Kept thinking about Rise of Skywalker during this and how much better it was to just have him dead rather than what they did with Leia
Hey, I know â80 minute youtube video where man talks about a Marvel filmâ sounds like the worst thing of all time, but I watched this the other day and I thought it was excellent. This guy is really eloquent and engaging as a host, you just want to hear him talk about stuff, he seemingly does enormous amounts of research on whatever heâs talking about. His perspective on Black Panther and the cultural context of its production and reception is amazingly insightful.
Thanks for posting this, didnât have time to watch it all but listened at a few different segments and agree heâs engaging and argues convincingly. Will try and watch it all.
Thought it was really interesting that he started with Lumumba and engages with the Ross and CIA element. Really really incongrous with the rest of what the film is trying to put across. No idea how you square the circle with Coogler writing/directing Fruitvale Station and producing Judas and the Black Messiah and then the role of Ross in both films.
Really worth a full watch. Heâs completely recontextualised the way I view Killmonger. Gone from thinking he was poorly handled to thinking everything about him is completely genius.
Iâm only about 20 minutes in and heâs already bought up loads of stuff Iâve never considered. Probably shouldnât be important, but I really like his presentation style.
Because itâs closer to two and a half hours.
fucking loved it
Posted in other Black Panther thread: Liked BP2 a lot more than I was expecting. First MCU thing in ages to have actual weight to it. Genuinely think Angie B should be oscar nominated.
So some deeper thoughts.
Negatives:
Definitely could have been a bit tighter. I think the beats were too clear structurally for me, although I respect this is true of (almost?) all the MCU because they understand the kids need a little more.
So we have the big telegraphing of the bracelet and what it means to Shuriâs research with extra dialogue emphasis.
And we have that fairly silly moment where Namor attacks Wakanda, kills the Queen and then just says, âyeah, Iâll be back later so you have time to regroupâ, which obviously also sets up the next standard act of the structure.
How bad was Iron Heartâs suit in the final battle too? I hope to god she makes something better in the TV series
Otherwise it was good. My negative niggles are just that.
I actually felt like Freemanâs guy had more sense of purpose here thanks to bringing in the government plotting. He wasnât a saviour at all, just a function for moving plot in a way that made sense.
I thought all the performances were great and the fights generally looked good, although the fight on the boat seemed too chaotic to fully get in on.
Obviously that was going to be the conclusion. Yeah, it would have been nice to have something a little different but still, it felt right.
And despite my moans about obvious plot the Killmonger ancestors thing was a genuine and lovely surprise
this is a Bad Film. not objectionably bad like Black Adam but as someone who always defends long films, because more of a good thing is always good, this must be one the most pointlessly long films ever. and it mostly looked like a fucking PS4 game, why do peopleâs costumes have to be CGI ffs, absolutely fuck all looks real. anyway, pretty boring, badly written, absolutely zero action scenes of note, 5/10 at best. however the dogshit blue people did make me really excited for Avatar 2, so thatâs something
Seems divisive.
I liked it. The leads were all excellent, particular shout outs to Angela Bassett and Letitia Wright.
Thought it looked absolutely fine for a Marvel. Sounded very good too in the super-duper Dolby Surround screen I was in.
My favourite thing was the soundtrack, wow, absolutely fucking excellent (plot spoiler: the music in the scene when Shuri drops in and shows herself as the Black Panther to the Wakanda council at Mâbakuâs place was soooo gooood! Wow)
There isnât a post-credit scene but worth sticking around for the music nonetheless.
Main gripe was the plot, or rather the motivation of the villain, which I thought was well cack and annoyingly boring. Fundamentally silly in that regard. Shame as it had all the other elements.
Small gripe: Michaela Coel did not have enough to do, my friend and I reckon a lot of her stuff could have been cut. Still, good to see her though. Also, her and Okoyeâs Midnight Angel, was it? suits looked like cos-play Kit Fistos. Guess thatâs an existing comic thing though
I thought it was good, didnât mind the long run time. The couple of things I didnât like were I thought Namor should have been more arrogant and imperious, he was a bit too softly spoken at times especially when angry.
The main annoyance was that it was so badly lit. Scenes at night, in caves, underwater even indoors were so dark half the time you couldnât see peoples faces properly, once I noticed it was really distracting. A few reviews mention it as well.
Oh and were the Atlanians blue out of water but normal underwater or was it just the lighting?
I actually quite liked that this version was a bit more charming, but I find comics Namor to be a bit much.
I think this could just be how it would look due to the blue filtering effect but itâs also possible the effect is meant to be only visible out of the water?
Itâs one of those things that I let ride because I enjoyed it but I did wonder if effects cost was an issue.
A lot was dark but I didnât feel it was a problem in our showing at the Finsbury Park Picturehouse. However I also remember thinking it was going to unwatchable for a chunk of the D+ audience due to that when it does arrive.
There was a notable difference between Talokanianâs in and out of water. Namora and⌠the other fella with the hammerhead shark hat were both show without blue skin whilst underwater. It just wasnât explained in the film.
My comment to this would be that Falconâs Cap Am costume in the final episode of FATWS looked âphysicalâ and deeply shit.
I think if youâre watching an MCU film and wanting realistic non-CGI stuff youâre looking in the wrong place.
I mean what was the last one you saw that wasnât hyper CGI do you feel?
Didnât have a strong urge to watch, but have 9 podcasts clogging my feed reviewing it - so I might now go on Saturday. Congrats Marvel you got me again.
I was wrong, Disney wonât be bunging this on Disney+ just 45 days after release like they did with the last two MCU films, I think theyâre doing that with their new animated film Strange World instead
After thinking about it I think Dark World was a very harsh comparison. Maybe more Shang-Chi - a great start and a very good villain that kinda deflates itself during the finale. Not everything works but what does is great. Also didnât get bogged down with recapping the Blip or indulging in legacy cameos.
I donât mind that itâs dark. Not just with the ocean, but with the story dealing with grief and such it made sense. I also liked that Ross was a bit closer to the Christopher Priest version, capable but hapless and being tossed around by various higher powers. I really love the look of Talokan and obviously they intend Namorâs actual showstopping to come later but it did leave a lot on the table by the end which is typical Marvel I guess. Itâs not close to being the most egregious sequel baiting this phase anyway.
Iâll watch it again when itâs on disney+ if only because I think my mood last week did effect my viewing.
Got to say, I really enjoyed that. Despite its flaws, I think Ryan Cooler has really pulled off an impressive feat, considering they had to scrap the film and start from scratch. I thought it was emotional, devastatingly sad, exciting, and visually stunning. The lead performances were, without exception, all really brilliant.
Bad bits - Sadly, I just donât think Riri Williams worked at all. She was really unengaging, and felt shoehorned in. Her performance was flat, and that power rangers suit looked terrible. Thought Julia Louis Dreyfus was awful. All of hers and Martin Freemanâs bits could have been axed. That âshredderâ suit looked awful. Weird how they cocked up those suits considering the quality of the production design elsewhere.
Not sure bits - Killing Angela Basset felt a bit like grief upon grief, which was probably the point, but felt likeâŚa lot. It didnât pay off either as Riri was so poorly imagined that her sacrifice didnât seem worth it at all. Mini Chadwick in the credits. Obviously quite emotional but just got dropped out of nowhere.
Good bits - All the Chadwick stuff was handled beautifully. The silent opening, the funeral, the ending on the beach. All really well done. That opening action scene on the ship. Namor was fucking great, as was Talokan. Loved how Coogler introduced emotionally complicated characters into the mix, Shuriâs almost turn to anger was handled really well.
I enjoyed Spidey more, but this was the better phase 4 film.
just realised i donât really remember any of this film except for the fact it was shite