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Author Topic: BLACK PANTHER - NON-SPOILER REVIEW  (Read 5969 times)
Darth Knox
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« on: February 14, 2018, 12:46:51 AM »

PLEASE NOTE - THE FOLLOWING IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW. I WILL NOT REVEAL ANY MAJOR PLOT POINTS FROM THE SHOW.

18 movies in and the box office dominating juggernaut that is the MCU rolls on with it’s latest offering Black Panther. Similarly to DC’s Wonder Woman last year, this movie has a lot of hype and attention around it due to be the latest big box office superhero offering to be a black lead in his own solo film (let us not forget Blade in 1998).

So does this movie build on the great character introduction in Captain America: Ciivil War or does Marvel has a disappointing movie on their hands?

THE STORY
Picking up immediately after the events Captain America: Civil War, T’Challa travels back to his native land of Wakanda to be crowned king. However, once on the throne, his rule is tested for the first time by a returning foe and the introduction of a new threat that could end up shattering the world’s image of Wakanda as a poor African nation.

OVERALL OPINION
Marvel does it again. I am not a gushing fanboy, but this truly is one of the best movies in the MCU to date. It manages to be a credible movie that stands apart from all previous entries, does not require you to have seen any of the previous MCU movies, effortlessly world builds Wakanda and expands the MCU and yet it somehow also manages to fit in perfectly with all the other movies too.

The story is tight, engaging, thrilling and a spectacle to behold Right across the board the performances are fantastic with a few notable stand outs. I have noticed in a few recent MCU movies that they have brought on the humour a little too much on certain occasions which can undercut the emotion or tension in a scene, However, director Ryan Coogler got the balance perfect here; when the jokes appear they land well and they land hard.

I was left with a sense of excitement over what I had just seen, hope for future Black Panther movies, hope for the future of the MCU and a desire to rewatch the movie again straight away.

THE PERFORMANCES
Chadwick Boseman - T’Chall/Black Panther
Building on the great character work he did in Captain America: Civil War, Boseman gives a great assured performance as the new young king and protector of Wakanda.

Michael B Jordan - Eric Killmonger
If there is one constant negative thing you could say about the MCU is that they have struggled to give us great and memorable villains. I know there’s Loki and Michael Keaton’s Vulture recently was really good, but Michael B Jordan gives us something new and different with Killmonger. His performance is powerful and menacing and yet you also somehow sympathise with him too. A much more layered performance than we’ve had with Loki which is what makes it so great.

Danai Guria - Okoye
“Move. Or you will be moved.” Those words in Civil War told you everything you needed to know about this character. With more screen time this time round, the character is given a sense of humour and a chance to show her loyalty to the throne (which is tested at times), as well as plenty of opportunities to be the baddest bad girl in all of badassery.

Lupita Nyong’o - Nakia
A “friend” to T’Challa and native of Wakanda, Lupita brings all her talent to this character and gives a balance yet strong portrayal of a great character, who steals many scenes from Chadwick Boseman.

Letitia Wright - Shuri
T’Challa’s baby sister, tech genius (who according to the producers is cleverer than Tony Stark) fun, funny with a great sense of humour, the sibling relationship between her and Chadwick Boseman is very true to life and, like Lupita, she steals many many scenes from T’Challa.

Winston Duke - M’Baku
Leader of Wakanda’s mountain tribe and a fierce warrior, M’baku could easily have come across as just another “villain of the week”. Fortunately Winston Duke brings the character to life with some unexpected depth and a surprising sense of humour.

OTHER STUFF
The Action
The hand-to-hand fights scenes are amazing and sometimes quite brutal, there are many badass bad girls doing badass things throughout and the final fight between T’Challa and Killmonger is amazing. However, if I had one criticism it would be some of the action scenes were edited too quickly which occasionally made it hard to follow what was going on.

The Cinematography
Beautifully shot, with some scenes invoking memories and feelings of The Lion King (and that’s no bad thing). It looks and feels completely different to any other MCU movie we have had to date and that is no bad thing.

The Pacing
While it was all on point, I felt there could maybe have had 10 mins trimmed off. But that’s a minor quibble. I was never bored or seat squirmy.
 
Musical Score
At times there was some hints of an Avengers-esque theme coming in. Other than that it was very beats and Afrocentric without banging you over the head with the fact that we’re in Africa.

Other Stuff
There are two post credit scenes - one mid-way through the credits and one right at the end. And they are both brilliant.

FINAL VERDICT

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this movie. It may need to see it a couple more times before I can definitely say that it may be a perfect movie, the first time I have said that any comic book movie.

Score: 9.8/10    
Rotten Tomatoes rating - 97% (critics)  94% (audience)
(at time of writing)

MY MOVIE RATING SYSTEM
10- Citizen F*%king Kane (A+)
 9-  Bloody Great (A)
 8-  Really rather good (A-)
 7-  Pretty decent (B+)
 6-  Definitely above average (B)
 5- Middle of the road average (C)
 4- Mediocre (D)
 3- Meh (E)
 2- Crap (F)
 1- Why the hell did I waste my time and money on this abomination (Unrated)
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Karmack
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« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2018, 04:43:46 PM »

Knox, thank you for the spoiler-free review!  I've been excited for this movie for a while now.  Good to know my excitement hasn't been misplaced!

It opens here in the USA tomorrow.  Finally!  :-)
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Darth Knox
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« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2018, 06:31:53 PM »

Knox, thank you for the spoiler-free review!  I've been excited for this movie for a while now.  Good to know my excitement hasn't been misplaced!

It opens here in the USA tomorrow.  Finally!  :-)
You're welcome. I am very proud of all the non-spoiler reviews I have posted on the forum, and always try hard to avoid spoilers, but give people ,y honest opinion about the flavour of the movie.

I hope you enjoy the film as much as I did.
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Metal Mech
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« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2018, 07:26:28 PM »

How would you compare it with Winter Soilder? My wife enjoys most of the Marvel movies but that is her favorite.
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Darth Knox
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« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2018, 07:39:28 PM »

How would you compare it with Winter Soilder? My wife enjoys most of the Marvel movies but that is her favorite.
It's impossible to do a like-for-like comparison. However, I will say this. Winter Soldier did an amazing job of developing the character of, and our opinion of, Cap and Black Widow. It also showed you could make a good movie (in this case, a 70s style political drama) that had comic book characters in it, rather than just being a comic book movie.

Black Panther does a similarly good job of being a great movie that just happens to have comic book characters in it. If you told someone to watch it who had never heard of BP or the MCU, they would still enjoy it. The movie does a good job of showing the man behind the suit and the crown. All the relationships are enjoyable to watch and believable.

I, too, regard Winter Soldier as one of my favourite MCU movies. Black Panther is definitely one of the best MCU movies to date, one of the best comic book movies ever and one of the best movies of the year in any genre. It is too early for me to rank Black Panther yet as I've only seen it once and have seen Winter Solider numerous times. However, I will say (gun to my head) I would easily put in somewhere in the top 5.
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tx_tuff
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« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2018, 10:32:49 PM »

Non of the trailers have made me want to see the movie. But if course I will.

Thanks for the review.
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Darth Knox
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« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2018, 10:48:28 PM »

Non of the trailers have made me want to see the movie. But if course I will.

Thanks for the review.
I only watched the first two trailers and avoided the rest for fear of spoilers. And I can say that the trailers are not indicative of the high quality of the final film. Definitely a case of the studio keeping all the best bits of the film under wraps until people can actually see it.
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tx_tuff
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« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2018, 12:17:32 AM »

I only watched the first two trailers and avoided the rest for fear of spoilers. And I can say that the trailers are not indicative of the high quality of the final film. Definitely a case of the studio keeping all the best bits of the film under wraps until people can actually see it.
I hope so! Thanks.

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« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2018, 09:09:27 PM »

I did not expect I would like it as much as I did. The last phase of the MCU has had me some what jaded, but Black Panther was the perfect mix of adventure, action movie coolness and comic book weirdness.

My favorite thing about the film was the production design. The sets, the costuming, the props, it was all exceptional.
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Darth Knox
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« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2018, 09:22:34 PM »


My favorite thing about the film was the production design. The sets, the costuming, the props, it was all exceptional.
Yes. This ^^^

Glad you liked the film.
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Dauntless Seven
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« Reply #10 on: February 21, 2018, 10:16:21 AM »

Saw the movie and really liked it... very action heavy with a good introduction to the Panther character backstory.   

Here is the STALKER saber that I made from a v2 RGB Dominix after seeing the Black Panther character in Civil War.  More can be found in Customizations.





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« Reply #11 on: February 22, 2018, 12:54:15 PM »

Saw the movie and really liked it... very action heavy with a good introduction to the Panther character backstory.  

Here is the STALKER saber that I made from a v2 RGB Dominix after seeing the Black Panther character in Civil War.  More can be found in Customizations.

Oh wow D7...that is a spectacular custom!  Fine craftsmanship, LOVE the detailwork (especially the emitter windows for "eyes"  Smiley)
« Last Edit: February 23, 2018, 03:10:28 AM by Dauntless Seven » Logged

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« Reply #12 on: February 23, 2018, 01:10:29 AM »

I loved Black Panther with an unholy passion and can't wait to see it again!  I want Okoye to be my warrior wife.
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Darth Knox
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« Reply #13 on: February 23, 2018, 06:35:40 PM »

I loved Black Panther with an unholy passion and can't wait to see it again!  I want Okoye to be my warrior wife.
The ladies of Wakanda are the best thing in this movie.

Also, have you seen this photo? How much the ladies of Marvel rock!
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Darth Tepes
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« Reply #14 on: February 23, 2018, 10:10:37 PM »

The ladies of Wakanda are the best thing in this movie.

Also, have you seen this photo? How much the ladies of Marvel rock!


Didn't realize Karen Gillian was that tall...here's hoping we will see some X-Ladies in that group soon
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