Black Panther is the MCU’s latest entry and it was incredible in every way. The movie was groundbreaking and it has created so many records in just 6 days of its release. It became the highest rated comic book movie ever on Rotten Tomatoes and then went on to have the highest earning the first weekend for a Superhero origin movie. It has beaten Justice League’s entire US Box Office earnings in just 4 days. JL stands at $228 Million in 91 days and Back Panther got in $235 in just 4!
Marvel took a gamble and brought in Creed’s director Ryan Coogler to direct Black Panther solo movie. He became the first Black man ever to have directed a Marvel superhero movie. He promised fans that it will not be yet another origin story and the plot will focus more on Wakandan politics and journey of TÇhalla from being under the shadow of his father to actually sit on the throne and donning the mantle of Black Panther.
Moreover, Black Panther had been introduced into the MCU in the movie Captain America: Civil War where T’Challa accompanied his father who then lost his life due to a massive explosion inside UN building where he was attending the global summit for Sokovia accords which would have made registration of superheroes mandatory. He traced the attacks to Bucky aka Winter soldier so he joined Team Iron Man to hunt him down.
Here’s what he said about the movie:
“What’s great is that people have already met Chadwick Boseman in Civil War, so now we get to jump in feet first without having to tell a more traditional origin story. We meet him as his world is changing. Black Panther takes place right after the events of Civil War, so T’Challa’s father has just been killed, he has returned home to Wakanda, and T’Challa has to navigate potentially becoming the new ruler of this nation. He never intended to become the king for years because he figured his dad would be around for a long time. T’Chaka’s death is, in a lot of ways, the catalyst for everything that’s happening in Black Panther.”
He added:
“In this movie, a lot like politics, it’s a little tricky to define who’s a good guy. The film very much plays with those concepts, looking at conflicts and different motivations, and who’s with who. What makes him different from other superheroes first and foremost is he doesn’t see himself as a superhero. He sees himself as a politician. That’s the first thing on his mind when he wakes up in the morning: ‘How am I going to fulfill my duties as king of this place?'”
The movie was great, but it was not without its fair share of flaws. Not to take anything away from how great the movie was, but there are some reasons why the movie seems to be a little overhyped by the people. It may be one of the best movies in many ways, but still, if you look at the movie from a different angle, many things in the movie fall apart. Here are the reasons why the movie is being a little over-hyped.
The Story
The general plot of the movie was really amazing and Ryan Coogler did craft an amazing storyline and delivered what he wanted to in terms of character arc of Black Panther and social message of the film. But if you look at it, 80% of the story was understandable right at the beginning of the movie during the Oakland scene. It was not a big surprise that the kid who was playing B-Ball would turn out to be Killmonger, a villain of King T’Chaka’s own making.
The story was predictable, but it was too generic in a way, and the movie did lack on the part of big WTF moments, that are necessary for it to be ultimate thrillers. Watch for instance Captain America: Winter Soldier which was an amazing political thriller which kept the audience hooked right till the very end, check it out once and you will understand what I am trying to say.
Pre-ticket sales and Rotten Tomatoes
The pre-ticket sales of the movie were earlier recorded to be around $90 Million. Then new estimates kept coming in as the movie was kept coming closer to its release dates and the estimates were being recorded at $180-200 Million at the domestic box office. This movie has a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As the embargo lifted, more and more critics reviewed the movie positive. With the everyday pre-ticket sale increasing updates and the amazing reviews from the critics, more and more people were influenced to buy the tickets and go see the movie.
This particular factor played a big role in people actually ignoring the flaws the movie had and being caught up in the hype. In fact, it would be fair to conclude that critics are little harsh towards DC movies than Marvel…sorry guys but this is the truth.
There were many things that did not make sense at all!
The movie brought a lot of new factors into the mix. Since it had to explain so much, it was obviously going to leave a lot of things unanswered, which lead to these things not making a lot of sense because of being unexplained. There were many things, for example – Why did Nakia grab just one Heart Shaped Herb, How could T’Challa survive the fall, The Jabari being vegetarians and why were they alienated from the rest of the tribes at the first place, each and everyone speaking fluent English in Wakanda, and many more. These things need to be properly answered to make complete sense as they only end up working on our assumptions ultimately.
Also, the way they finished off Ullyses Klaue just like that in a gunfight seemed superficial and unconvincing. Someone who could not ever be captured by T’Challa’s dad ended up dead by Killmonger and for Klaue to trust him in the first place was just too much to digest.
CGI was not up to the mark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9p3JgMs-2Y
Even though Marvel has made 18 Movies in the MCU till now, they still end up having CGI issues in many scenes in various movies. This movie was no different in this aspect as there were many moments, especially towards the final fight of the movie, where the CGI did not look as good as it could be, and the movie scenes seemed to be cartoonish and more of a Video Game. The final fight between Black Panther and Golden Jaguar (or Golden Panther, whatever you wanna call him) was a complete CGI spectacle but it was rather ordinary. This mistake was completely ignored and got a pass because of how great the movie actually was.
This movie was amazing, but it was certainly not the best if you consider all these points mentioned above. The movie was really great in terms of providing usual thrills of a comic book movie but it did not offer anything more than that. The movie had raised expectations of the fans as it was teasing sixth Infinity gem ‘Soul stone’ but neither it was part of the movie nor was it there in the post-credit scenes. Hence, the movie failed to adequately set up the upcoming Avengers Infinity War.
Let’s not indulge in nit-picking but it does have flaws. Still, worth a watch! Go watch Black Panther as it is currently playing in the theaters.
Here the official synopsis released by the Marvel studios, read it below:
“After the death of his father, T’Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king — and as Black Panther — gets tested when he’s drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people”.
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