Review--Black Panther

BLACK PANTHER
starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Sterling K. Brown, Martin Freeman, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis, and Lyle Wagner as The Beav.

Wakanda is a highly advanced nation in the middle of Africa, hidden from the view of the rest of the world. T'Challa, the heir to the nation's throne, is also the superhero known as Black Panther. The aftermath of Captain America: Civil War still echoes in this film as T'Challa seeks to lead Wakanda and consider what...if any...role the nation will have on the world stage. But before anything can happen, he faces a challenger for the throne...someone with a past connected to Wakanda and a thirst for vengeance that cannot be slaked.

Just as I've been complaining about comic book movies, Black Panther comes along. This film may be the greatest achievement of the subgenre. It's more than just run together scenes of fighting, "cool technology", and characters tossing quips, although there is a modicum of all of those tropes. No, this is something that runs deeper and asks questions of all of us. Firstly, T'Challa is a character more apt to use his cunning and intelligence than his kung fu and gadgets, granting the character (just as he has on the written page) an air of nobility and maturity. More than that even, this film is a deep mediation on justice, facing truth, and moral imperatives. Most of this is achieved through the story's antagonist, Killmonger.

MANY SPOILERS AHEAD.

"Killmonger," as he is nicknamed, is actually the cousin of Black Panther. As such, he may challenge T'Challa for the throne of Wakanda (slight shades of Hamlet, perhaps). He is perhaps the most compelling of all the MCU enemies for the simple fact that though he plays the antagonist, many find themselves supporting him over Black Panther. Killmonger has been abandoned, denied, and cast out to fend for himself through no fault of his own. Also, he does have a strong philosophical argument. "If you hold the power to save someone, are you not obligated to do so?" Shouldn't Wakanda, resplendent with wealth and technology due to its access to the rare element Vibranium, serve to benefit the lives of all fellow African people?

Killmonger certainly thought so. In fact, the hashtag "#killmongerwasright" began trending soon after the film's release. So how is the audience kept from throwing down on Killmonger's side and not that the title character, the one they presumably paid money to see?

Through crafty writing.

Aside: That might be a marvelously experimental narrative. The title character and the assumption that he/she is the protagonist are all red herrings. The "bad guy" is really "the good guy" and goes on to be the focal point of the franchise. Now THAT would be a switcheroo. Might lose an audience with such narrative subterfuge, and I certainly doubt the suits in the business offices would ever go for it. Sure would be nifty as heck to experiment with it, though. But I digress...

Why do we stick with Black Panther? Well first of all, Killmonger is violent towards women. I'm not talking about his fight with the elite guards of Wakanda. That scene could be interpreted as trained warriors meeting on equal terms. No, there are times where Killmonger commits unprovoked or thoughtless acts of aggression against female characters. Does he even value women? The very question, plus his actions, renders his position untenable.

There is also the question of just how his intentions of "setting things right" have morphed. As he orders weapons and technology sent to people of African descent in many corners of the world, Killmonger says, "The sun will never set on the Wakandan empire." This clearly suggests that Killmonger no longer seeks justice. Instead, he wants control. This is somewhat natural in human nature. If you have been harmed and felt powerless, your broken spirit may yearn for the power to bring everything under your control, and make forever certain that no one could ever perpetrate such harm on you or anyone else ever again. We see this in the tragedy...however badly written and acted...of Anakin Skywalker. "Someday I will rule that none of this will ever happen again. To do that I must have complete control."

It is no longer justice at this point. It is merely another form of tyranny.

As is bound to happen in such a course of action, Killmonger is defeated, mortally wounded by Black Panther. In a scene drenched in pathos, we see Panther, aware of his people's role in Killmonger's suffering and remorseful for it, offers Killmonger mercy in the form of medical care and a life in Wakanda. Present in the character's interactions is their additional, shared experience of both men going through the loss of their fathers. Despite the offering, Killmonger smartly knows what Black Panther is really describing is life in a cage, and he chooses death, citing inspiration from captured Africans who threw themselves overboard from ships rather than become slaves. Better to face death on your terms than languish in someone else's vision.

But he remains a criminal.

Killmonger was right, but his methods were wrong. His anger and hatred were justified, but he allowed them to reach critical mass and take him beyond the scope of his original mission.

This film is truly an achievement. I'm glad I finally saw it.
  

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