Monday, May 21, 2018

Black Panther

Actors: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis
Rating: 10 out of 10, It is one of those rare films that exceeds deafening word of mouth hype. It’s clearly one of the best Marvel films ever which is rarified air for a dedicated geek like me to assign it to. It is well plotted, fabulously acted, and perfectly paced. The cast is the real strength of the movie but not because of the title character. While he is very good, Boseman is probably the fifth or sixth best actor in this movie. The women and Michael B. Jordan dominate! Lupita Nyong'o and especially Danai Gurira were mesmerizing in their roles as key players for the Black Panther. Jordan’s screen presence as the villain is undeniable and he almost gets you rooting for him despite constantly showing you why you shouldn’t; just charisma to spare. The movie takes on a lot of social issues without beating you about the head and shoulders. There’s also a lot of subtle humor, most of it at the Black Panther’s expense. It’s obvious Bosemen wasn’t a prima dona and uniformly gracious in sharing the screen with this fantastic cast. This is a superhero movie with a soul. This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. There was a huge crowd there for a Tuesday night showing mostly African-American which I would definitely recommend as a viewing environment. It was a party as young kids, up well after their bedtimes, devoured this new hero. While everyone wants to make this a socially conscious event it is still a damned fine movie. It says way too much about our movie history of inclusion that it is greeted as such an event in the first place.
MVP: Jordan as Killmonger

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