Earlier this week I went to see the Black Panther movie. Some of you may know that I despise comicbook based movies. Just going from the trailers they seem very generic, derivative and not very deep; I like science-fiction but there should be an element of intelligence in the story or plot. However, I do like Africa. My house has got plenty of African statues and pieces of art. I’ve been there three times, I have watched African and African set TV shows and films from an early age. I also studied it’s history and politics at university amongst many Africans from all walks of life.
The hype said that Black Panther was going to be revolutionary and so with nothing better showing on Monday morning, that’s what I went to see.
T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is the king of Wakanda which is an El-Dorado or Shangri-La. A magical, powerful land…
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The Secular Jurist 
I watch all Marvel superhero movies with my sons. I find them entertaining. I do believe that Liddell is overthinking the Black Panther movie. I can’t wait to see the young Guyanese actress, Letitia Wright, who plays the part of T’Challa’s younger sister 🙂
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She was incredible. I just posted a link in a comment here that gives the opinion of a young black, superhero movie fan about why this film means so much to her and her community. I think if you want to get a fair assessment on the significance of this movie, her’s is an opinion to take seriously as she is not alone in what she feels and why.
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Give us a review after you see it, okay?
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“I hate comic book movies but I went to see one and didn’t care for it. Just don’t get it. Comic book movies are bad.” “I hate jalapenos on my pizza but order them on my pizza any way and hate it. Therefor, jalapenos on pizza are awful.” No. You’re an idiot to know you hate something and expect to suddenly not. I say, save the 15 friggin’ bucks; go see a movie you like, more movies are made today that at ANY time in history and most, by far, are NOT superhero movies. Do something you like, and enjoy life. Reviews that start off, “I HATE these kinds of things, but here’s me telling you I did it any way,” to me, show a blatant idiocy on the person writing said review. It has no value. I like jalapenos on my pizza, thus, I don’t take seriously someone saying they’re not good on pizza who orders them any way and then proceeds to say they’re not good on pizza. Of course not. You ALREADY know you don’t like them! Why in f**k’s name should I take you seriously?
Humans are a strange lot. No one forces anyone to see movies they already know they won’t care for, yet they go anyway and then SURPRISE! It didn’t really work for them and they say, “I just don’t get it.” I get it. You’re nuts. I just had a discussion like this about Star Trek TOS with a guy. My friend told me it sucks, and he KNOWS it sucks cause he watches it all the time. Idjit!
BTW, if you’re a fan of comic book movies, Black Panther is a superb one. And it is quite revolutionary for what it is and what it represents to those who like these things. If you’re not in this camp, you won’t like it much and will most likely say, “Not my kinda thing. I just don’t get it.” So don’t go see it. Have a steak. Pet your dog. Enjoy a nice cool breeze. You’ll be happy you did.
Here’s the run down from a young African-American superhero film fan on why Black Panther means so much to her. It’s short, but it captures much of what I’ve read and heard from African-Americans who are fans of this genre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrt8FEiISlY Sorry for the ramble, but I literally just HAD this conversation yesterday with my Star Trek hatin’ pal. UGH!
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It’s okay, fire away! I don’t know what it is about movie reviews that bring out the strongest opinions in people, but the frequently intense banter fascinates me.
You’re right, some will like it and some won’t. I’ve read several movie reviews by this critic and he is always thoughtful and thorough. He has, however, been accused of being too soft on films which didn’t meet its high expectations (e.g. J. J. Abrams “Star Trek” – a movie I absolutely despised, BTW). So, this critic may have tried to be a little more cutting edge here – I don’t know.
Thanks for your review, Jeff. 🙂
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The one given by the young African-American gal in the video I linked to here is the important review for this film. It is a roaring success everywhere, but within the black community in particular, it has lit a fire of pride and excitement. To have a movie with a 180 million dollar budget that’s written and directed by a black man and starring an all black leading cast do the bank this baby is doing is completely unheard of. Wonder Woman did this earlier last year by making huge bank and being directed by and starring a woman. There have been female lead and directed films before, obviously, but for one to become such an overwhelming FINANCIAL success has been unheard of before now. Movies like these are landmarks whether one likes them or not in that the doorway for women and blacks as writers, directors and producers has now been swung wide open. The general audience accepts them fully and studios will be forced to accept it as well. They’ll hire minority directors far more frequently than ever before. This is good news. BTW, I know many ST fans didn’t like Abram’s version. Though I clearly can see why, I did like it. The last one that came out, Star Trek Beyond, is IMO, like watching an old episode of TOS. It wasn’t directed by J.J. however and Simon Pegg, a HUGE original series fan, wrote it so that’s why I liked it so much. It didn’t make a lot of $ however, so that’s most likely the end of that run of films. Haven’t seen the newest series, though I hear a lot of original fans don’t like. it. I’ll watch it when I don’t have to pay CBS to do so.
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Your point about diversity in the movie industry is spot on and most welcome. Hopefully, those examples will mark a change for the better.
I haven’t seen Star Trek Beyond yet, and am now inclined to do so – thanks. Still, the Abrams films left such a bad taste in my mouth that I found myself wanting the Star Trek franchise to just go away forever. At least that would preserve the essence of Roddenberry’s brilliant and innovative vision of our future.
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I watch the original 5 Star Trek series, back to back, in reruns almost every night on a station called H&I, heroes and icons. Truly love em. The message, the continuity between them and the original movies, and the iconic actors are very enjoyable to me every time I watch them. I never get tired of it.
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Ditto, my friend.
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Inspired, thanks for sharing the video link. Danielle Redford’s review is definitely a different spin from Liddell’s.
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It was enjoyable to see her filled with such joy and optimism over the movie. I think she says something in the video like, “It’s great to go to the movies and see people and heroes who look like me.” She might have said it elsewhere, but, nevertheless, it’s a wonderful statement.
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