Black Panther

March 1, 2018

The MCU has got its claws in us now…Black Panther is the second release in a row that we’ve seen in the theater. Granted, it was an early bird, non-3D, 9:35am showing, but we paid nonetheless…

A post shared by Lara (@knobbygirl) on Mar 1, 2018 at 1:47pm PST

Before I get into my thoughts on Black Panther, there were SO many good trailers before the film. Deadpool 2 (even though I’ve seen it, I could watch it 100 times), I Feel Pretty (wow, an Amy Schumer comedy that I actually want to see), Venom (again, I’ve seen this, but I’ll never get tired of Tom Hardy), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (this one was new to me – I got chills down my spine when Jeff Goldblum said, “life finds a way.”), Solo (new to me, but meh), and Ant-man and Wasp (cute). I was surprised there wasn’t an Infinity War trailer – I guess that would be overkill? I need to fall into a coma before this summer, or tickets will get expensive.

Black Panther was flat out amazing. Believe the hype. Not only is the action non-stop, but the plot was strong and woven well around the strong characters. Even without considering the plot within the wider MCU, the theme was worth exploring further – what do the wealthy (individuals, organizations or nations) owe the less fortunate? Colonization vs. Cooperation. What would African nations be capable of today, if their resources hadn’t been plundered by Europe for hundreds of years? It goes without saying that my (75% white/european) opinion means Jack Squat, when compared to the overwhelmingly positive response from the black community. I am hopeful that this positive response is taken seriously by Hollywood and leads to a more black stories being told by black people. For example, a white guy directed Hidden Figures…just sayin’.

I will say, the one thing that boggled me, was the vibranium technology. I didn’t understand a lick of it. But then again, I don’t know how Iron Man‘s arc reactor or suit work. I sure don’t know how the rainbow bridge to Asgard works or the whole mjolnir thing works. Don’t even get me started on Doctor Strange. Comic book stuff – you’re not supposed to understand how any of it works.

I cannot stop laughing about the Andy Serkis/Martin Freeman memes – the two Tolkien white guys. That reminds me, I never watched that last Hobbit movie. D’oh! And the Zamunda memes!

The whole family really enjoyed Black Panther. My husband said it was a close race between Winter Soldier and Black Panther for best Marvel movie so far, and I tend to agree. I’m looking forward to seeing the Black Panther team in Infinity War and in their own standalone adventures.