☆☆☆½
Long after the rest of the world, I finally saw Black Panther today, and I find myself understanding why it has been such a big hit yet more frustrated than ever at the Marvel "cinematic universe," which dictates that every story be engineered to fit into every other story.
Why?
There's no denying the popularity of the conceit and on some level it's impossible not to be impressed by the level of detail that each film contains, filled with references to other films and stories, careful to ensure that all the pieces of the puzzle interlock with each other just so.
And yet, if ever there were a Marvel film -- or a comic-book film of any sort -- deserving to stand on its own, this is the one, and not just because its characters look and sound different from the handsome caucasian casts of the other films but because its story is so well-conceived that it's a shame it isn't something created to be appreciated and viewed entirely on its own.
But it's not, it's part of the bigger Marvel world, which still confounds me because it's like watching Singin' in the Rain and being distracted by references to Dorothy and Kansas, or watching Cinderella and being on the lookout for the cameos by Sneezy and Pinocchio. Why does this trouble me so much? I'm hard-pressed to explain it, though I'm aware that I'm maybe the only person it bothers.
It's an unnecessary distraction in the case of Black Panther, but then as much as I liked the film, which was significantly more than I imagined, that kind of detail causes my mind to wander in Marvel films more than it does in most. Some of the thoughts and questions that ran through my mind while watching Black Panther:
On that last point, there's also the obligatory "end credit scene." Though it feels tacked on to this movie, it also provides an intriguing view of where the movie could have gone. Instead of bringing us car chases and gun battles, how much more intriguing would Black Panther have been if it had spent more time connecting the Wakandan world view to our own, watching what happens when a country that has spent its entire history building walls decided to tear them down.
That's the kind of really fascinating possibility that Black Panther contains, even though it isn't, alas, the kind of movie the Marvel Cinematic Universe is inclined to make. Black Panther is the first Marvel film with real ideas -- and the irony of that is that it might have been even more intriguing if it hadn't been a Marvel film at all.
Viewed May 6, 2018 -- AMC Sunset 5
1415
Why?
There's no denying the popularity of the conceit and on some level it's impossible not to be impressed by the level of detail that each film contains, filled with references to other films and stories, careful to ensure that all the pieces of the puzzle interlock with each other just so.
And yet, if ever there were a Marvel film -- or a comic-book film of any sort -- deserving to stand on its own, this is the one, and not just because its characters look and sound different from the handsome caucasian casts of the other films but because its story is so well-conceived that it's a shame it isn't something created to be appreciated and viewed entirely on its own.
But it's not, it's part of the bigger Marvel world, which still confounds me because it's like watching Singin' in the Rain and being distracted by references to Dorothy and Kansas, or watching Cinderella and being on the lookout for the cameos by Sneezy and Pinocchio. Why does this trouble me so much? I'm hard-pressed to explain it, though I'm aware that I'm maybe the only person it bothers.
It's an unnecessary distraction in the case of Black Panther, but then as much as I liked the film, which was significantly more than I imagined, that kind of detail causes my mind to wander in Marvel films more than it does in most. Some of the thoughts and questions that ran through my mind while watching Black Panther:
- *The big car-chase set piece sure seems to belong to another film; the middle third of Black Panther was the least interesting to me by far -- do we really need more cars and guns and chases?
- For movies about heroes who save the world, Black Panther follows in the same footsteps as other Marvel films: it's overwhelmingly, almost distressingly, violent; is it any wonder we're living in such violent times when every character in these movies is armed to the teeth?
- At least here in L.A. where I live, slow-speed, single-car police chases merit live broadcasts by every TV station in town; how is it possible that massive, spectacular car chases featuring super heroes wearing impermeable material and cars that appear and disappear seemingly go unnoticed by the larger world?
- The bad guy in Black Panther turns out to be named "Eric," which I know must have come from the comics but struck me as almost giggle-worthy -- "Eric" is such a wholesome name for a super villain, isn't it?
- To the point about the car chases, there's a key scene in which Eric and the other bad guy, Claw (whose name turns out to be spelled "Klaue"), break in to a big museum in London and abscond with an important artifact -- they even kill several people in the museum. Wouldn't that attract an awfully big amount of attention in today's world? Wouldn't there be about 45 news helicopters flying over the building before they even had a chance to escape?
- The country of Wakanda is apparently invisible, but it's filled with gigantic skyscrapers and wide-open vistas; wouldn't Google Earth have picked up on that by now?
- The Wakandan underground scientific facilities are so ultra-modern that it's curious the streets of the country remain unpaved -- I genuinely wanted to know more about the history of this fictional country, and think the film really missed a bet by reverting to fight scenes and car chases.
- The king of Wakanda is named T'Challa, which is a fantastic name; but the villain is still stuck with "Eric"? (I know, I know, it's just going off of the comics, but imagine if Luke Skywalker's fearsome nemesis was named "Steve"?)
- The fight scene between T'Challa and Eric (who, finally, adopts his Wakandan name N'Jakada, though I found it hard to think of him as anything but "Eric") atop a towering waterfall is maybe the first action scene in a Marvel movie that has gotten me emotionally invested; it's a great scene, even though it's cut in such a hyperkinetic way -- I miss the days when fights were carefully choreographed and shot in one long take.
- One of the Wakandan tribes lives in the snowy mountains, which plays against the dusty Wakanda desert beautifully; this is a gorgeous film to watch.
- Was its story of an untrained, unprepared interloper with war-mongering, ego-driven sensibilities a response to our own political upheaval, or are our global political troubles merely convenient for Black Panther?
On that last point, there's also the obligatory "end credit scene." Though it feels tacked on to this movie, it also provides an intriguing view of where the movie could have gone. Instead of bringing us car chases and gun battles, how much more intriguing would Black Panther have been if it had spent more time connecting the Wakandan world view to our own, watching what happens when a country that has spent its entire history building walls decided to tear them down.
That's the kind of really fascinating possibility that Black Panther contains, even though it isn't, alas, the kind of movie the Marvel Cinematic Universe is inclined to make. Black Panther is the first Marvel film with real ideas -- and the irony of that is that it might have been even more intriguing if it hadn't been a Marvel film at all.
Viewed May 6, 2018 -- AMC Sunset 5
1415
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