Marvel’s ‘origin’ films tend to be pretty boilerplate. You’re introduced to the hero, they discover they have superpowers, struggle to use them, learn to use them, and eventually defeat a one-shot enemy with them. Simple, right? Marvel still earns plenty of money from these films, so naturally they’d make Black Panther an average origin story as well… right? Well… no.
The plot of Black Panther sounds like any old origin story: King T’Challa (becoming King after his beloved father died in Captain America: Civil War) returns to his homeland of Wakanda, where he officially becomes the legendary hero Black Panther. However, a mysterious outsider, nicknaming himself “Killmonger”, also wants the throne, in order to expose the world to the powerful technology and weapons of Wakanda, which is a nation that hides itself under the guise of a poor third-world country, that have never accepted aid or offered help to other nations. Killmonger’s plans for Wakanda could cause disastrous consequences, not just for the nation, but for the rest of the world as well. It’s up to T’Challa to stop him and take back the throne. However, since this Marvel film is quite different, it isn’t as ordinary as you might think…
What makes this film different from Marvel’s other origin stories is this: it takes place in a completely new and original location; the African country of Wakanda, which has hidden its wonders from the world for hundreds of years. Other than space-ey locations such as Asgard and the various planets seen in Guardians of the Galaxy, a earthly location in the MCU has always been quite samey… but not here! When the characters are in Wakanda, they never gloss over the details – you get to know almost everything about the country: the people, the tribes, the geography, the rituals, the clothing, the weapons, the technology… the list goes on. No wonder the film is more than two hours long! However, this isn’t just “all style and no substance” – there is a large cast of characters to meet here: humble king T’Challa, his genius sister Shuri, his ex-girlfriend Nakia, fierce bodyguard Okoye, ruthless Killmonger, and more. Although most of these characters have the chance to be more developed in the Avengers: Infinity War, they were well-introduced enough here that the audience knows about their personality and goals. Special mention goes to Killmonger (played by Michael B. Jordan), who was a very compelling, not only with objectives, but a reasonable objectives, which definitely makes him one of the more interesting villains in the MCU.
Nonetheless, there were a few things that I didn’t like as much. The casino fight scene, set in Busan, South Korea, while featuring a Stan Lee cameo (something everyone appreciates), wasn’t visually appealing, and didn’t do much for the story. Most of the action sequences didn’t make me feel excited either – probably because there were a lot of them – and the fact that they incorporated rhinos into one of them felt ridiculous.
Now that I’ve reached the end, I can say with certainty that I commend everyone involved in the making of Black Panther – it was a very ambitious project. Even for the blandness of the action and the ridiculousness of some parts, this is one of the better Marvel origin stories I’ve seen, and I eagerly wait to see what Black Panther and Wakanda will provide to the table in Infinity War.
Final rating: 8/10
The Art Archive 