The cast of Black Panther at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con. Photo from Wikimedia
Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, one of the most highly-anticipated movies of the year, was released on Feburary 16th in 2D, 3D , IMAX and has been a major box office success. This is the eighteenth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise and was distributed by the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film was directed by Ryan Coogler who collaborated with Joe Robert Cole for the screenplay process and was also produced by Cole.
Ever since the release to the general public, Black Panther has ranked in approximately 476.6 million for the opening weekend and has grossed about $748 million worldwide already making the best-selling film of the year. It is even expected to achieve one billion dollars at the box office, surpassing other super-hero film classics such as Spider-Man and Wonder Woman. There is even a talk of a potential sequel coming the future.
To top it off, the cast consists of some big names in Hollywood such as Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and Angela Bassett.
The plot revolves around T’Challa/Black Panther (Boseman) returning to the fictional African city of Wakanda after his father has passed away in order to inherit the throne. During his time as ruler, he is faced with many difficult obstacles such as a dispute with N’Jadaka/Erik “Killmonger “Stevens (Jordan). Killmonger has a plan to overthrow T’Challa in order to take control of Wakanda.
Perhaps what is most recognizable and appreciative of this film is the heavy representation of African Americans, which is usually rare especially in a white-dominated industry such as Hollywood. It also presents the fact that black actors are capable of playing impactful roles, allowing them to break up the common stereotypes of roles blacks play in films such as playing a thug or someone dealing with racism in a situation.
In addition, Black Panther has the ability to represent the African American communities in a more positive light and a better sense of what black pride is about. For the younger audience, this will very likely give them a boost in confidence for themselves knowing that there is someone like them that they can aspire to be in a brave and heroic manner.
The CGI/3D techniques made in the film were extremely well done and it helped to make the film more believable. Everything from the costumes, architecture, and the utopian-styled setting were done with deep elaborate details to make it feel as if you were apart of the movie itself. Surely, Black Panther will go down as a barrier-breaking classic in the long run.
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