Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, Feb 16 2018) Movie • Page 29

That Awkward Moment. You forgot Zac Efron.

I saw it because I adore MBJ and see everything he does. But it’s tough for working actors to bat 1.000

 

I guess I need to see Creed, sorry guys I know

 

Creed is the only Rocky movie I have seen.

 

Just saw this tonight and absolutely loved it. The action might not have been on par with other MCU films, but the plot and characterization were great. Like others said, MBJ was by far the best Marvel villain. The score and music used throughout the film added a nice little touch to really make this unique as well.

 

I enjoyed this. But my friend brought this to my attention and it makes a lot of good points:

‘Black Panther’ Is Not the Movie We Deserve

 

Interesting perspective. I'd like to hear what Ryan Cooglar, a black American man himself, has to say in this particular dialogue. I also find it fascinating to imagine a Black Panther film as politically radical as the author wishes it was while understanding that Marvel could never make it. I'm very glad that Klaue wasn't the main villain though.

 

I agree. It was as good as any Marvel movie I thought, and expressed a political view that was in line with the rest of them, i.e. traditionalist, tepid, and self-congratulatory. That doesn't mean that this movie doesn't matter -- it furthers the important work of highlighting how movies driven by black actors and directors and writers can put up huge numbers at the box office, and is bringing a lot of joy to a very diverse audience of people and could wind up prompting conversations around race. It is a very solid blockbuster, but it's not a movie with radical or even aspirational politics by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Agreed!

 

Great band.

 

This is a great read. I had one or two of these thoughts whilst watching it but didn't know how to articulate them as a white guy in the UK. This article opened my eyes to even more than I had thought about - thanks for sharing. Very thought provoking.

There are obviously many, many positives about a superhero film that has only two main white characters - the fact that this is being seen as a breakthrough for black actors/actresses and directors is right and important. I hope it's the foundation for more.

This is what I was trying to say.

It would definitely be interesting to hear his perspectives on this dimension.

 

Just found out Winston Duke (M’Baku) went to the high school I teach at. Gonna have to check with some of my older colleagues who aren’t as up-to-date on the MCU and see if they had him as a student.

 

Updated opening weekend: Went from $192 million to $202 million.

 

This the Hanover one? That's wild if it was, that's a huge theater. Remind me again which you work at?

 

Helicarries bearing weapons that were going to threaten every nation. Killmonger wasn’t only sending weapons to Oakland to arm people. He specifically mentioned Hong Kong as well. Killmonger was wanting to make Wakanda an empire and kill anyone who got in his way, even other black people and definitely any of the black people in Wakanda that liked T’Challa. This stuff can’t be overlooked for Killmonger’s origins of his empire thirst. The moment he decided to be a global emperor was the moment he became a villain that should be taken down.

 

He’ll probably be the white guy in Black Panther sequels which I would be down for. I don’t see him doing anything in Infinity War or Avengers 4. However, I would like to see another Avenger appear in a future Black Panther film just for the sake of sequels not feeling as isolated.

BLACK PANTHER's Everett Ross Confirmed To Return To The Marvel Cinematic Universe

 

My impression from the film was that T'Challa wanted Wakanda to help the world, and specifically to improve the lives of people of African descent in places like Oakland, through the use of non-violent, soft power methods (outreach, humanitarian efforts, sharing technology, essentially beginning the process of becoming the most powerful, important, and therefore influential nation on Earth). Erik, on the other hand, supported a violent worldwide campaign of death and destruction culminating in Wakandan worldwide domination (which would involve subjugating more races than just white people, for the record). Either way, Wakanda's isolationism is ended and they take their rightful place on the world stage, it's just a difference in methods.

Not commenting on the merits of either position though, one way or the other, because it's not really my place. That's just how I understood the conflict.

 

While no Disney/Marvel movie is going to endorse violent radicalism, Coogler made sure to portray Killmonger’s motivations as real and justifiable. He very intentionally made Erik and T’Challa two sides of the same coin, the aggressive radicalism of one pushing the other further, and the more conservative pacifism of another grounding the other side. Coogler was operating within a corporate big studio blockbuster context, and very deliberately made the morality of both sides murky and overlapping, even if T’Challa “wins”.

 

While working on one level as a good actor in a good role, it’s no mistake that the “hero” of Coogler’s last two films is cast as the “villain” of this one.

 

I think this is well-put.

Definitely another great point. We've never seen MBJ in this kind of role before, and that casting decision was, I'm sure, not made lightly by Coogler. I also appreciate your putting "villain" in quotes because, both as I was watching it and the more I think about the film since Thursday, I don't really believe it's fair to call Erik a "villain." Sure, he's the antagonist of the movie, in that he is the force opposing the protagonist, but his position is so sympathetic, and his motivations are so understandable (and, I'm sure, for a good portion of the audience relatable) that he becomes more than just another villain. I almost even hesitate to call him "Killmonger," it almost feels like using that name just dehumanizes him and his position to a degree he doesn't deserve. Your comment about T'Challa and Erik being two sides of the same coin is quite accurate here, as it is with most of the great protagonist/antagonist combinations in storytelling history.

 

It only registered to me just now that both Sherlock and Watson are in the MCU.

 

Ah, but remember... we already live under a villainous Empire. No Erik Killmonger isn't the ideal revolutionary for me, especially since he participated in Imperialism himself to get to this point in his story. But living under Wakandan rule, including free technologically advanced health care, an end to competition of resources via Capitalism and Imperialism, reparations for black people all over the world, all sounds pretty good to me.

 

And both struggle with American accents.

 

this was my issue with this movie, they didn’t make it very clear why they thought killmonger was a “monster” and to me it felt very anti-revolution on the surface which I found very concerning for a Black Panther movie. not that I expected it to be radical either, but I didn’t think it would be so overtly against the things killmonger thinks. If there was more interactions between T’Challa and Killmonger where their ideologies clash maybe they could of found a balance between them and been an interesting challenge but instead they just... punch each other?