Spider-Man: Far From Home Review

Synopsis
While on a vacation to Europe, Peter (Tom Holland) is recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to help combat “elementals” alongside the mysterious new hero Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal).

Review
This review contains spoilers for the end of Avenger: Endgame.

Spider-Man: Far From Home closes out the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU’s) Infinity Saga, the large, overarching narrative Marvel Studios has been telling since Iron Man. In a way, Spider-Man was the perfect character to close out Phase 3. For years, he was (and probably still is) Marvel comic’s flagship character, much like Iron Man was for the MCU. Spider-Man is also now the only character beside Iron Man to have two solo movies in the same phase. But most importantly, Peter Parker became an adoptive son to Tony Stark. No other character is more suited to reflect on what it means to not have Tony around than Peter.

I thought Spider-Man: Homecoming did a good job of integrating Tony Stark into the story; he was present but didn’t take over the story. However, his presence could still be felt in the peripheral, just out of sight. Even in his own movie, Peter still felt like he was in Tony’s shadow. Peter didn’t make his suit or all of the gadgets it contained, Tony did. Even when Peter messed up on the ferry, endangering civilian lives, Tony was there to fix it. Now with Tony gone, Peter has the opportunity to step out on his own. Tony’s presence is still felt in this film but a different way than in Spider-Man: Homecoming: Peter is shadowed by Tony’s legacy.

This movie focuses on Spider-Man’s interference with Peter’s personal life more than Spider-Man: Homecoming did. Peter trying to find this balance between the two was one of the strength’s of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and has been lacking in the Spider-Man films since. Constantly throughout the film, Peter is put in situations that forces him to choose between pursuing a relationship with MJ (Zendaya) or his responsibility as Spider-Man. These moments along with his reflections of living up to Tony’s legacy grow Peter’s character in leaps and bounds, creating some of the best emotional character moments since Spider-Man 2. For the sequel Spider-Man: Back Home (100% guess on that title), Peter can finally step into his own role instead of working under Tony’s shadow.

I’ve said in other reviews and in podcasts that in a market saturated with superhero films, superhero films cannot be traditional superhero films. They have to do something different or be something different and Spider-Man: Far From Home does just that. Given that Peter is still in high school, this movie is a superhero film wrapped in a teen drama, which is perfect. Peter is a teenager trying to find his way through courting MJ. He’s awkward, not perfect, and trying to find his place in the world. You know, typical teen stuff. Peter just happens to be a superhero. This is the kind of film the superhero genre needs to stay fresh.

One of the best things about Spider-Man: Homecoming was the cast. Tom Holland, Jacob Batalon, Zendaya, and Michael Keaton were all wonderful in their parts. We can add another well-cast member to that list: Jake Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio was everything I could have hoped for from the character. His Quentin Beck was much more charismatic than his comic book counterpart but just as petty and resourceful. Gyllenhaal also had fantastic chemistry with Tom Holland, making their scenes together entertaining.

I thought Spider-Man: Far From Home was GREAT 😀 Peter has taken the steps to get out of Tony’s shadow and is set up for a Spider-Man movie properly about Spider-Man in the inevitable sequel. This series continues its outstanding casting choices adding Jake Gyllenhaal to the list. I am extremely excited for the future of my favorite wall-crawler.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Jon Watts – Director
Chris McKenna – Writer
Michael Giacchino – Composer

Tom Holland – Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Zendaya – MJ
Jacob Batalon – Ned Leeds
Samuel L. Jackson – Nick Fury
Cobie Smulders – Maria Hill
Marisa Tomei – May Parker
Jon Favreau – Happy Hogan
Jake Gyllenhaal – Quentin Beck / Mysterio
Tony Revolori – Flash Thompson
Angourie Rice – Betty Brant
Remy Hii – Brad Davis
Martin Starr – Mr. Harrington
JB Smoove – Mr. Dell
Numan Acar – Dimitri
Dawn Michelle King – EDITH (voice)

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There’s still time to join this year’s Christmas in July Blogathon! Entries are due at the end of this week. To find out more, check out the post here.

Avengers: Endgame Review

Synopsis
After Thanos (Josh Brolin) successfully eliminated half of all life in the universe, the Avengers search for a way to defeat Thanos and undo his actions.

Review
And I thought Avengers: Infinity War was an event! Avengers: Endgame blows Infinity War out of the water in terms of spectacle and scope, which is saying a lot. Where Infinity War was the beginning of the end of the current Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) era (now dubbed the “Infinity Saga”), Endgame is the finite end of the era. Whether you’ve been with these characters since Iron Man in 2008 or jumped in somewhere along the way, if you’ve spent any time with these characters and formed connections to them, you will more than likely find this a gratifying conclusion to the tapestry woven over the last eleven years.

If you somehow have stayed away from the MCU until this point, this is not the time to jump in. From specific moments or plot points from previous films, the story is seeped in the history of the MCU. We are given reminders along the way of why we have fallen for and cheered for these characters over the years. If you have no idea of who the characters are, their story arcs and growth, or what they are talking about, the subtleties will probably be lost on you, and will potentially ruin those moments for you if you do decide to revisit the other films later on.

You might think that with a three hour run time this film would drag on. If you thought that, you’d be wrong. This film is three hours long but it never feels that way. Not once did I think “when will this end?” The pacing never felt too rushed or too slow. When movies run as long as Endgame does, you might think there are scenes that could be removed but every scene plays a part and serves a purpose. The entire three hours is needed to make the story feel complete. Also, each act feels unique, helping mitigate issues of repetitiveness.

The films of the MCU have been hit or miss in terms of balancing their signature humor with more dramatic moments. Endgame manages to balance the two more than most other films in the MCU. If you like the humor then there will be plenty for you to laugh at. The quips come fast and loose as you have come to expect from these films. However, when the drama needs to take front and center, it does. In other movies in the franchise, humor can undermine the quieter, intimate moments. While there are a few moments that feel weakened by an abrupt joke, for the most part, the dramatic moments are given the room they need to have the emotional impact they deserve.

Every movie in this franchise has been character driven to some extent but Endgame might be the most character driven film of them all. The entire first act is spent following the remaining Avengers and seeing how Thanos’ victory has affected them. Even during the second act when the film picks up momentum, there are still plenty of instances when the action steps back and lets the characters drive the story forward. The full three hour run time is used to satisfy those who want to see big action pieces as well as those who want the nuanced scenes as well.

As someone who sees Marvel and Star Wars films opening weekend (if not opening night), I have seen some pretty enthusiastic crowds. Yet I have never been apart of a more energetic crowd than the one I was watching this movie with. In the final act, we get the battle between the heroes and the villains that we have been waiting for. This battle is the definition of epic. It is up there with the the Battle for Helmes Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers or the Battle on Planet Doom from Ready Player One. This battle is filled with so many “hell, yeah!” moments that had everyone whooping and cheering and throwing their fists in the air. It’s events like these that makes me so happy to be a part of these fandoms.

I thought Avengers: Endgame was GREAT 😀 While I would love to go into more details, I want to stay away from spoilers on the off-chance you haven’t seen it yet. I applauded Avengers: Infinity War for its ability to bring together plot threads laid down over the previous ten years. Now, Avengers: Endgame should be applauded for its ability to give those threads a satisfying and fitting conclusion. There are a lot of emotions to be felt, particularly if you’ve kept up with the MCU since the beginning. Marvel Studios has been a Hollywood pioneer in world- and franchise-building and Avengers: Endgame is a magnificent payoff to what they have been creating all these years. Although there is still a future in the MCU, this chapter has come to a close with the biggest bang possible.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Anthony Russo – Director
Joe Russo – Director
Christopher Markus – Writer
Stephen McFeely – Writer
Alan Silvestri – Composer

Starring literally everyone

Captain Marvel Review

Synopsis
During a mission to rescue an undercover Kree operative, Vers (Brie Larson) is captured by the shapeshifting Skrulls. She manages to escape, crashing on Earth. On Earth, she discovers her hidden past with the help of SHIELD agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

Review
Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been waiting for Captain Marvel for a long time. For one, it finally brings a movie headlined by a female character. For another, and on a more personal level, it finally brings Carol Danvers into the behemoth film franchise. She is one of my favorite Marvel comic characters so I am ecstatic to see her on the big screen. But most importantly, it shows Nick Fury before he was director of SHIELD. OK, maybe that’s not the most important but it was still fun to see. Anyway, the big question is whether or not it was worth the wait. For the most part, yes.

At the center of the film is Brie Larson as the titular Captain Marvel (who was never actually referenced by her superhero name in the film). Larson brings some spunk and good amount of sass to the character of Carol Danvers. Much like what Robert Downey Jr. did with Tony Stark in Iron Man, Larson brings her own personality to the character. One thing she copies perfectly is Carol’s self-confidence.

One of my favorite aspects about Captain Marvel is that it has a buddy cop vibe. Larson and Samuel L. Jackson spend a majority of the film together, searching for a way for Vers (aka Carol) to get a message to her team. Buddy cop movies often succeed or fail based on the central duo. Since this is Larson’s and Jackson’s third film together, there was a clear rapport between them that gave them good chemistry and created a fun dynamic. This energy between the two of them prevented the film from becoming dull.

Nostalgia is all the rage these days. When a movie takes places in the past, particularly the recent past, there has to be references to events, pop culture, and technology of the time. This movie, set squarely in the middle of the 1990s, has its fair share of references that will make anyone who grew up or lived during the era are sure to pick up on and laugh at. Some were given in the trailers, like Blockbuster, but there were other references to Radio Shack, dial-up internet, and Mallrats, along with many, many more. Picking up on these are just as fun as picking up on comic easter eggs in other MCU films so I won’t go any deeper.

With how advanced computer animation is these days, many films would opt to motion capture the Skrull actors and use CGI in the final cut. However, I really appreciated the use of makeup and prosthetics to bring the shapeshifting aliens to life. It adds a hint of realism to an otherwise fantastical part of the film.

Speaking of CGI, it seems Marvel has taken a liking to de-aging. They first applied the process to Michael Douglas in Ant-Man to some successful results. However, that was just for one scene. This time, they applied the process to Jackson for the entire film. Like Douglas, it doesn’t look weird or enter uncanny valley territory. Clark Gregg gets the same treatment but his character of Agent Phil Coulson isn’t as prominent as Jackson’s Fury.

I have been on record saying that the Marvel formula doesn’t bother me. I’ve constantly referred to Iron man as the template of how to do a superhero origin film; it works and is a proven formula that I enjoy. However, I know it doesn’t work for everybody and others are getting tired of seeing the same structure over and over. While I was alright with the way the story was set up, I just wanted to give you a heads up if you are one of the ones who have had enough of the Marvel formula.

For the most part, Marvel films have had pretty crisp cinematography during their action scenes and sequences. However, this movie used shaky cam more than other MCU films have in the past. It seemed to get better as the film went on but it still caught me off guard at first.

I thought Captain Marvel was GOOD 🙂 With a feeling more at home in Phase One, it offers nothing ground-breaking from a story-telling perspective. However, it still offers loads of fun and plenty of entertainment. Quickly becoming a massive box office, there’s no doubt a sequel is already in the works. With the success of this and Wonder Woman, hopefully the notion that female-led superhero films cannot perform at the box office is dispelled and we will see many more in the future.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Anna Boden – Director / Screenplay / Story
Ryan Fleck – Director / Screenplay / Story
Geneva Robertson-Dworet – Screenplay / Story
Nicole Perlman – Story
Meg LeFauve – Story
Pinar Toprak – Composer

Brie Larson – Vers / Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel
Samuel L. Jackson – Nick Fury
Ben Mendelsohn – Talos / Keller
Jude Law – Yon-Rogg
Annette Bening – Supreme Intelligence / Dr. Wendy Lawson / Mar-Vell
Lashana Lynch – Maria Lambeau
Clark Gregg – Agent Coulson
Rune Temte – Bron-Char
Gemma Chan – Minn-Erva
Algenis Perez Soto – Att-Lass
Djimon Hounsou – Korath
Lee Pace – Ronan
Chuku Modu – Soh-Larr
Matthew Maher – Norex

Ant-Man and the Wasp Review

Synopsis
After Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) assisted Captain America during the Superhero Civil War, he was placed under house arrest for two years. As his sentence is about to finish, Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and her father, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), approach him with a new mission: help them rescue Hope’s mother (Michelle Pfiffer) from the Quantum Realm.

Review
When Ant-Man was first announced, many predicted it to be Marvel’s first major flop. While it didn’t do tremendous at the box office, Marvel showed that they don’t make flops. It was self-contained, something of a commodity with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films, but more importantly it was humorous and exciting. Marvel looked to expand on that success, giving us more of the perfectly-cast Paul Rudd and giving the criminally-underused Evangeline Lilly a more dominant role. What resulted was a much needed small-scale story following the goliath that was Infinity War.

I didn’t picture Paul Rudd in a superhero role until Marvel showed me that was something I needed in my life. He quickly became my favorite part about Ant-Man (behind Michael Pena’s Luis, of course). Rudd brings the same charm that made his Scott Lang so enjoyable in the first film. His relationship between him and Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and him and his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) was built upon what we saw in the previous film. Rudd handled these more intimate and emotional scenes just as well as the action and comedy scenes.

This sequel isn’t titled Ant-Man 2 but rather Ant-Man and the Wasp and there is a very good, albeit obvious reason for that. Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne, aka The Wasp, gets a much bigger role this time around. And boy does Lilly take advantage of the extra screen time! She is fierce, she is tough, and she takes no nonsense. She is a good contrast to Rudd, tending to be more to-the-point and going in with a plan. The future of the ladies of the MCU is looking great!

Many have complained that the MCU’s weakest quality is its villains. That didn’t really bother me until Yellowjacket in Ant-Man. It was the chance to have the villain be a dark mirror to the hero. Both Scott and Darren Cross were trained by Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and could show the difference in character who both have the same mentor. Instead, he became one the most generic villains in the franchise. Marvel seemed to have learned their lesson for Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). She is a much deeper villain, operating in that gray area, where you can see their point-of-view but know their methods are wrong, much like Killmonger in Black Panther.

Of course, they need to have that one bad guy who just screams “villain.” Enter Walter Goggins as Sonny Burch. I take back what I said about Yellowjacket being Marvel’s most generic villain. That title now belongs to Sonny. He served no actual purpose to the story other than to be the clear, black-and-white villain of the film. After a similar role in Tomb Raider, I hope Goggins doesn’t start getting typecast in this kind of a role because he is so much better than what these roles can offer.

In my opinion, one of the strengths of the first Ant-Man film was its scope. It wasn’t a globe-spanning epic, nor did it have Earth-shattering consequences. Rather, it was self-contained, and the only people it really affected were the characters in the film. This sequel does pretty much the same thing. This simpler story allows for some good character development. And like it’s predecessor, it gives us a nice break after the last Avengers movie, that I’m sure left many people shaking in their seat after the credits finished.

I thought Ant-Man and the Wasp was GOOD 🙂 The first Ant-Man film was a pleasant surprise but now the sequel had some expectations. Paul Rudd returns without missing a stride, Evangeline Lilly returns kicking ass in stride, and Hannah John-Kamen joins in as the villain who has made strides (I don’t know what I was going for there, I was trying to make the stride thing work). Ant-Man and the Wasp takes what is great about its predecessors, using lessons learned from the recent MCU films and returns a wonderful and worthy sequel.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Peyton Reed – Director
Chris McKenna – Writer
Erik Commers – Writer
Paul Rudd – Writer
Andrew Barrer – Writer
Gabriel Ferrari – Writer
Christophe Beck – Composer

Paul Rudd – Scott Lang / Ant-Man
Evangeline Lilly – Hope Van Dyne / Wasp
Michael Douglas – Dr. Hank Pym
Michael Pena – Luis
Tip ‘TI’ Harris – Dave
David Dasmalchian – Kurt
Hannah John-Kamen – Ava / Ghost
Walter Goggins – Sonny Burch
Laurence Fishburne – Dr. Bill Foster
Judy Greer – Maggie
Bobby Cannavale – Paxton
Abby Ryder Fortson – Cassie
Randall Park – Jimmy Woo
Michelle Pfeiffer – Janet Van Dyne / Wasp

Avengers: Infinity War Review

Synopsis
When Thanos (Josh Brolin) travels throughout the universe to collect the powerful infinity stones, all of Earth’s heroes and the Guardians of the Galaxy must come together to stop him, before he can end half of all life in existence.

Review
Well, here we are. 10 years, 18 movies, and one comic fan’s wet dream later, Thanos has finally arrived. Thanos has been teased at since the end of The Avengers in Phase One, intermittently throughout Phase Two, and was pretty silent throughout Phase Three… until now. The buildup to his arrival has been one for the cinematic history books. A shared universe between movies is nothing new; Universal’s monster universe from the 1900s, the Alien and Predator films, Nightmare on Elmstreet and Friday the 13^th, the list goes on. However, what is unprecedented is the scope and interconnectivity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Marvel Studios needed to make the culmination of their journey to be great, at the very least, in order to properly payoff all of the threads they have been dropping since 2008. Avengers: Infinity War not only meets expectations but surpasses them.

You know what to expect from this film right off the bat. Within the first ten minutes, my jaw was on the floor. And it stayed there. The excitement never let up. But that’s not to say the action was turned up to eleven like a Michael Bay movie. No. The Russo brothers did a fantastic job of balancing action, drama, and humor. They’ve shown they can do so with a large cast in Captain America: Civil War and they’ve done it yet again here. While it may be the longest MCU film to date, clocking in at an hour and a half, it certainly doesn’t feel like it.

One of my biggest gripes about Thor: Ragnarok was that it didn’t know when not to be funny. It didn’t take the time to let the somber moments be somber or the dramatic moments to linger before cracking a joke to break the mood. Not so in Avengers: Infinity War. Yes, it is funny and there are plenty of jokes and humorous moments are abundant. However, it isn’t afraid to take a step back and be dramatic, to be emotional, to let your jaw hit the floor and stay there for a moment. Like a fine wine before drinking, these moments are given the time to breath before moving on to the next great action piece or quip. It is some very disciplined story telling from the Russo brothers and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely to balance the different story elements so well.

But best yet, the characters feel balanced.

With nearly thirty characters to juggle, it’s amazing how shared the screen time is between all of them. Throughout the film, the characters are in several groups with many unique combinations, such as Thor, Rocket, and Groot, or Tony Stark, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Man. These groupings made for some pretty great moments, either humorous or unexpectedly heartfelt. Despite the large cast, no one feels like they get short–changed on screen time. There are those those get more time than others but no one feels over-shadowed.

There might be a good reason for that.

Throughout the film, Thanos gets just as much screen time as all the heroes, probably even as much as all of them combined. He is treated like a main character. Much of the film’s run time is devoted to him, allowing his character to be deeply explored. He’s not just a stereotypical MCU villain that fits the one-dimensional format that plagues the franchise. Like the movie as a whole, Thanos is balanced between building his back story and driving motivations, as well as showing how formidable he is. He has easily and quickly become one of the MCU’s best villains (not that it was a high bar to hurtle).

While showing Thanos and all these heroes on screen, the tone felt balanced as well. Having spent several outings with many of these characters, each of their individual movies had their own tone and feeling. There is definitely a common, humorous tone between them that Marvel has refined over the last decade but they still had a uniqueness to them. Again, the Russo brothers and the writers managed to make these tones flow together smoothly. So when we jumped from the Guardians to Iron Man to Thor, it wasn’t jerky or awkward.

Slight spoilers in this paragraph. Given that this is considered part 1, with Avengers 4 being part 2, of the fight with Thanos, it should be no surprise that this ends on a cliffhanger. Normally, I’m not the biggest fan of cliffhanger endings in movies. However, I don’t necessarily think it’s a cliffhanger in the traditional sense. In a way, this is Thanos’ story, not the heroes’. While it ends on a cliffhanger for the heroes, Thanos’ story is completed. It’s a fairly unique way to end a film, allowing me to put aside my usual feelings towards cliffhanger endings.

I thought Avengers: Infinity War was GREAT 😀 Calling this anything short of ‘epic’ would not do this film justice. Even that almost doesn’t feel appropriate to fit the scope and grandeur of what happens on screen. I love this film for the same reason I love The Avengers: it feels like an event. It brings together threads that have been laid out throughout the MCU films up to this point. And let’s not forget, this is only the beginning of the end of the buildup. We still have the conclusion in the as-of-yet untitled Avengers 4 next year. Marvel has proven time and time again they are expert story tellers and know what makes their characters tick. They’ve just proven again why they are continuously at the top of the box office.

You can also check out a spoiler-free audio review of this film in the Avengers: Infinity War episode of the Film Focus podcast, guest starring me!

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Anthony Russo – Director
Joe Russo – Director
Christopher Markus – Screenplay
Stephen McFeely – Screenplay
Alan Silvestri – Composer

Robert Downey Jr. – Tony Stark / Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth – Thor
Mark Ruffalo – Bruce Banner / Hulk
Chris Evans – Steve Rogers / Captain America
Scarlett Johansson – Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
Don Cheadle – James Rhodes / War Machine
Benedict Cumberbatch – Doctor Strange
Tom Holland – Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Chadwick Boseman – T’Challa / Black Panther
Karen Gillen – Nebula
Tom Hiddleston – Loki
Paul Bettany – Vision
Elizabeth Olson – Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch
Anthony Mackie – Sam Wilson / Falcon
Sebastian Stan – Bucky Barns / Winter Soldier
Peter Dinklage – Eitri
Benedict Wong – Wong
Chris Pratt – Peter Quill / Star- Lord
Zoe Saldana – Gamora
Dave Bautista – Drax
Vin Diesel – Groot (voice)
Bradley Cooper – Rocket (voice)
Pom Klementieff – Mantis
Josh Brolin – Thanos
Terry Notary – Cull Obsidian
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor – Ebony Maw
Carrie Coon – Proxima Midnight
Michael James Shaw – Corvus Glaive

Black Panther Review

Synopsis
After the death of his father, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) takes his place as king of the technologically advanced and secluded country of Wakanda. His succession is in jeopardy when the mysterious Erik ‘Killmonger’ Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) challenges T’Challa for the throne.

Review
I think it’s safe to say that Black Panther is one of Marvel Studios’ most anticipated movies to date. Chadwick Boseman stole his scenes in Captain America: Civil War, a lot of time and effort was put into researching different African cultures for inspiration for Wakanda, and the cast consisted of fan-favorite black actors including Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gunra, and many others. Black Panther had the world’s eyes on it. It stood its ground, didn’t falter, and brought one of the most compelling experiences to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

One thing Marvel films have always been good at, in my opinion, is having great action. Black Panther is no exception. Whether it’s a car chase through the streets of Korea, a large-scale battle on the plains of Wakanda, or a one-on-one battle between Black Panter and Killmonger, every action piece is well choreographed and well shot. The camera does a good job of staying on what’s important in the scene and framing the action. At no point did I feel lost or didn’t understand who was where and doing what.

This film really stands out because of its cast and their chemistry. Letitia Wright played T’Challa’s genius little sister, Shuri. She and Boseman felt like siblings. They had this playful banter that felt natural and didn’t feel like it was written in a script. The same can be said for whenever Boseman, Nyong’o, and Gunra shared a scene. I had a smile on my face when these three were together.

Going into Black Panther, I was most interested in seeing Michael B. Jordan as the villainous Killmonger. I haven’t seen him in an antagonistic role before so I wanted to see how he would do in the part. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Jordan oozed swag. His character was intelligent, cold, and calculating and Jordan pulled it off with ease. Admittedly, Marvel has had a bit of a villain problem. Outside of Loki, not many have been compelling. Killmonger is a perfect foil to T’Challa. The two of them have similar goals but approach them different ways, much like Professor X and Magneto in the X-Men franchise. For being unsure what to expect, it’s hard to imagine another actor filling the role as well as Jordan did. He might have stolen the entire movie for me if it wasn’t for one actress: Letitia Wright.

Wright hands-down made this movie several times better than if she wasn’t in it. Her take on Shuri was better than I ever could have imagined. She was witty, sassy, strong, and intelligent. I mentioned it before but her and Boseman’s chemistry was uplifting. She wasn’t afraid to give the king a hard time and to ground him when necessary. She brought a lot of the film’s humor. I can’t wait to see what is in store for Wright in the future.

Wakanda is a technologically advanced country located in the heart of Africa. Director Ryan Coogler vision for the country is breathtaking. I know this sounds like a cliché but the country is almost a character unto itself. It is this mix of futurism and African tradition. Clearly, a lot of time was spent visualizing this “character.” Whether in the Golden City or on the country’s plains, you won’t believe your eyes.

With the MCU consisting of nearly twenty films, there is a lot of interconnectivity between the films and it can be daunting to jump into one of these movies “in the middle.” However, Black Panther does a great job of standing on its own. Yes, the death of T’Chaka, T’Challa’s father, that essentially kicks of this story happens in Captain America: Civil War, but this movie recaps the events nicely. Other than that, there is very little that new viewers won’t understand. This film can stand alone but if you have seen the other movies, it will help you understand its place in the series overarching story.

Since The Avengers, most of the movies proceeding it have had a similar style of humor. I brought it up in my review of Thor: Ragnarok because it was almost too much in that film that it undermined many of the more serious moments. This movie has that trademark Marvel humor but it uses it much more effectively than most MCU films. There was only one time that I really felt it was interjected at the wrong time.

As much as Killmonger didn’t fit the traditional MCU villain mold, Ulysses Klaue, aka Klaw, did. He feels extremely underutilized. As someone who knows his significant history with Black Panther, it’s disappointing to see him not used to his full potential. And Andy Serkis does wonderful in the part. It probably would have been hard to have two well-built villains in this movie but it hurts a little that Klaw had to end up shorted.

I thought Black Panther was GREAT 😀 As Chadwick Boseman made a great impression as a supporting character during his debut in Civil War, many of Black Panther‘s supporting cast have unforgettable roles. The action is well shot and choreographed and the villain is actually complex and empathetic. Black Panther shows that even ten years later and eighteen movies in, the MCU still has plenty of steam.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Ryan Coogler – Director / Writer
Joe Robert Cole – Writer
Ludwig Goransson – Composer

Chadwick Boseman – T’Challa / Black Panther
Michael B. Jordan – Erik ‘Killmonger’ Stevens
Andy Serkis – Ulysses Klaue
Lupita Nyong’o – Nakia
Danai Gunra – Okoye
Martin Freeman – Everett K. Ross
Daniel Kaluuya – W’Kabi
Letitia Wright – Shuri
Winston Duke – M’Baku
Angela Bassett – Ramonda
Forest Whitaker – Zuri
Florence Kasumba – Ayo
David S. Lee – Limbani
Nabiyah Be – Linda
John Kani – T’Chaka
Sterling K. Brown – N’Jobu
Atandwa Kani – Young T’Chaka
Ashton Tyler – Young T’Challa