joel’s review published on Letterboxd:
This review may contain spoilers.
Black Panther is the second best comic book film I've ever seen, The Dark Knight being the only one rising above (get the pun). Meaning that it's in fact Marvel's greatest work thus far. An exhilirating origin story in a fresh new world with a fantastic cast. Our beloved T'Challa struggles with moral issues more so than a greater evil villain which I think brought something new and far more interesting to the table. It's not following the common superhero-film-formula, not to a 100% anyway.
I'm white, and I've never felt underrepresentated in this area, the opposite even sometimes. So seeing Black Panther was really riveting and it felt like a breath of fresh air. I was happy to get to know complex characters of Wakandian (African) heritage. And not just see a film typecasting a black person to be able to shout "diversity". It was so interesting to step away from whatever culture I myself would categorize in and dive in to the Wakandian rituals and their body paintings and everything else. It was extremely transportative in that sense. And since I felt all of this I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel like for someone who's black.
Visually Black Panther is a feast. Maybe not as insane as Dr Strange was but on par, and I'd say I prefer this one over the other. Dr Strange was no doubt impressive and probably better made if we're talking VFX. But to me the visuals of Black Panther are far more natural and enhances the story taking place. The two scenes where T'Challa drinks the heart-shaped herb blend and travels to the dimension where his ancestors live were breathtakingly beautiful.
The comedy in it is not to be overlooked either. It was hilarious, well delivered and the contrast when a conversation went from a funny one-liner to a dead serious issue with an underlying tone of anger was especially great and brought out some really playful moments.
Overall Black Panther was remarkable and brought new and interesting elements to the world of blockbuster superhero films. To me Marvel set a new standard with this one and I'm already craving a sequel.
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