Black Panther (4K)

Just another Marvel movie, Internet? Not quite. Sure it has the action that you’ve come to love, the humor that some of you have come to hate (because life isn’t funny, right?), and some secondary characters that need a bit more screen time to cultivate, but the body of work is brilliant, especially in the villain.

The latter is a desperate complaint from comic book enthusiasts, who believe that villains deserve an incredible amount development and screen time, and they aren’t wrong. Prior to BP’s Killmonger, the closest two villains out of two movies that had proper motivation and development came in the form of the Red Skull and Spider-Man’s Vulture. Other than these, there have been some shortchanged villains that needed more rhyme to their reason, especially in the case of Civil War’s Baron Zemo. Zemo’s character had no depth to him, nothing beyond a family tragedy, though actor Daniel Brühl did his best to contend with it and make the character as grounded and real as he could (and he did an admirable job). This is one legitimate complaint that holds water, while the rest of the complaints, especially the one about humor, aren’t valid. I mean, c’mon, comic books aren’t supposed to be serious adult dramas. Yes, even DC comic books.

Anyway, before there was Thanos demolishing the hell out of everything, and redeeming questions of villains created by the Russo brothers, there was a meaningful villain in Killmonger in Black Panther. What’s superb about Killmonger is that he starts off two-dimensional in the film, then is changed before the audience’s eyes in an instant. The transition from ‘oh, yeah, that guy’ to ‘wow, I didn’t expect that’, is brilliant and should be lauded. BUT! Before we dive too much into that and give away the story, let’s get there first by breaking down the movie.

The film begins with the usual three-act formula, where we are first introduced to the characters and reminded of their situation. The film starts with T’Challa’s father, T’Chaka, as a young Black Panther, hunting down his brother in Oakland, California, who has been selling Vibranium, the country of Wakanda’s big secret source of their power, to weapon dealers. T’Chaka wants to bring his brother back to stand trial, but his brother has other plans, which shortly thereafter end up being his death by hands of T’Chaka. By killing his brother, T’Chaka sets in motion a bevy of things to come, which will include ramifications of his son’s future rule of Wakanda. T’Chaka, leaving his brother’s body in Oakland, leaves for Wakanda. The act shifts to modern day Wakanda, shortly after the death of T’Chaka in Civil War. T’Challa arrives home after stopping guerrilla soldiers in Wakanda’s jungles and begins his conversion from prince to king of Wakanda. Proper introductions of minor characters are given, including his tech savvy sister Shuri, who provides him with new wearables for his heroic battles, and then the ritual for T’Challa to become king is set in motion. The ritual involves de-Black Panther-ing T’Challa (making him weak by taking away his powers), offering up his crown to anyone who wants to fight him for it (one taker from a traditional tribe challenges him, M’Baku, but loses), and then once he is declared king he is given back his Black Panther powers through a concluding ceremony, and takes the thrown as king. Act one ends with life as usual for Wakanda, but not before it’s disrupted by the re-appearance of an old Wakanda foe, who has been on the run after stealing Vibranium, named Ulysses Klaue. The first act concludes with BP and crew hunting down Klaue in Korea and promising to kill Klaue as T’Challa’s first act as king.

The first act is typical of a three-act structure and what you would expect from a Marvel film. It introduces everyone properly, provides a shape for personalities, and gives a few hints of what’s to come in later acts. It’s completely by the books, which isn’t bad, and it is entertaining to boot. The act sets the right tone and it explains exactly what the overarching theme of the movie is going to be, which is that Wakanda is just fine on its own without the world interfering. There’s nothing to complain about and it adds more than it subtracts to entertainment. Director Ryan Coogler, and fellow writer Joe Robert Cole, do a superb job of putting together a setup story and don’t offer up more than they can deliver. I love it. It’s a perfect comic book film, but it’s not going to stay that way. Well, it’s going to stay solid, but it’s going to get deeper than the typical comic book film.

The second act begins with a gigantic fight and eventual street car chase with BP and Klaue. It’s a fast-paced part of the production that is gorgeously done. It provides motivation for Klaue, more depth and hurt for Black Panther, who has a deep seething hate for Klaue and his cronies, and it ends up adding more depth to secondary characters, such as Shuri and T’Challa’s top general Ayo. As soon as the chase ends, the real story begins with a proper introduction to Killmonger, who is working with Klaue as a smuggler, with other reasons, and who is hellbent on getting into Wakanda. Killmonger helps to free captured Klaue, then proceeds to get rid of Klaue, which is a damn shame. Klaue never gets a chance to really breathe in the movie and his character seems a bit of waste. Nonetheless, he goes and Killmonger finds his way to Wakanda thanks to Klaue’s capture. The middle of the second act finds Killmonger, who has been identified as a threat by Everett K. Ross (a character introduced in Civil War, and who was brought to Wakanda to recover from a gunshot wound by Killmonger’s people), captured entering Wakanda, then identified as a fellow resident, nay brother/prince to the Wakanda thrown. The second act concludes with Killmonger taking the thrown away from T’Challa and opening up the borders of Wakanda to the world — well, the violent world, which is all he has ever known.

The second act, while messy between Klaue’s capture and Killmonger’s entrance, is packed full of action, intrigue, and develops questions that need answering by the conclusion of the film. Plus, the motivation of Killmonger, while obvious by the end of the second act, isn’t exactly the deepest — not yet. The second act does deliver some goodies and promises that the third act should be spectacular and, trust me on this, it is quite spectacular in its delivery.

In traditional DC fashion, we’re not discussing details of the third act. Why ruin it, right? I will add that the moment after T’Challa and Killmonger’s final fight there is a big reveal and huge amount of depth that pushes the story from comic book fun to ‘wow, that’s a lot more than I expected from a villain’. You see, dear readers, and this will not give anything away, Killmonger is a product of his environment. That environment was created by Wakanda. Wakanda is the villain. That’s a lot to take in and a single character played as a villain is no longer what you expected. It’s an impactful moment of realization in the film and one that will surely bring long-lasting effect from a message that isn’t just about Black Panther, but one that applies directly to real life. Much like Wakanda, the world has to do a better job of not forgetting anyone, and especially not trying to forget anyone. This is what makes Black Panther a comic book movie that is more than just a comic book movie. This is why Killmonger isn’t a throwaway villain, rather he is an important message for the film’s hero, and an important message for audiences to see and read. Coogler and Cole did a beautiful job of getting people to this moment and uncovering a problem through their ‘villain’ and showing that not all things are the way they seem, and especially that actions or in-actions can cause more problems in the world than they can solve. It’s deep, folks. It’s stunning and beautiful, yet horrifying and eye-opening. Bravo to Coogler and crew for doing this story and character justice. This is one of the best films of 2018 and a reason why you need to own/watch it, especially if you haven’t.

(Reviewed on an Xbox One X)
Shifting gears, the 4K release of this film is nothing short of gorgeous. You’re going to find a beautiful balance of black/white contrast and superb depth to the picture. Marvel did a great job of ensuring that 4K quality, especially with the color scheme scattered throughout the release, which was maintained from beginning to end. It’s definitely one of the more impressive 4K transfers that I’ve seen in the last few months.

On the special features side of the tracks, here’s what you’re getting:

· Director’s Intro
· From Page to Screen: A Roundtable Discussion – Delve into the film’s making
· Crowning of a New King – Explore the world of “Black Panther” in all its color and complexity
· The Warriors Within – Get to know Wakanda’s women and the actors who portray them
· The Hidden Kingdom Revealed – Wakanda’s diverse people
· Wakanda Revealed: Exploring the Technology
· Deleted Scenes
– U.N. Meet and Greet
– Okoye And W’Kabi Discuss the Future of Wakanda
– T’Challa Remembers His Father
– Voices from the Past
· Gag Reel
· Exclusive Sneak Peek at “Ant-Man and The Wasp”
· Marvel Studios the First Ten Years: Connecting the Universe
· Director’s Commentary

Digital Exclusives:
· In World Wakanda Tourism Ads
– Come to Wakanda “Before”
– Come to Wakanda “After”

The special features are solid, as is the director’s commentary (really good stuff there). I did like the digital exclusives as well. A nice set of added value items to the overall release.