The trailer was stunning and it's got buckets of style, but then I realize this is essentially Marvel recreating the first Iron Man movie with a C-list hero for the 4/5th time. I don't trust reviews from any source for Blockbuster movies anymore, not sure where to set expectations.
Actually, I trust Redlettermedia, but their reviews are always after the fact, it's hard to get invites to early screenings if you can't be counted on for a positive review.
Coogler's vision is far different from Marvel's initial idea of a James Bond-esque geopolitical thriller. The critically-acclaimed director's vision of Wakanda is of an African nation untouched by colonization. It was a chance for Coogler, the film's stars, and Black audiences to see what our world could look like had the continent never been invaded.
"What would the African world have been without that imposition?" asks Gurira.
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Director Ryan Coogler sits down with the NBA legend and cultural critic to assess the film's significance: "It's a little like witnessing the unveiling of an enormous statue on the public square — with the public square being the world — of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela dressed in bright dashikis," writes Abdul-Jabbar.
The soundtrack to the Black Panther film was curated by Kendrick Lamar (and he features on five songs) includes appearances from such artists as 2 Chainz, Ab-Soul, Anderson .Paak, James Blake, Future, Jay Rock, Swae Lee, Mozzy, ScHoolboy Q, Travis Scott, Vince Staples, the Weeknd, and Zacari.
About 10 years ago I was visiting a cousin of mine and her friends (mostly early 20s girls). All of them were "cool" kids, not remotely interested in comic books. They were nice to me but I always felt like a bit of an outsider. They were far more interested in what the hottest nightclub was, than a small pocket of pop culture like comic books. By this time there were quite a few popular superheroes but nothing like we see today. After a long night of drinking and partying, we were hanging out in a car with about 6 people smoking a joint. In the midst of stupid drunk stoner talk they begin talking about superheroes and Black Panther comes up. They start making wisecracks about his name and powers. Finally my urge to correct them overpowers my desire to shut up and pretend I'm cool and I burst out full Sheldon (before that existed) and tell them in an annoyed tone that his name is T'Challa and he's the king of Wakanda. After a brief moment of silence the entire car burst out laughing and for years they've been giving me the gears, shouting "T'Challa from Wakanda" and we all get a laugh about it. Well today I texted my cousin to remind her that T'Challa from Wakanda is about to be the biggest superhero in the world (at least for this weekend).
Anyways, just a stupid story that I would have never guessed at the time that T'Challa from Wakanda would be something that a lot of people are gonna be aware of after this weekend. I can't imagine how much money I would have bet that a Black Panther movie being #1 in the world and pulling in $150M+ on opening weekend was a reality 10 years later.
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You have two of the best artists on the planet involved with this project (Coogler, Kendrick). You have the world's biggest studio (Marvel). You have "the next big thing" (MBJ).
I haven't been this hyped for a movie since Hateful Eight.
Black Panther
