Black Panther (2018) (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

Infinity War had a much different job, in that it had to bring together all the different characters and pieces of the MCU into one film, whereas Black Panther is mostly a standalone story about Wakanda. Infinity War relies on the fact that you've had 17 previous films setting the board for the big game, whereas Black Panther is playing its own game. So that's not the same design at all. Both are of course equally valid but it makes comparisons between the two a little uneven.

I do think that that differentiation largely accounts for Black Panther's ability to expand upon the typical MCU audience, because you don't have to have seen the other films in order to understand it. Infinity War is much more strictly for preexisting fans.

I think that's what is largely getting missed by the folks panning it here or saying that it doesn't live up to the hype.

Those folks, like me, aren't the target audience. BP did something remarkable and it's hard for people already in the mix to see: Without major backlash BP massively infused a whole new perspective and increased the cultural audience invited under the tent. Sure there was a couple heroes who weren't the standard strong white male, but BP exploded that and made PoC full fledged equals. And in some cases better than the existing squad.

Representation matters. It's to that 8 year old kid who finally gets to see strong and smart characters that look a lot more like him than the rest of the universe doe who it matters most to. Not to folks like me. Although a lot of folks like me really dug it. =)

And it did it without offending or lampooning anyone.

That's incredible.

 

[Sam Posten]

And you know, I have to mea culpa roll back two of the lines here cause I forgot one of the points I intended to make.

Sure there was a couple heroes who weren't the standard strong white male, but BP exploded that and made PoC (of both sexes!!!) full fledged equals.

It's to that 8 year old kid who finally gets to see strong and smart characters that look a lot more like him (or her!!!!) than the rest of the universe doe who it matters most to.

The women of BP were universally excellent. I had no idea that was Danai Guirrea until the end credits, she disappeared into the role. Apologies for not highlighting that in my post above.

 

[TravisR]

It's to that 8 year old kid who finally gets to see strong and smart characters that look a lot more like him (or her!!!!) than the rest of the universe doe who it matters most to.

Back when the movie came out, I saw a picture on Twitter of a little black kid waiting for the movie to start and you only wish that you've ever been as excited for anything in your entire life. It even warmed by cold hard heart.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Back when the movie came out, I saw a picture on Twitter of a little black kid waiting for the movie to start and you only wish that you've ever been as excited for anything in your entire life. It even warmed by cold hard heart.

As a black man that is retired and collecting SS, it warmed my heart to no ends. Everybody is welcome to their opinion, but this film made me proud as it starred mainly black actors, was written by two black men and directed by one of them, and that's that.

 

[Nigel P]

I am frustrated that we have to wait over here until 11th June for the blu-ray release so I can see it for a second time. I enjoyed it on my first watch. I thought it was very good, but not great. I am really glad it exists though and that it managed to bust some of those myths.

 

[Sam Favate]

I am frustrated that we have to wait over here until 11th June for the blu-ray release so I can see it for a second time. I enjoyed it on my first watch. I thought it was very good, but not great. I am really glad it exists though and that it managed to bust some of those myths.

I'm annoyed my package is delayed until Thursday! Should have been here today! This is what happens when Amazon won't allow pre-orders of Disney titles.

Black Panther is one of the movies of the year. When they write the story on film in 2018, BP is going to be at the top. I found it refreshing in just about every way.

To me, the best thing about it was that it took this question on everyone's mind in the movie (which is, why didn't Wakanda with its great technology help the rest of Africa and Africans around the world?) and not only did they not side-step it, they made it the central conflict of the movie. I thought that was brilliant and brave. Fearless filmmaking.

 

[Sam Posten]

Best Buy fing blows. No panther for me. Next 5 days all booked up. F you Worst buy

 

[Robert Crawford]

Best Buy fing blows. No panther for me. Next 5 days all booked up. F you Worst buy

I wasn't going to buy it until later this year during Black Friday sales, but Amazon had it in-stock and dropped the pricing down to $24.99 so I used some Amazon Reward points to get it under the $20 threshold. I should have it on Thursday.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Amazon had it in-stock and dropped the pricing down to $24.99

Amazon actually has a new release Disney title in stock?! Shipped from wand sold by Amazon? On release day? Wow.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Amazon actually has a new release Disney title in stock?! Shipped from wand sold by Amazon? On release day? Wow.

Both, the Blu-ray and 4K/UHD releases. The 4K/UHD release which also has the Blu-ray is only $2.00 more than the Blu-ray release.

 

[Mike2001]

I got the UHD version through Disney Movie Club last month for $14 (60% off VIP deal). It arrived on Monday, one day before street date.

 

[Sam Posten]

BB has declared mine lost but isn't cancelling it. They just shipped me out a new one. If both show up I will take one back. They are also sending me a gift certificate, which is nice.

 

[Sam Posten]

Crisis resolved.

 

[Sam Posten]

 

[BobO'Link]

I watched this for the first time last night.

I mostly enjoyed it but felt it was very over hyped and, at its core, a rather generic revenge story that hit all the main points of such fare. It also played like any of the Tarzan "Hidden Civilization" type films. I couldn't help that feeling that I'd seen it all before. It took far too long to get going and I found myself checking the run time/time remaining several times in the first hour and a half. While the CGI was generally impressive there were several things that completely took me out. One of those being the "missing" arm on the guy with the arm weapon. The effect just looked fake, especially the arm with the appendage removed. He was also the weakest character in the movie and, when it came right down to it, served no real purpose other than to provide fodder for a rather meaningless murder.

Robert has already mentioned the biggest issue I had with the movie. That of the nephew after the incident which set up the plot. Of course that had to happen so the rest of the movie could take place. Had it played out like he feels it should have (and me too) then there'd have to have been another antagonist. It goes back to the overall plot being a rather generic revenge story. Yawn.

I liked the performances. In spite of some rather generic dialog, everyone did a very good job. Some of the costumes were extraordinary. I liked the location but there's that Tarzan Hidden Civilization thing I just couldn't shake.

Overall I'd rank it in the middle of the Marvel pack of movies and, in spite of the generic plot, better than any of the DC live action superhero movies of the last 20 years, but I've not yet seen Wonder Woman or Justice League so can't include them... yet.

I may be watching it again fairly soon as my grandson wants to see it and I'd like to watch it with him to see his reactions firsthand.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Overall I'd rank it in the middle of the Marvel pack of movies and, in spite of the generic plot, better than any of the DC live action superhero movies of the last 20 years, but I've not yet seen Wonder Woman or Justice League so can't include them... yet.
.

Better than the Dark Knight flicks???

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Watched it again over the weekend. The first time I saw it was in theaters where the audience was around 70 percent black. This time on disc the audience was all white. Two completely different experiences. Some of the lines that got the biggest laughs and/or applause the first time around got no reaction whatsoever this time around. There were cultural and historical factors at play that just completely passed over the living room crowd. The consensus was still positive, though.

I came away even more impressed by the production design, costume design, and cinematography. This film is a visual feast.

 

[BobO'Link]

Better than the Dark Knight flicks???

Yes. I didn't like any of them. Given a choice, I'd rather watch Schumacher's outings and don't particularly care for them either.

 

[BobO'Link]

Watched it again, this time with my grandson (14 1/2). His reaction: "Meh... Over hyped like I expected." Based on his reactions I doubt he'll be interested in another viewing any time soon.

I enjoyed it more the 2nd time - part of it was I had the accents down better and got what was being said with less effort. I'm normally not bothered by accents but these were a bit tougher for some reason which was a surprise as a coworker from a few years back had a similar accent so I was somewhat used to it.

 

[Sam Posten]

We watched this in full last night, after I had seen clips last week.

I'm going to just go ahead and say it: The Atmos track is DULL. Even when cranked up 6db to account for the stupid way Disney is handling them, there is not a lot of overhead going on and none of the bass is impactful.

I watched Fury after this last night and the difference was night and day.