Black Panther review - more meh than marvellous | reviews, news & interviews
Black Panther review - more meh than marvellous
Black Panther review - more meh than marvellous
The Marvel movie made by black talent takes itself too seriously
![](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/mast_image_landscape/public/mastimages/WTR7010_v004_003236.1045.jpg?itok=XRGKHZPj)
Black Panther arrives with all the critics displaying superhero-sized goodwill for its very existence. It’s a big budget mainstream Marvel movie that not only features a nearly all-black cast, but it also has an African-American writer director (Ryan Coogler) and co-screenwriter (Joe Robert Cole).
So why am I going to be a miserable sod and say it’s all a bit meh? I don’t think it’s just I’m too old – the two teenage Marvel fanboys I took along were underwhelmed, too. We saw it in a sold-out cinema on its opening day surrounded by young black people and there was not a lot of enthusiastic energy coming from the audience. What’s the problem? Well, there’s way too much expository dialogue and there are too many turgid flashbacks detailing the history of the legendary, secretive African kingdom of Wakanda and its relation to the rest of the world to be quite bearable. And the hand-to-hand fighting and battle sequences are now so formulaic and predictable in Marvel films that the adrenaline just doesn’t kick in.
There’s also not enough of that handbrake-turn humour and self-referential ironic dialogue that made the first Iron Man and Guardians of the Galaxy movies great. The scenes with Andy Serkis, playing a truly evil South African assassin, are fun but he’s out of the movie too swiftly and there isn’t enough of tribal warlord MBaku (Winston Duke), who has an excellent ability to redirect racist stereotypes with comedy. Sadly, Black Panther is just a bit too worthy and even my 13-year-old got bored of the endless "daddy issues" in the narrative and was a touch underwhelmed by the superhero costumes. There were moments when The Lion King and Power Rangers crossed our minds and not in a good way.There are some real pleasures – the British actress Letitia Wright is a blast of total freshness as Black Panther’s princess sister Shuri. She is more interested in designing and demonstrating her extraordinary superweapons arsenal than dressing up in ceremonial corsets – think Q in the Bond movies replaced by a deliciously spiky young woman. There are several other seriously feisty women fighters, and Lupita Nyong'o as the Panther's love interest delivers some subtle challenges to gender stereotypes. It’s also a treat to see an older generation of great African-American actors get a decent role on screen; Angela Bassett (pictured above with Letitia Wright) and Forest Whitaker acquit themselves well.
But Chadwick Boseman (as Black Panther) and Daniel Kaluuya (as his rival/ally W’Kabi) are entrusted with roles that require such tormented gravitas and Nelson Mandela-ish accents that it’s hard not to miss their more nuanced, energised performances in Get On Up and Get Out. Black Panther is not utterly without charm. The production design is rather fabulous, fusing African tribal townscapes and costuming with sci-fi futurist fantasia – referencing films from Metropolis to Blade Runner. Perhaps it’s a film to go to without the high expectations, but time will tell if the initial hype pays off in the kind of repeat viewings that really make a great Marvel film a box office wipe-out.
rating
Explore topics
Share this article
Add comment
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Film
![Divided loyalties: Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Orson Welles as Harry Lime](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Cotton%20%20Welles%20on%20wheel%20MAIN.jpg?itok=VNjffKxk)
![As bad as it gets: Jude Law and Alicia Vikander as the troubled royal couple in ‘Firebrand’](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Firebrand.png?itok=7tKDhvLo)
![Stan and Ollie prepare for 'The Battle of the Century'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/003559_m01_battle-of-the-century_still003_53781665763_o.jpg?itok=y-W_2h8i)
![Sister act: Bianca Delbravo, Dilvin Asaad, and Safira Mossberg in 'Paradise Is Burning'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Main%20pic%20PisBurning.jpeg?itok=M-QpAFJr)
![Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin in 'Sing Sing'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Sing%201.jpeg?itok=FzGLffp-)
![Caught on the woof: Eddie Peng and best friend in Guan Hu’s tale of provincial struggle](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Black%20Dog%20pic.jpeg?itok=4flF1pOd)
![David Morrissey: 'When I discovered my drama group at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, that saved my life'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Morrissey%20MAIN.jpg?itok=tsYiugwk)
![Gael force: Kneecap's Liam Óg, JJ Ó Dochartaigh, and Naoise Ó Caireállain](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/three%20shot%20Kneecap.jpeg?itok=wbu8VQio)
![The night they invented champagne: Barbe (Haley Bennett) concocts her latest vintage](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Barb%20MAIN.jpg?itok=7HfioYC9)
![This is reception: Hunter Schafer in 'Cuckoo'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/CUCKOO-Still-1-Credit-Felix-Dickinson-Courtesy-of-NEON.jpg?itok=9T-JMH2b)
![Losing his way. Zhu Yilong in 'Only the River Flows'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Only-The-River-Flows1.jpg?itok=Xe75y-DM)
![Alienated youth: Rain (Cailee Spaeny) takes on the mantle of Ripley, with David Jonsson as 'synthetic' Andy](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Spaeyny%20and%20Jonsson.jpeg?itok=At6et-4p)
Comments
This movie is not overhyped
I agree this person must be a
The color of the cast has
It has a great cast, several
You are probably right that
You are probably right that most criticism will come from closet racists, but only because most objective critics are terrified by the backlash they would receive from being critical of black panther. It’s a lose-lose proposition really. What do you gain by being critical of th film? Yet, there is a very real risk that you will be lableled as a racist for criticizing black panther, or the work of the 29 year old director who was given the keys to a $200,000,000 budget after making only 2 independent films.
really, you're an idiot, this
this critic was actually lenient, I saw and it was really bad
OK, If I understand you
Will a person who happens to
Please stop. Are only angry
Shakespearean ha ha, never
Thank you so much. This is
I agree with you Baron,
The barbaric slavery system
But slavery practiced by
You should research it for
Thanks for your honesty. I
I really wanted to enjoy this
Thank you. This movie was so
Could not agree more! Not
#RememberBlade
Watch out now! If you are
I went into the theater with
Thanks for the very honest
The review is correct. The
The movie sucked! It is one
Three words, people: Armored.
tedious tripe and a real let
So me and my girlfriend just