Black Panther reaction [see icon]
I couldn't sleep last night after seeing Black Panther, because my brain was just racing. Go and see this film if you can, people. It's worth every minute.
I also find it striking that in Phase 3, Marvel have got the guts at last to make films that are different. Thor Ragnarok has its own distinct tone. I haven't seen it, but I understand that Spiderman: Homecoming manages to take Spiderman in a new direction (it's on my list!). And Black Panther, again, has its own feel, while still definitely being a member of the Marvel family. It's a good thing, and injects some much needed new life into the franchise.
Reactions under the cuts are graded in how spoilery they are. I've put lots of white space in there, so you should be able to read and comment without being spoiled.
Not terribly spoilery
People have talked a lot about the stunning visuals of this film, and it doesn't disappoint. Wakanda is a fully realised world, and the depth of the world-building is glorious. Each of the Wakandan tribes is distinct, whether in traditional dress or Western versions, and I loved the detail as much as the overall impression.
That detail extends into the writing as well. Oh man, the writing on this is so good. I found the first 20 minutes or so a little slow, if I'm honest, but then if you hadn't seen Captain America: Civil War, you'd need it to make sense of what's going on. Also, there are important details planted during the first part that will come up later, so I didn't mind too much. What I was struck by was the depth of each character, no matter how long or short they were on the screen. It's something I love about Pratchett or Ben Aaronovitch's writing, in that you feel everyone in the narrative has a full back story and world of their own, we're just seeing this moment of it.
That made the villain, in particular, really work in a way that not all Marvel Villains do. He was a fully-rounded, motivated person, with good reasons for doing what he chose to do. I hadn't seen Michael B Jordan in anything before, but he was brilliant to watch. The film left you in no doubt that he was wrong, and also that it made sense for him to do what he did. It's a tricky line to walk, and they pulled it off perfectly.
Getting more spoilery
The film also gave us 4 central female characters, all with their own stories going on, and all different from each other. I thought Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira gave the stand out performances, in roles and with lines that are usual inhabited and spoken by men. In many ways, the plot drivers in Black Panther are not new, but as with all original stories, it's the blending of them together in this particular way that makes them special.
As an aside at this point, it got me thinking about archetypes vs cliches. In many ways, the characters in Black Panther are recognisable because they're archetypes. They are "this kind" of person. And that's useful shorthand for getting people into stories. What the really good stories then do is give you a new angle on the person, so that they become more than their archetype. Shuri, T'Challa's sister is the perfect example of this. That 'type' of character is pretty common in superhero films, but she's not normally a young, black woman. Equally, the 'rebellious' younger sister is a pretty common character in stories, but she's not normally a technological genius. It felt like Black Panther took the archetypes, said "oh, so you think you know these people, do you?" and took you in a new direction with them. I love that kind of writing. It's clever, and it's emotionally satisfying.
Equally, T'Challa, like Captain America, is proof that 'good' people can have challenging stories, you just have to put them in the right sorts of situations. I know the cliche is that the villains are the good parts, but both this and Thor showed that they don't have to be. If you tell the right kind of story, you can put a character who must always do the 'right thing' in a situation where that is incredibly hard to discern. Again, it's an incredibly satisfying way of telling a story.
None of the featured characters were one-dimensional, and even Agent Ross was redeemed from his antagonism in Winter Soldier. This film made him competent - not Wakandan-competent, but competent - uncorrupt and apparently growing into wisdom thanks to the people around him. He was allowed to be heroic as part of the team, didn't overshadow anyone but equally didn't get crowded out. Probably only Thor Ragnarok has done as good a job with letting supporting Marvel characters shine through, without distracting or stealing the film.
There is so much to unpack from this film, that I can't wait for more people to see it and write about it. Feed my brain, people!
Properly spoilery
I cannot wait to see what all this is going to mean for Infinity War. They've made T'Challa a hero on a par with the rest of the Avengers, and the trailers suggest he's going to get a role appropriate to that. All the way through the film, there were so many awesome details that I can't pick out them all without re-watching. And I'm definitely rewatching, probably in 3D this time.
My honest first thought when I came out of the cinema was that this film should be used in screenwriting classes on how to write a political story that is still characterful. The issues that every character is tackling are both painfully personal - Killmonger's abandonment as a child, T'Challa having to deal with his father not being the perfect king he thought he was, Nikia struggling with wanting to make a difference in the world - as well as highlighting bigger, political issues. It talks openly about oppression and colonisation, isolationism and globalisation. In the mid-credits sequence, I honestly thought T'Challa was going to talk about building bridges not walls, and was kind of disappointed that they went with barriers instead.
This film is going to have a huge, huge impact. And it's all wrapped up in incredibly action sequences, glorious visuals and genuine humour.
Oh, and it's a stupid, tiny thing, but I loved how they did Killmonger's death. Because one thing they drum into you as a first aider is "do not remove the penetrating weapon." It's one of the only films I've seen where they did that properly, where it was only when he pulled the spear out himself that he guaranteed his death. It's silly, but it meant I bought into that whole scene a lot more than I would have done otherwise.
In case it wasn't clear, I adored this film. Now I just need some 3D glasses and I'm good to go again!
This entry was originally posted at https://jadesfire.dreamwidth.org/583486.html where there are
comments
I also find it striking that in Phase 3, Marvel have got the guts at last to make films that are different. Thor Ragnarok has its own distinct tone. I haven't seen it, but I understand that Spiderman: Homecoming manages to take Spiderman in a new direction (it's on my list!). And Black Panther, again, has its own feel, while still definitely being a member of the Marvel family. It's a good thing, and injects some much needed new life into the franchise.
Reactions under the cuts are graded in how spoilery they are. I've put lots of white space in there, so you should be able to read and comment without being spoiled.
Not terribly spoilery
People have talked a lot about the stunning visuals of this film, and it doesn't disappoint. Wakanda is a fully realised world, and the depth of the world-building is glorious. Each of the Wakandan tribes is distinct, whether in traditional dress or Western versions, and I loved the detail as much as the overall impression.
That detail extends into the writing as well. Oh man, the writing on this is so good. I found the first 20 minutes or so a little slow, if I'm honest, but then if you hadn't seen Captain America: Civil War, you'd need it to make sense of what's going on. Also, there are important details planted during the first part that will come up later, so I didn't mind too much. What I was struck by was the depth of each character, no matter how long or short they were on the screen. It's something I love about Pratchett or Ben Aaronovitch's writing, in that you feel everyone in the narrative has a full back story and world of their own, we're just seeing this moment of it.
That made the villain, in particular, really work in a way that not all Marvel Villains do. He was a fully-rounded, motivated person, with good reasons for doing what he chose to do. I hadn't seen Michael B Jordan in anything before, but he was brilliant to watch. The film left you in no doubt that he was wrong, and also that it made sense for him to do what he did. It's a tricky line to walk, and they pulled it off perfectly.
Getting more spoilery
The film also gave us 4 central female characters, all with their own stories going on, and all different from each other. I thought Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira gave the stand out performances, in roles and with lines that are usual inhabited and spoken by men. In many ways, the plot drivers in Black Panther are not new, but as with all original stories, it's the blending of them together in this particular way that makes them special.
As an aside at this point, it got me thinking about archetypes vs cliches. In many ways, the characters in Black Panther are recognisable because they're archetypes. They are "this kind" of person. And that's useful shorthand for getting people into stories. What the really good stories then do is give you a new angle on the person, so that they become more than their archetype. Shuri, T'Challa's sister is the perfect example of this. That 'type' of character is pretty common in superhero films, but she's not normally a young, black woman. Equally, the 'rebellious' younger sister is a pretty common character in stories, but she's not normally a technological genius. It felt like Black Panther took the archetypes, said "oh, so you think you know these people, do you?" and took you in a new direction with them. I love that kind of writing. It's clever, and it's emotionally satisfying.
Equally, T'Challa, like Captain America, is proof that 'good' people can have challenging stories, you just have to put them in the right sorts of situations. I know the cliche is that the villains are the good parts, but both this and Thor showed that they don't have to be. If you tell the right kind of story, you can put a character who must always do the 'right thing' in a situation where that is incredibly hard to discern. Again, it's an incredibly satisfying way of telling a story.
None of the featured characters were one-dimensional, and even Agent Ross was redeemed from his antagonism in Winter Soldier. This film made him competent - not Wakandan-competent, but competent - uncorrupt and apparently growing into wisdom thanks to the people around him. He was allowed to be heroic as part of the team, didn't overshadow anyone but equally didn't get crowded out. Probably only Thor Ragnarok has done as good a job with letting supporting Marvel characters shine through, without distracting or stealing the film.
There is so much to unpack from this film, that I can't wait for more people to see it and write about it. Feed my brain, people!
Properly spoilery
I cannot wait to see what all this is going to mean for Infinity War. They've made T'Challa a hero on a par with the rest of the Avengers, and the trailers suggest he's going to get a role appropriate to that. All the way through the film, there were so many awesome details that I can't pick out them all without re-watching. And I'm definitely rewatching, probably in 3D this time.
My honest first thought when I came out of the cinema was that this film should be used in screenwriting classes on how to write a political story that is still characterful. The issues that every character is tackling are both painfully personal - Killmonger's abandonment as a child, T'Challa having to deal with his father not being the perfect king he thought he was, Nikia struggling with wanting to make a difference in the world - as well as highlighting bigger, political issues. It talks openly about oppression and colonisation, isolationism and globalisation. In the mid-credits sequence, I honestly thought T'Challa was going to talk about building bridges not walls, and was kind of disappointed that they went with barriers instead.
This film is going to have a huge, huge impact. And it's all wrapped up in incredibly action sequences, glorious visuals and genuine humour.
Oh, and it's a stupid, tiny thing, but I loved how they did Killmonger's death. Because one thing they drum into you as a first aider is "do not remove the penetrating weapon." It's one of the only films I've seen where they did that properly, where it was only when he pulled the spear out himself that he guaranteed his death. It's silly, but it meant I bought into that whole scene a lot more than I would have done otherwise.
In case it wasn't clear, I adored this film. Now I just need some 3D glasses and I'm good to go again!
This entry was originally posted at https://jadesfire.dreamwidth.org/583486.html where there are
comments