Black Panther Review

[adam loumeau]

I saw the movie Black Panther last night.  I wasn't going to see it but based on the glowing review on Outkick The Coverage, I decided to take a chance.  Below is my review.

I'll start first with some negatives.  Black Panther knew even before the onslaught of drooling liberal hype that it was going to be considered a monumental movie for the African American community.  Taken in its totality, Black Panther often buckles under the weight of trying to be everything to every black person in America.  The result is a comic book movie that is a little too heavy on dialogue and at times, lacking a tight vision.  This of course is par for the course for ANY comic book movie these days and far too many action movies as well.  Nevertheless, it has to be said.  The movie could have stood to be a little shorter and tighter in execution.  The pacing isn't bad.  The vision just could have been a little tighter, that's all.

Additionally, if you are looking for over-the-top action sequences aplenty, this is not the movie for you.  Despite a running time of over 2 hours, the action is pretty sparse.  Many critics are favorably biased towards this movie so they they didn't want to point this shortcoming out.  Nevertheless, action aficionados will be left disappointed.  Finally, if you like your superhero movies light and breezy, this is not your cup of tea.  There are social messages galore.  Now for my three favorite aspects of the film:

1. Just doing a cursory skimming of various reviews for this movie, I came across 4 different characters other than the main one who received heaping amounts of praise for their performance in particular.  Michael B. Jordan is a fantastic bad guy.  Lupita Nyong'o is good in everything she is in and this movie is no exception.  Danai Gurira is powerful as the leader of the female warriors (amazing how convincing a bad ass female character can be when played by an actual bad ass, compared to a former Israeli supermodel turned Amazon woman).  And Letitia Wright is destined to be one of the breakout stars of 2018.  In short, the acting is a home run for a comic book movie.

2. While the action scenes are sparse and nothing to write home about even when they are taking place, do not make the mistake of thinking this movie lacks for eye candy.  Wakanda, the African world created for this story, is beautiful to behold and has received praise from critics.  But the real treat is in the costume design, which gets an A+ from me.  Also, the music has received mixed responses but count me as a fan.

3. While the social messages are strong, they never felt forced or clunky or preachy to me.  The messaging made sense and added rather than distracted from the overall movie itself.  In fact, Black Panther reminded me of the original Iron Man in some ways.  While the mood could not be more different between the two movies, they both share a common thread, which is that both movies felt organic rather than pieced together by a team of experts.  Most big budget action movies today, particularly comic book movies, are made in much the same way that cars are aesthetically designed in the 21st century.

Back in the 1950's and 1960's, cars were works of art, oftentimes designed by a single visionary mind.  Nowadays, companies use focus groups and research and algorithms to ensure that each model is mildly liked by the widest number of people.  Big budget movies today are focus grouped and pieced together in a way that ensures much pleasantry without making much sense as a whole.  Iron Man and Black Panther, on the other hand, have reason to exist artistically besides being huge, gigantic money grabs.  That goes a long way in my book.

In conclusion, Black Panther is no 1950 Thunderbird.  You won't leave the theater thinking it's the best Marvel comic book movie you've seen (which would be a tall order anyway).  Nevertheless, the positives surely outweigh the negatives.  I give this movie a solid B.

[Eric Loumeau]

Thanks for the review.

I won't give a full review, but I just wanted to put in a plug for "The Darkest Hour."  Fantastic movie and highly recommended.

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[Monique]

I am excited to see it. I love how black youth have felt valued and seen, empowered even, because of this. I don’t understand why being happy about this sentiment has to be part of “liberal hype.” We can’t seem to avoid labeling everything in a way that pits people against each other. Now being happy about this movie speaking to a minority group is liberal? Why? Shouldn’t we all think that’s cool?

That’s not a tangent you asked for lol society is just driving me nuts on this front. 

Thanks for the review! I actually don’t like superhero movies. It’s become too much! Marvel, DC, then x men, Star Wars, I’m utterly lost. I’ll stick with Star Trek!! But I do want to see this. 

Best,

Monique Derr

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[adam loumeau]

You make a good point about conservatives automatically chaffing just because liberals praise something.  For me at least, the chaffing comes from not being able to trust those doing the hype because they are not being honest about their "impartial" review.  The movie Get Out is a great example.  The movie was fine and I can see why it would really resonate with some people but in no way was it deserving of all the hype it received by a heavily biased media.  We want to be able to trust that movie reviews are fair.

[Monique]

Conservatives need only see the youth response, who cares about reviews...we should make up our own minds, not base our opinions on what is initially considered liberal or conservative positions. People don’t think for themselves anymore, they just pick their team and run blindly. 

Best,

Monique Derr

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[adam loumeau]

Well said

[Marie Loumeau]

Thanks for the review. I don’t see lots of comic book movies but I thought the trailers looked pretty good. 

Sent from my iPhone

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[adam loumeau]

The acting is really strong, the costume design is top notch, and the story is compelling. I think you’d enjoy the movie Mom. 

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[Marie Loumeau]

I think I would 😁

Sent from my iPhone

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[vivian.branner]

Wow, Adam.  You sound,like a professional!! I may see,this movie after reading this. 

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

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[adam loumeau]

Thanks Aunt Vivian!

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