by Alyssa Tornel, Entertainment Editor
Black Panther, one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, truly lived up to the hype.
*Spoilers*
Chadwick Boseman stars as T’Challa/Black Panther. T’Challa returns to his home country, Wakanda, after the death of his father to take on the role of king. Everyone in the world thinks that Wakanda is a third world country but it’s actually one of the most advanced places in the world. Wakanda is threatened by Klaue (Andy Serkis) with the help of Erik Killmonger who plan to reveal to the rest of the world what Wakanda is really like. Killmonger decides he’d rather work alone. He goes to Wakanda to challenge T’Challa for the throne. Once Killmonger “defeats” T’Challa, he begins his plan to send out vibranium weapons, the strongest metal on Earth, to the oppressed all around the world. The people of Wakanda know this is wrong but they can’t disobey their king. Some begin to rebel and fight both Killmonger and those who follow him. Shuri, Nakia, Okoye, and Ramonda (played by Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and Angela Bassett respectively) help to defend their country and stop the vibranium from being sent out. Once they successfully take down Killmonger, they realize he was right in a way so they decide to share what Wakanda has and is really like to the rest of the world.
Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, is the intelligent princess of Wakanda who really stood out in this movie. Not only was she super smart, but also very witty. Shuri created amazing weapons to help aid her brother and also made smart-aleck remarks that made the whole theater laugh. She was the pit of comic relief. She’s definitely a character that I’d like to see more because she’s a great role model for little girls to teach them that girls can make it in the STEM field.
Marvel has struggled to break away from making villains act the same in almost every one of their films. Coogler did an excellent job of developing Erik Killmonger, portrayed by Michael B. Jordan. He does a perfect job at adding many layers to the character because he’s torn with all the grief and anger he experienced through his whole life. At times, he made it hard to hate him because he was the underdog who wanted to help others.
The visuals and cinematography for this Marvel film were spectacular. The amazing fight scenes were executed perfectly that it really helped maintain the attention of the audience. There was one particular scene that resembled a beautiful tribute to Lion King. Coogler also made some interesting political references that could’ve been easily missed.
This film made history by being the 1st major superhero film with almost all of the cast being African-American. It’s also the first major superhero film with a black superhero lead. Unlike most Hollywood films, Black Panther had representation for African culture; something that the film industry lacks.
Be sure to see this blockbuster! Also, make sure to stay till the very end because there are two end credit scenes that’ll help introduce “Infinity War”.
gahh I need to see this movie already!
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