BLACK PANTHER: Our reactions!

[Comic-Reader Lad]

Separate from the "early reactions" thread regarding what the critics thought of it, we should discuss OUR reactions.

Saw it this morning at 10am. Given that it was Friday morning, the theater I was in was pretty filled. This bodes very well for all the lofty box office predictions that the film had.

As for what I thought, I liked it at around a B+ level. It was more serious than most recent Marvel movies, and that's a good thing. I hate the goofy, self-indulgent crud that has crept into every damn Marvel movie, so I was glad to see that kept to a minimum. It wasn't completely absent such as the scene where Klaw is singing for no reason other than market research has found that millennials like it when characters randomly sing and dance like idiots, I guess.

Anyway, as much as I liked the action sequences and the cast, I do have a couple of problems with the movie. First, it was kind of talky. The runtime was about 2 hours 15 minutes. Only 15 mins longer than Justice League, but it felt a LOT longer.

Second, I understand that this movie was important to the black community and that they wanted the characters to be represented respectfully, but EVERY character was so "strong and proud" that there was no vulnerability in any of them, so it made it hard to care about what they were going through. What I loved about Wonder Woman, even though it had much the same purpose in representing a minority population respectfully, was that they allowed Diana to be vulnerable. Seeing World War I through her eyes really emotionally centered the movie for me. Having so many characters be so stoic all the time made Black Panther a little hard to connect with emotionally for me.

Overall, Black Panther was another win for Marvel, and I'm sure it will continue to do well at the box office. I'm really curious as to how far it can go.

Only 8 comic book films have made over $400 million at the box office (4 of them being MCU movies: Avengers 1, 2, Civil War, and Iron Man 3). Will Black Panther be one of them? I think it has a great shot at doing just that.

As I said, I'd rate Black Panther a solid B+. What would YOU rate Black Panther, and how much do you think it will gross at the domestic and overall box office?

[JBatmanFan05]

Second, I understand that this movie was important to the black community and that they wanted the characters to be represented respectfully, but EVERY character was so "strong and proud" that there was no vulnerability in any of them, so it made it hard to care about what they were going through. What I loved about Wonder Woman, even though it had much the same purpose in representing a minority population respectfully, was that they allowed Diana to be vulnerable. Seeing World War I through her eyes really emotionally centered the movie for me. Having so many characters be so stoic all the time made Black Panther a little hard to connect with emotionally for me.

Interesting and that vulnerability aspect and such was what I really loved about the characters in Luke Cage. Strong and proud plenty at times, but plenty of vulnerable times for all the characters.

[dkrook]

Separate from the "early reactions" thread regarding what the critics thought of it, we should discuss OUR reactions.

Saw it this morning at 10am. Given that it was Friday morning, the theater I was in was pretty filled. This bodes very well for all the lofty box office predictions that the film had.

As for what I thought, I liked it at around a B+ level. It was more serious than most recent Marvel movies, and that's a good thing. I hate the goofy, self-indulgent crud that has crept into every damn Marvel movie, so I was glad to see that kept to a minimum. It wasn't completely absent such as the scene where Klaw is singing for no reason other than market research has found that millennials like it when characters randomly sing and dance like idiots, I guess.

Anyway, as much as I liked the action sequences and the cast, I do have a couple of problems with the movie. First, it was kind of talky. The runtime was about 2 hours 15 minutes. Only 15 mins longer than Justice League, but it felt a LOT longer.

Second, I understand that this movie was important to the black community and that they wanted the characters to be represented respectfully, but EVERY character was so "strong and proud" that there was no vulnerability in any of them, so it made it hard to care about what they were going through. What I loved about Wonder Woman, even though it had much the same purpose in representing a minority population respectfully, was that they allowed Diana to be vulnerable. Seeing World War I through her eyes really emotionally centered the movie for me. Having so many characters be so stoic all the time made Black Panther a little hard to connect with emotionally for me.

Overall, Black Panther was another win for Marvel, and I'm sure it will continue to do well at the box office. I'm really curious as to how far it can go.

Only 8 comic book films have made over $400 million at the box office (4 of them being MCU movies: Avengers 1, 2, Civil War, and Iron Man 3). Will Black Panther be one of them? I think it has a great shot at doing just that.

As I said, I'd rate Black Panther a solid B+. What would YOU rate Black Panther, and how much do you think it will gross at the domestic and overall box office?

Vulnerability...?? I saw plenty. Kings were highly fallible and made plain out dumb, even deadly decisions with peoples lives. The leader of the Dorae was about to strike down the love of her life over principles? M'baki ?? Betrayed the king he was council for. I think we may two different perspectives of this movie.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

Vulnerability...?? I saw plenty. Kings were highly fallible and made plain out dumb, even deadly decisions with peoples lives. The leader of the Dorae was about to strike down the love of her life over principles? M'baki ?? Betrayed the king he was council for. I think we may two different perspectives of this movie.

I guess I mean that because the characters were in warrior-mode throughout the movie very little softness shone through all the posturing. Yes, there was yelling and emoting, but I wasn't touched by it really.

Also, I didn't feel invested in T'Challa and his ex-girlfriend's relationship. The movie seems to want us to root for them to get back together per the standard Hollywood trope, but I kind of didn't care about them as a couple. I wasn't desperate to see them reconnect. I definitely felt more heat between Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor. Gal Gadot and Chris Pine had great chemistry.

People complain about Marvel's lackluster villains, but I'd say the same often holds true for Marvel movies in the romance department. Tony and Pepper were ok. Thor and Jane Foster didn't register for me. Black Widow and Hulk came out of nowhere as did Hawkeye and his secret girlfriend in Age of Ultron. Peter and Liz Allan in Homecoming were Disney Channel level at best. Where's the Superman-Lois or Batman-Catwoman of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

[XPac]

I guess I mean that because the characters were in warrior-mode throughout the movie very little softness shone through all the posturing. Yes, there was yelling and emoting, but I wasn't touched by it really.

Also, I didn't feel invested in T'Challa and his ex-girlfriend's relationship. The movie seems to want us to root for them to get back together per the standard Hollywood trope, but I kind of didn't care about them as a couple. I wasn't desperate to see them reconnect. I definitely felt more heat between Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor. Gal Gadot and Chris Pine had great chemistry.

People complain about Marvel's lackluster villains, but I'd say the same often holds true for Marvel movies in the romance department. Tony and Pepper were ok. Thor and Jane Foster didn't register for me. Black Widow and Hulk came out of nowhere as did Hawkeye and his secret girlfriend in Age of Ultron. Peter and Liz Allan in Homecoming were Disney Channel level at best. Where's the Superman-Lois or Batman-Catwoman of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Generally speaking, I don't think marvel necessarily shines in the romantic aspects of their movies (nor do I think they're trying all that hard). Not that I didn't think T'Challa and Nakia weren't perfectly fine, but generally speaking the romance isn't a strong selling point for the MCU.

Starlord and Gamora kind of work in a Sam Diane sort of way though.

[Midvillian1322]

I loved it and any complaints arr very minor. Mostly the CGI going from a A+ to a C- at certain points.
I give it a 9.5/10.

[kidfresh512]

I thought it was excellent. Strong characters, very strong acting and the story was well done. It didn't veer off tangent. You really felt like Wakanda was being introduced to the world and things were about to change. All the characters especially the women were to me very empowering. They were smart, strong, capable they all were absolutely impressive in their own rights and could easily stand up to the royal stature of Black Panther.

Easily the most political of Marvel's films and I like that. It wasn't in your face or one side vs the other. But, I like the overall tribes coming together theme that reached all the way from insular and isolated Wakanda to a bigger worldwide, humanity in general theme.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

I do agree that the cast overall was very good. Probably the best supporting cast of a Marvel movie because I could take them all seriously and even in the jokey moments never got annoying for more than a second or two.

Regarding the CGI, yes in some places it was off. Like in places where all the characters were CG like when Black Panther is fighting the Vibranium Rhino or when he's fighting Killmonger on the train tracks. On a separate note, I'm of the opinion that Steppenwolf looked better than what I saw of Thanos in the Avengers trailer.

I think this movie successfully set up an interesting world for Black Panther. Wakanda was fully developed into a convincing and interesting locale and the outreach program can provide story fodder for future movies even as a B-plot regarding improving lives of inner city youth.

I would want a sequel to be a bit less talky and to make an effort to develop a romantic angle for the character.

[Martini Sigil]

I liked it a lot... not as much as Thor: Ragnarok ... but it was excellent... Chadwick Boseman is outstanding... Michael B Jordan killed it... he got really ripped for this, and was a great villain... No one in the cast disappointed me... I give it an A-

[uebersoldat]

Generally speaking, I don't think marvel necessarily shines in the romantic aspects of their movies (nor do I think they're trying all that hard). Not that I didn't think T'Challa and Nakia weren't perfectly fine, but generally speaking the romance isn't a strong selling point for the MCU.

Starlord and Gamora kind of work in a Sam Diane sort of way though.

That's because they are saving that for T'Challa/Storm and Rogue/Gambit AWW YEEEAHHH!!!!!

[Gridde]

I really enjoyed the movie, and am completely floored at how well they handled Black Panther's classic villains.

I can't think of many fans who would seriously argue that BP has a strong rogues gallery to draw from, but this film took two D-listers and made them absolute delights to watch on screen (without completely changing the nature of the characters, á la Mandarin or Zemo) which is quite impressive.

As others in this thread have mentioned, the strength of the supporting cast really helped elevate this movie above other Marvel offerings as well. There wasn't anyone I found annoying or pandering, and even characters like Ross who I found superfluous were still endearing and entertaining in their own right. I was somewhat wary of stock characters like Ragnarok's Valkyrie whose only purpose would be to exist as Strong Independent Women™, but every main character felt fleshed out and distinct.

The love sideplot didn't hugely resonate for me, but it was also unobtrusive enough that it didn't detract either.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

That's because they are saving that for T'Challa/Storm and Rogue/Gambit AWW YEEEAHHH!!!!!

If the Fox/Disney deal really goes through, then I think a Panther/Storm romance is in the cards for sure. However, Alexandra Shipp is the actress currently playing Storm and she is 14 years younger than Boseman. Also, I don't know if she is an actress of leading lady caliber. I don't know how big her role in in X-Men: Dark Phoenix, but I don't remember her having tons of screen time in Apocalypse. In any event, she really didn't register with me.

I'm down for a romance with Storm, but I do think the role would need to be recast by that point. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[uebersoldat]

If the Fox/Disney deal really goes through, then I think a Panther/Storm romance is in the cards for sure. However, Alexandra Shipp is the actress currently playing Storm and she is 14 years younger than Boseman. Also, I don't know if she is an actress of leading lady caliber. I don't know how big her role in in X-Men: Dark Phoenix, but I don't remember her having tons of screen time in Apocalypse. In any event, she really didn't register with me.

I'm down for a romance with Storm, but I do think the role would need to be recast by that point. Does anyone have any suggestions?

That's the issue right? How do you bring in the X-Men to a universe with aging staple heroes? You'd have to cast a mature X-Men team if they are gonna share the screen and skip the origin story (which honestly I hope they do). I get the feeling that Disney isn't going to be putting them on the big screen anytime in the next 5-10 years though. It'll be their next big multi-movie project after RDJ finally retires. Most assuredly an all-new cast. I still hope they keep Fassbender as Magneto. Dang he makes an awesome Magneto but they'll need to sever all ties to Singer's 'verse. And rightly so.

[RumpusMagoo]

Just saw it with my son. Loved it. And I’m a huge DC comics fan, but it didn’t matter.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

That's the issue right? How do you bring in the X-Men to a universe with aging staple heroes? You'd have to cast a mature X-Men team if they are gonna share the screen and skip the origin story (which honestly I hope they do). I get the feeling that Disney isn't going to be putting them on the big screen anytime in the next 5-10 years though. It'll be their next big multi-movie project after RDJ finally retires. Most assuredly an all-new cast. I still hope they keep Fassbender as Magneto. Dang he makes an awesome Magneto but they'll need to sever all ties to Singer's 'verse. And rightly so.

If and when the X-Men are brought in to the MCU, they will absolutely have to reboot the entire damn thing just as they did with Spider-Man in "Homecoming."

In fact, they will probably introduce the X-Men the way they did with Spider-Man. In other words, have the X-Men cameo in another movie. Given that the Scarlet Witch is a shared character, they can introduce the X-Men through her in a future Avengers sequel. Having the Avengers brand prop up a rebooted X-Men would make the whole process go down smoother with the general audience.

Once that is done and the X-Men then get a solo spinoff movie, we can have a sequel to either Black Panther or X-Men where Storm and T'Challa meet and fall in love. But this has to happen sooner rather than later as Boseman is already 40 years old.

This still begs the question as to who could play Storm. She'd have to be an actress who will be around 40 within 6 years, I'd guess, so that the age difference isn't too distracting.