THE REEL: ‘Black Panther’ review

Black Panther is expected to be a major box office smash. PHOTO | MARVEL

What you need to know:

  • As king, T’Challa has the Dora Milaje as not only his most elite warriors but also a pool for possible future queens.
  • In Okoye (Danai Gurira) he has his most fearful warrior and commander but also a former love interest.
  • In Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), who represents the new age of the force, he has an impulsive and non-conventional officer who is also his love interest.

Needless to say, the Kenyan premier of ‘Black Panther’ was received with much enthusiasm. Movie theatres were reportedly fully booked.

When I first attempted to go and watch the movie, all the shows- even the morning ones- were either booked out or only the ‘worms eye view’ seats (the front row) were left.

I eventually got a chance to watch the movie through the Brittania’s Valentine’s Day screening at Garden City Mall.

I felt Wakandan for a minute walking into the movie theatre. Lupita’s absence was the only damper on the event.

‘Black Panther’ is a movie about King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) who gets on the throne of his kingdom not because he wanted to, but because it was violently forced on him.

His father was killed by a terrorist in Captain America: Civil War and he took on the mantle being next in line for the throne. He is still trying to figure out this king business and has to put the interest and

welfare of a whole nation before his. Zuri (Forest Whitaker) is his spiritual guide and who also used to be a very close warrior and friend to his father. Along with the queen mother, Ramonda (Angela

Bassett), they guide the new king in the ways of being a ruler for the people of Wakanda and fiercely protect him from being misled by those who would have ulterior motives for directing policy in the

council. His sister Shuri (Letitia Wight) is the genius little sister who is the next generation of Wakandan tech whizzes.

As king, T’Challa has the Dora Milaje as not only his most elite warriors but also a pool for possible future queens.

In Okoye (Danai Gurira) he has his most fearful warrior and commander but also a former love interest. In Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), who represents the new age of the force, he has an impulsive and

non-conventional officer who is also his love interest. Of course this means that even though Okoye and Nakia are bound together by duty, it gets a bit hard for them to get along beyond that level. Erik

Killmonger wants everything Wakanda has to offer: its vibranium, their technologies and its armies. He believes these are key to his quest on world domination, and will stop at nothing to achieve this goal. So how does this all pan out in the end? You’ll have to watch the movie for that, no spoilers here.

IMPRESSED

What impressed about the movie is that the traditions and costumes that are being displayed on the screen are not fantasies made up in Hollywood about what they think might be ‘African-like’ customs. Writer and director Ryan Coogler said they did a lot of research and it shows.

They are collected from different cultures and designs: shukas, kentes, kitenges, and even the blankets and kangas from Swaziland. Even the city’s imperial building has a structure resembling the

Aksum obelisks. The only thing is that they generalised the accents; Southern African accent for Wakandans and West African accent for the Jabari. Did I say no spoilers? Well, Lupita shouts out

Kenya in the movie. She doesn’t even hide it. And you won’t miss it if you stay in the theatre the whole time.

When they showed scenes from Wakanda, the hue was different from those of other parts of the world. This transition was interesting to look at and it made colours more vibrant in Wakanda. It is also

a super hero movie with a lot of emotional dilemmas that calls for valuing people and relationships rather than things. And has some very hilarious black-themed scenes.

TOO ADVANCED

The city, however, felt a bit too advanced to be in the same realm as other earthly Marvel-world places. This was making room for a lot of Computer-generated imagery (CGI) and green screen shots that your mind can’t help unwrapping as fake.

Having too many ultra-futuristic scenes sets you up to a lot of scrutiny and sometimes mistakes become very visible. And some fight scenes were not as intense as should have been. I’m done.