By CHRIS AGBOLA
Movie Reviewer
If you are a fan of Marvel cinematics, which is predominately superhero-supervillain themed, then you are in for another treat in “Black Panther” with an unprecedented twist—a superhero and supervillain of color.
It’s always an arduous task to review a movie without spoiler alerts but I’d do my best to be succinct in highlighting some themes, which the Ryan Coogler directed movie encapsulates. And my reason is that, Black Panther has the element of all movie genres, which shows the incredible work of Coogler.
Power: The setting of the movie is in Africa, precisely the kingdom of Wakanda who was located in the middle of nowhere but was a tech savvy empire as a result of abundant vibranium—a natural resource. Chadwick Boseman played Prince T’Challa whose super hero alter ego was the Black Panther. After his father, T’Chaka’s, death that occurred in Captain America: Civil War, T’Challa was to replace his father and rule Wakanda. The story then unfolds from there as Boseman’s character experiences different forms of opposition both internal and external as the new king.
The priority of Boseman’s character was protection of Wakanda, which involved preventing their vibranium from being exploited for war. In my opinion T’Challa was a complete character that epitomized the struggles of any leader in any field of endeavor and the power play him or her being at the helm of affairs.
Debunking African and African American Stereotypes: The movie points out that, minorities are self-sufficient and possess the structure and know-how in order to determine the course of their own destinies. With an in-depth display of the African culture and top-notch technology, Coogler seeks to assert that people of color were on par with the modernization and that weakens the biased notions promulgated by the media
Values: The Black Panther movies entails values such as loyalty, patriotism and selflessness and humanitarianism. A fascinating thing to me about this movie is that, even with the superhero and supervillain, Erik Killmonger, which was played by Michael B. Jordan, I was able to sympathize the supervillian even though his intentions were wrong. Every character in Black Panther is given a viable backstory and enough setup for the future to lead their own film.
So, if you are looking for a movie, which is the quintessence of all genres, Black Panther is a definite must watch!