Re: Black Panther

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Not as overwhelmed as I've seen people been with this one. The non-CG visuals were stunning and the soundtrack is good. But the antagonist and his motivations where paper thin and some of the CG work, especially the last fight, looked unfinished at best. Best part of the film were the warrior women. They were cool as hell.

Re: Black Panther

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_Marcus_ wrote:But the antagonist and his motivations where paper thin
Actually I'd say Killmonger is one of the Marvel villains with a more fleshed out motivation. And really he's right to boot.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

Re: Black Panther

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darkness wrote:
_Marcus_ wrote:But the antagonist and his motivations where paper thin
Actually I'd say Killmonger is one of the Marvel villains with a more fleshed out motivation. And really he's right to boot.
There were some heavy, interesting themes in his backstory and had he been given an opportunity to be a more fleshed out character (instead of spending the first half on fucking Gollum) he would have been way, way more interesting.

Re: Black Panther

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watched this last night. it was fine. like, a pretty dang fun marvel movie. would not make top 5 MCU for me, but it was fine. it wasn't HOLY SHIT THIS MOVIE YOU HAVE TO SEE IT NOW amazing like some people have been talking.
and yes, killmonger (stupid name) was right, obviously. at the end, BP opens an "outreach center" doing exactly what killmonger fought him about doing, just less violently. more evolution vs. revolution, but still - exactly the same. you could have agreed to do this earlier and avoided all the drama and killing of your own people, you know. some king.

also, why kill klaw? that's kind of ridiculous. how did killmonger get to wakanda then? if he could fly the plane, why did he need klaw in the first place? was all very dumb.

so... "sharing" the "resources" of wakanda with everyone means that the CIA suddenly forgets that you've been lying to them about vibranium for... decades? and they won't continue to try to buy it on the black market?

yeah, this movie didn't really solve anything. my biggest question is, why the hell would a giant rhino stay in a pen built with fucking twigs? such a ridiculous scene.
like i said, it was fine. i love the character and hope now that this origin story is out of the way he can go about being black panther more.

Re: Black Panther

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Don't read if you haven't watched it, yadda yadda.

No offense but I feel like you're nitpicking stuff and not seeing the bigger picture. This is a movie that deals with race and colonialism and cultural appropriation (ie Klaw--that's why he needed to fucking die--he stole from Wakanda and murdered people there and has a mix tape and "makes it rain" etc etc--very symbolic figure, and the fact that that may not have jumped out at you beyond a basic "he white they black" stance speaks to the deftness with which the movie deals with its issues) with intelligence and excitement. And, you know, it's a groundbreaking big budget entertainment for people black people. Everyone can come to the party but it wasn't specifically made for you and me at the end of the day, and that's OK. I don't understand your point on Killmonger. He wanted war and revenge, not outreach. He stopped wanting anything but violence the day his father died, clearly. Before that he was being indoctrinated into his dad's plan for black revolution. He always wanted war, it's all he knew. He wants to know why BP didn't wage war against oppressors real and imagined across the globe, not why he didn't share the wealth. It's a very interesting conversation to see play out in the realm of a comic book action movie, and of course the good guy wins and the bad guy loses, but at the end you are left with heaping piles of sympathy for Killmonger, because he's not wrong in many respects. Vibranium is itself a metaphor for everything black people have to offer to the world. Should it be hidden because the world will misuse it? Should it be used to attack the world? Should it be shared with the world because of its potential to make so many things better? These are better questions to ask than Comic Book Guy logistical stuff like "why wouldn't the CIA get mad at Wakanda for hiding" blah blah blah. Beside the point. Sorry, but within the familiar beats of a Marvel origin story, Coogler and Co. have made one of the smartest movies to date in the genre, and in a way that really never comes across as threatening or scolding to a white audience, which is something of a miracle too. In my book it's one of the best the genre has ever offered.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Black Panther

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_Marcus_ wrote:But the antagonist and his motivations where paper thin
Um, no. Easily one of the best Marvel villains yet, even with limited screen time. When he is on screen he's more magnetic than even fanboy fave Loki, and his origin story is playing out in parallel to T'Challa's the entire time. In fact the movie is called Black Panther, not T'Challa, so I really see it as two origin stories for the person who wears that mantle. See above for a few notes on Killmonger. He's an awesome villain. Marvel is 2 for 2 on those in 2018.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Black Panther

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Oh I absolutely understand and appreciate the HUGE cultural relevance of this film. I celebrate it for that alone, and besides the CIA agent it was a movie devoid of tiresome white novelty characters. As it should be.
I just wanted more from Killmonger. I guess I didn't express it properly when I said his motivations were thin. What I meant was that they didn't give the character and his motivations enough time to really develop. It all came and went superfast. This should have been Killmonger on screen from the first to last frame, but instead I felt like they almost retconned him a little bit. You don't have to explain his motivations to me like you did, I understood them. But I never felt like the film actually let them take enough place throughout.

Re: Black Panther

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yeah, that's a lot. i'm sure some of the undertones would be more obvious on repeated viewings. i was just, you know, watching a movie. glad some people were able to see a great bigger picture. i am reminded of the immortal words of lex luthor...
Lex Luthor wrote:Some people can read War And Peace and come away thinking it's a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe.
:) :)

Re: Black Panther

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Yeah. I enjoyed it actually. Just throwing this out there: a movie that is only "for" 15% of the population is unlikely to make $700m. Part of the film's achievement as I understand it is that it proves a predominantly minority cast can appeal across all demographics, contrary to some previous perceptions within the industry.