Movie Review: Black Panther

Marvel's Black Panther: Is it Just Another Comic Book Movie or the Start of a Revolution?

by, Dwight Ankle

Photo: Google Images 

Marvel’s Black Panther is hands down a great movie. It is the must see movie of the year. Not only is it very entertaining, and superbly directed-- it holds significance for the Black community for a multiple of reasons. I think this the first movie I've seen on such a major scale where the characters depicted are of African decent.

While watching the movie, I also thought the "villain" Killmonger was a great antagonist for the movie. Villains are victims of circumstances, but in this movie his motives and are realistic as they directly speak to a sometimes unspoken tension within the Black community. In my eyes, Killmonger is less of a villain because his intentions are just and with merit-- his methods are just extreme. This makes him dangerous-- the villain.

I couldn't help but compare the protagonist, the hero of the movie King Ta’ Challa to Dr. Martin Luther King and Killmonger to Malcolm X because of their contrasting approaches to helping people of color vs. mankind. Ta’ Challa has a more peaceful approach while Killmonger's is more of a violent, scotch the earth approach. 

There is a part in the movie where Killmonger says, “Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors. They knew death is better than bondage.” Some may say that I can possibly be reading too much into this movie. However, I believe that this quote is a reference to slavery and mass incarceration. I also love the Afrofuturism aspects in the movie. It's great how in the kingdom of Wakanda they have these technological advances but also still embrace their culture while showing respect to their ancestor. 

When leaving the theatre, I spoke with a random old man about this after the movie. Jokingly he said, "What if slavery didn't happen? We could have very much had been like that."

My only complaint is that I wish that' Killmonger's backstory was more well developed. While actor, Newark native Michael B. Jordan did a great job portraying this very complex character. It seems like his story is one deserving of his own own movie had things gone another way he could've been the hero. Also I had hoped to have heard the Black Panther soundtrack more throughout the movie.

At the bare minimum this movie is purely entertaining. But like most Marvel comics and movies that challenge us to look past the action to see the message, Black Panther does that to the max. I argue that this movie allows Blacks to lament about what life could've been had we not been ripped from our homeland. And it brings to the forefront a real issue of global unity for people of color. 

As King T'Challa aka The Black Panther said in his final scene, "We must find a way to look after one another, as if we are one single tribe." You decide, is this just another movie, or the start of a revolution?