Black Panther: A review

You're rooting for a man duly defeated in combat by a superior opponent, no shams, no tricks whatsoever. The battle is for the throne of Wakanda. You bet that it's not a pretty feeling to be on the losing side, but what's a story without some suspense? That brings me to Marvel's latest hot-cake, Black Panther, and the flick is worth your cash. With that out of the way, let's get into the parts that keep the movie lingering in your mind way after it's over.

Save for The Hulk, Marvel has effortlessly brought alive its characters like Iron Man with the ever-cocky RDJ; the righteous, albeit saccharine Captain America with Chris Evans; the hammer-wielding Nordic thunder-god Thor and his fellow Asgardian trickster Loki with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston; and the entire Guardians of the Galaxy crew. Phew, Groot!

With Black Panther though, Marvel has taken things up a few notches. So, "What do you know about Wakanda?" First off, I would like to thank Akshay, a colleague from work, who pointed out how brilliantly Marvel has marketed the movie with trailers, social-media jazz, the works! All the promotion, along with Captain America: Winter Soldier, set the premise for Black Panther – prince T'Chala's (brilliant, brilliant Chadwick Boseman playing Black Panther) ascension to Wakanda's throne after his father's death. He becomes king despite the few requisite road-blocks, and there's just the right dose of vulnerability and fun-factor built into all the characters. For instance, T'Chala commands his genius sister to delete a recording of him goofing up with her high-tech toys. But the bits that compel you to don your thinking caps are beyond the veneer of the sexy Black Panther costumes, the menacing Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger, fancy tech, and T'Chala's staunch support-crew. 

The plot dabbles with the "colonisers" forcefully taking all that was dear to the natives, and consequently racial oppression. Now, comics of the 70s and 80s reflected the political sentiment of their times and it's nice to see that trend continuing in the movies without severe filters. Sadly, however, blurring the middle-finger and muting curses are irksome habits that our own censor-board will not give up soon. Another curveball is the brief victory of the villain who plans to avenge his "black brothers and sisters" and take over the world with superior, Vibranium-powered, Wakandan technology. This, again, harks back to the racial oppression theme crucial to the plot but has been unconvincingly dealt with. 

While blurring the lines between right and wrong, Black Panther concludes all too ideally, suggesting how brute strength is no way to judge a leader, that hatred hurts in the long run, and that no one is perfect. Perhaps, that's how comic heroes and their universes were meant to be, a painless, entertaining injection for delivering hope and righteousness to the world. And goodness, Black Panther is an entertainer! Importantly, wait until the very last credit rolls off the screen. Rant over, tada!