By Amanda R.
Black Panther has already broken many records and milestones as it nears $900M worldwide. It is praised for being a revolutionary step forward for black superheroes, and also for showcasing interesting, empowering female characters. But one thing that is not often mentioned is how the movie managed to fix many of Marvel’s common mistakes.
Flaws like unmemorable soundtracks, generic villains, ugly colour grading, and mediocre fight scenes were nowhere to be found in Black Panther.
“Ryan Coogler has set the bar high for the many movies to come.”
In keeping with the spirit of black talent, Coogler called rapper Kendrick Lamar for the Black Panther soundtrack. Just knowing this, we knew the soundtrack would going be good, but it exceeded expectations and became one of the most exciting releases of the year. The album features some of the biggest names in music right now, SZA, The Weeknd, Khalid, and many more. The songs complemented many of the scenes and helped make the movie memorable.
Another big issue of Marvel is their inability to make compelling villains. The closest they have gotten is Loki who showed complexity and development throughout the films. Having a well-written villain highly impacts the quality of the story, and once again, Black Panther knocked it out of the park with Erik Killmonger.
“The arc of Killmonger’s story is not villainous, on the contrary, Killmonger often made me question whose side I was on.”
His actions went beyond your typical revenge plot as he wanted Wakanda to use their resources to help others in need. He is wrong in his means but his point of view was completely justifiable. Similar to Loki, he also had great potential to develop as a character. Marvel should really consider bringing him back in future movies.
The cinematography of this movie is very underrated. Dull colour grading is yet another problem in many Marvel films, but this movie was colourful and unique in every aspect.
“Not only was the storyline beautiful, but each scene was visually appealing.”
The fights were also captivating, especially the “Warrior Falls” scene. They were different from anything I have ever seen in an action movie, mainly due to their setting and engaging choreography. I did not get lost in the action as I tend to do with many action movies, I was hooked from beginning to end. The unpredictability of these scenes had everyone at the edge of their seats.
All of these things have attributed to Black Panther’s success and helped make it such a culturally significant movie. There was a lot of hype surrounding this movie, and now that it has been released we can all agree that Ryan Coogler took this material very seriously. It is quite evident in the final product. What seems like just another superhero movie is actually something much bigger.