This movie was touted as the best superhero movie ever. I’m not sure I’d give it quite that high of a bar to reach, but it was quite good. It is on par with Captain America, the first movie, in the origin of T’Challa and his ascension to the throne. There are going to be SPOILERS ahead, so be aware. But before we get to that, I will say that the overall look and feel of the movie was refreshing, yet it still seemed familiar, like it was a Marvel movie and you knew it. It was nice to see all the faces that weren’t all white. I thought Chadwich Boseman was very subdued as the title character. In a way, his performance let the other amazing performances come forward. I couldn’t figure out why I recognized his general of his female army, but that is Michonne from The Walking Dead. The surprises for the movie, for me were his little sister, played by Letitia Wright, and the head of the Jabari tribe, played by Winston Duke. Those two stole every scene they were in.
On to the movie itself. The majority of the movie took place in Wakanda, a fictional country in Africa. It is hidden by the technology that they possess. The opening of the movie was a CG/FX wonderland, that, with 3D glasses, in the second row, was kind of nauseating. At times, the 3D did really disorient me, more than I would have liked. I am also still miffed that AMC promised me a lanyard, but supposedly the lanyards never arrived. That’s some grade A BS. Someone yanked them and is selling them on ebay, as I might have done, given the same chance, but I wouldn’t have taken the entire box, that’s just rude.
Anyway, the story progresses and the audience is introduced to lot of new faces, including T’Challa’s younger sister and ex-girlfriend, who he saves at the very beginning of the movie. One member of the Jabari tribe challenges the new king, but T’Challa wins, then he is crowned the king. His first order of business is to catch someone who stole vibranium from Wakanda, Andy Serkis, playing a South African thief. Let’s all stop and remember that there are two Hobbits in this move as the token (Tolkien) white guys. I can’t take credit for that line, I saw it on Twitter a while ago. Anyway, the cast was meticulously put together and everyone worked amazingly well together, as in most Marvel movies.
I posted this review without talking about the very obvious politics of the movie. The main conflict is between T'Challa and his cousin, played by Micheal B Jordan, and Jordan's character wants to send out a support structure to Africans across the globe to overcome their oppressors. T'Challa was given the leadership to keep Wakanda a secret. It is an interesting conflict between empowering people and helping them, vs. the isolationism that T'Challa grew up with.
I enjoyed the movie, but I am not sure I’ll see it again, even though a friend wants to see it this weekend. I love the inspiration this movie will provide. As the representation for African Americans was great. There were hardly any threatening white faces and that was quite refreshing. There was tons of diversity and the female characters were wonderful because they didn’t need saving, like the usual damsel in distress that superhero movies do. No, these women were fierce and smart. In a way, it almost made T’Challa a bit of a bumbler, but with a good heart. Either way, you’d be foolish to miss this movie. And if you get a lanyard, hook a charmander up!
Horror movies, I never get my fill, yet I never find one that really scares me, not anymore, it seems like. This one did not scare me as much as it could have, but the based on a true events sort of thing only does scare me some of the time. The movie, in a nutshell, is a ghost story. But there’s more to it than that, and that more does make a slight difference. Helen Mirren plays the heir to the Winchester rifle fortune and the company has called in a person who can assess her mental state to see if they can’t wrestle the power of the company away from the old lady. She has been building a house, building and rebuilding for a while, and continues to do so until she dies. The idea is that the ghosts tell her to build rooms and then she seals the rooms off so that the spirits can come to rest. It is an interesting concept. One I’d not be inclined to investigate firsthand.
Overall, the story was cohesive and interesting. There were a lot of jump scares, but the evil ghost didn’t do nearly as much damage as expected. An unexpected earthquake cause a lot of damage, releasing spirits throughout the house. There is a part of the plot that involves the Winchester curse, and how any of the family will be killed because they had created a weapon of destruction. That sort of thinking is somewhat novel in this day and age of everyone thinking they need to have a gun to protect themselves. I won’t devolve into a political discussion, but in some sense, it makes the movie timely.
The special effects were decent, the acting was decent, given a not so impressive script. There were a few twists and turns, but nothing wholly unexpected. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it, but it didn’t floor me. It just sort of existed and I watched it and that was really it. I’m not sure I’d say you should see this movie or not, but if you’re bored and it’s on, you might enjoy it.
As for diversity in this movie, there was none. I don't think there was one non-white character. I will say that having Helen Mirren in a movie, and she is a strong character, certainly helps, but it won't salvage the lack of other colors in the movie. I get that it is a period piece, so it wouldn't be normal to see anyone other than whites, but still.
