be covered up with motion blur. The motion blur acts as a way to distract from the jaunty computer generated movements.
On the subject of jokes most of them in this film are horrendous especially an incredibly dated "what are those" joke which physically made me shudder. Perhaps that was still funny when it was written but they should have the foresight to realise that this kind of internet meme falls out of interest very quickly. Jokes are used in lots of marvel films even those which don't market themselves as comedies. They act as a light-hearted buffer between the stern faced serious action and help the audience, especially young children, remain entertained during dialogue scenes. Black Panther attempts humour but it's very hit and miss. The silly humour is a good indication that the film is largely targeted towards children in order to sell toys as well as the fact that this is a huge market for these films. Other indications that the film is targeted to children is the lack of blood even when a character pulls a knife from their chest and another has their throat slit.
Like most Marvel films Mise-en-scene is not of great concern. Apart from a few background Easter eggs there is very little subtlety in the film. This cannot be criticised too heavily as you must keep in mind that the film must be simple to interpret for children. Apart from this the set designs and costumes are very well researched and take lots of inspiration from African culture such as Killmongers body scarification which is a practice done in many areas of Africa such as Nigeria and Northern Ghana but is falling out of favour in modern times.
The sets use a combination of traditional African designs as well as advanced technology which represents Wakanda as being both technologically advanced and yet still very traditional. The element of tradition is one of my major concerns with the representation of black and African people in the film. Despite showing the country to be very advanced and forward thinking however they're still brutal as they still fight to the death for control of the country which portrays them as both socially unadvanced as well as savage and immoral. Another issue is that there seems to be no democracy in Wakanda. The king inherits the throne and then has full control. The idea that there is no democracy in Africa is a perception held by much of the western world and while there is much corruption in many African countries they mostly are democracies and still hold elections. In fact people in Africa are far more grateful for the vote and will line up all day for their chance to have their say. Perhaps the movie is actually making a comment on the power of corrupt and hated African leaders such as Robert Mugabe, however this is unclear.
In fact the political commentary in this film was very over-hyped. At the end of the day the bad guy wants to kill all the white people (or "oppressors" as they are called in the film) and take over the world but then Black Panther stops him and starts to reach out to the rest of the world. So basically the message is don't hate white people and genocide is bad. So really in my opinion at least there was no need for all the hype.
As for critical response this film did exceptionally well. Just looking on Rotten Tomatoes the film received a massive 97% which makes it the best rated marvel film ever with many critics applauding the political commentary (which is lacking) as well as the strong female characters which are admittedly brilliant and can be good role models to many young black girls. However the 97% rating seems very excessive. It being the best puts it above Guardians of the Galaxy which got 91% as well as Deadpool which got 83%. Not to mention that this means Black Panther has been rated better that The Shawshank Redemption 91%, Room 94% and Star Wars Episode IV 93%. This also makes is equal to Psycho and Casablanca. I think its certain to say that hype has effected the ratings.
Overall the film is fun and has some good set pieces as well as afew good action scenes but it did get lost in a sea of its own hype.
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