Black Panther (2018)

Director: Ryan Coogler

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o

T’Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country’s past.

Ok, seriously, Hollywood, what was the ‘under the table’ deal for this film to win so many awards?? The film suffers from bad acting (yet it won awards for acting), bad accents (most annoying!!), plot flaws deluxe, conveniences like you’ve never seen before, and inconsistent visual effects (yet it won awards for visual effects).

I’ve heard a lot of negative reviews about the the film and went in with an open mind. I wanted to like the film, but hence, there was nothing to enjoy here. None of the actors, or characters, were believable. The plot and dialogue is terrible. The technology and inventions are outrageously silly (almost laughable). I can’t get over how BAD the acting was, as if none of the actors truly believed in the film and therefore showed very little enthusiasm. The attempts at humor left very little to be desired. It was just corny and completely out of place. I also did not enjoy their racism remarks like “Great! Another broken white boy to fix.” I wonder how many times I yawned or rolled my eyes during the first 30 minutes of the film… They also certainly know how to waste time in this film…

Ok, some spoilers. In the beginning, Black Panther drinks a potion to strip him of his strength (as they did numerous times during the film in order to make him more vulnerable – how stupid!). Why did they even bother writing this scene where he is being challenged as king? It was so obvious he would win. Why would Ulysses agree to meet in a casino (of all places!!) to do his deal? (Oh, and Andy Serkis was so bad as Ulysses, I think he should rather stick to monkey business!). Nothing about this scene was believable. During all the fighting and shooting, you see a few people running about, but there’s no panic. Even the bloody extras were bad!!

Also, during the entire film Black Panther doesn’t act like a king and no-one respects him like one. He is a very timid, pushover of a character. No back bone! Later, when Erik Killmonger challenges Black Panther and they fight, he throws Black Panther off the cliff, and then proudly proclaims he is the new king. He is then immediately crowned King. What!!!??? No-one even bothers confirming the Black Panther – their reigning king – is really dead??? They don’t even bother to go look for him, find him, bury him??? Wow, that’s loyalty towards your king!! If this was a silly kids cartoon it might have been acceptable but certainly not in a big budget film like this! This was just preposterous!!

By the time the decent action arrived during the climax, I couldn’t wait for the film to end. The climatic fight between Erik and Black Panther was also so painfully cliched and predictable – and then suddenly emotional (????!!!). ‘Black Panther’ toys with the viewer’s emotions, but sadly this film didn’t do anything for any of my senses. I hated this!