Reasons why you should watch Black Panther

So I have not posted anything on this blog for a while now but I have been itching to do so and I figured there is no better opportunity to start again then to celebrate the release of what in my opinion is one of the best Marvel movies of all time. I am not gonna try and review this movie, I think there are a lot of people more qualified than me out there who do that , I am just gonna give you a fan's perspective who has been following the MCU since it's inception. Also there are NO spoilers ahead so feel free to read this even if you have not watched the movie yet, though if you are extra sensitive and would think that any character trait and names are spoilers, well than you probably should not( also calm down and breathe).

So let us jump into it, one of the reasons that I think that this movie works so well is because it is different from other marvel movies. GOOD different. In a world where we have had 7 comic book movies released last year, the superhero fatigue can be a real thing even for the people who are fans, but this movie takes it into a different direction. Of course your marvel quips and humor is still present so that you know that you are watching a marvel movie but it is subdued than say a guardians movie and that in my opinion is a good thing.

Next, the characters in the movie are awesome. Every character has an arc and has a motivation to justify their actions which is rarely the case with superhero genre. Be it the supporting cast or the villain( who I will come to in a minute). The brilliant move here was that the characters are not just good or bad, black and white style but they are grey like humans are.Usually are beloved superheroes can do no wrong and that at times can make them look cardboard, but here you can actually relate a lot. Also the movie has an important underlying social message which I think is really really important specially in the times we live right now.

Michael B. Jordan at SDCC

Coming to the cast everyone from Chadwick Boseman as Black panther to Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger everyone is simply brilliant. Also special shout out to my favorite character Okoye played by Danai Gurira, she was simply the most badass character in the movie and that is saying something when the movie is quite literally titled Black panther. The female cast in the movie is simply brilliant they are not stuck to just the usual template but have a lot more to do here which again is a welcome move.

And then there is the villain, Marvel universe has been a juggernaut when it comes to box office and success but in the one area that they have always received criticism is their villains. When you look back at all the films there is barely a villain except for Loki maybe (an argument can be made that he is more of an anti-hero than a villain). Erik Killmonger played by Michael B. Jordan as a villain I thought was one of the best part of the film.Also the fact that he was not computer generated helped( yes I am looking at you justice league and suicide squad and even wonder woman also avengers: age of ultron. Now that I think of it a lot of them are CGI, also whatever the hell Malekith was). Anyways lame jokes aside, the character just works, it is often said that a villain is great when you feel for them and actually understand the motivation behind their actions. Here you completely do, hell at times I even thought that he was not wrong for doing whatever the hell he was doing because of the all the things that he went through(watch the movie you will know). Long story short one of the best villains in MCU.

Now there are a ton of more reasons as to why you should watch this movie, the original soundtrack by Kendrick Lamar is what people call DOPE?( It is good btw) but i think one of the best reasons is Black panther himself, the way he moves and the way he looks is nothing like any other superhero you might have seen on the big screen. Remember that scene from Captain America: Civil War when cap chases down black panther yeah multiply that by 5, the action choreography and the special effects to go with it is something out of the ordinary( for example in the 3rd act of the movie there is no CGI giant hole in the sky!!!) Also it was good to see Andy Serkis finally on screen and not as a CGI monkey or you know as whatever the hell Supreme Leader snoke was.

To say Black Panther is the best movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be wrong and here is why, I think lately what marvel has been able to do brilliantly is the fact that they have been able to disconnect these movies from the universe and still keep them in it. Wait that did not make sense, what I mean to say is they have brilliantly blended in the fact that these movies are part of a bigger universe but also keep them grounded and self sufficient in themselves so that we do not have to worry about what we have seen in the previous movies. This specially works in favor of people who are not hardcore fans, you can enjoy this movie without having watched any other MCU movie, just 10% of references you would not get which I am sure your nerdy friend can help you with. Also the fact that they have been able to create genres inside the superhero genre is pretty amazing. For example Captain America: The winter soldier my personal favorite was a almost a spy thriller, with Ant-man they tried a heist movie, recent THOR: Ragnarok was almost out and out comedy. I think with black panther they have shown that this genre has still a lot to offer and the superhero fatigue while being a real thing, this movie is sure not to make you feel fatigued but pumped.