I went to see this last Friday. On the whole, not a bad movie, but... If the Marvel title had been removed from the beginning, someone with no clue who the Black Panther was, would have had no idea it was linked in any way to the Marvel Universe. Not one reference! The original Thor movie showed the spledour and majesty of Asgard. Black Panther showed you can build a cleaner New York in the jungle. It gave the impression that if a people were swimming with advanced technology, the only way there could be any kind of trouble is if it came from outsiders. What disappointed me? No lead-in to Infinity War, the above mentioned lack of Marvel Universe reference, yet another killing of an excellent protagonist who could have been used for future movies, and worst of all, because black people were involved, slavery was mentioned. This seems to be a go-to in every movie with black people. Yes it should never be forgotten so the same atrocities are not repeated, but it stinks of lazy writing when it's dropped in as pretty much a throwaway line. I didn't know the Black Panther had to take some mystical juice to give him "powers". The King is the Black Panther. One would assume that when T'Chaka died in Civil War, the mantle and throne was passed on. It was never indicated that T'Challa had a swig of juice to suddenly become a hero. The end scene with Bucky was a waste. Turns out his rehabilitation involved living in a hut in a field. This would have been an excellent storyline if he had been involved in the movie. It lacked another hero. Unlike the hype of an all black cast making it a ground-breaking movie, therefore making it a must-see, I went because I like the character and it was Marvel. Turns out it really wasn't. 7/10
Posts: 3804 | Location: United Kingdom | Registered: April 21, 2004
Good points. Black Panther is cleaning up at the box office, but it is not being presented in the same way as other Marvel superhero movies, so I'm not surprised you didn't find your connection. I've seen a few interviews now and both actors and reviewers are attaching higher ideals for this ground breaking film than for the equally fictional people of Asgard.
Posts: 10529 | Location: New York | Registered: November 20, 2007
A few people I know who saw it said it was a solid film. It was not great but was more interesting then the average film. Was told to watch the Bucky scene online and I would be set for Infinity War. So, I will skip it. Went with my daughter to see "Early Man" from the company that brings you Wallace and Gromit and Shawn the sheep. Laughed my head off. It was a fun children's movie.
I haven't seen this yet, and I won't plan on it until it comes to dvd/blu-ray or streams for free. I like Black Panther as a character and thought his intro in Captain America: Civil War was fantastic. I just didn't think he could carry a whole movie. It also feels like it is more newsworthy because of the cast make-up and not the merits of it being "good".
I put this in the same boat as Dr Strange. Cool at the surface, but not a major enough character (as the MCU sees it) to have a solo flick.
I absolutely loved DOCTOR STRANGE, but I found BLACK PANTHER dull and somewhat tedious. Same old stuff all over again. I do believe I'm in the minority with this opinion.
Posts: 2513 | Location: USA | Registered: November 08, 2009
Black Panther is now up to being the 10th highest grossing movie of all time (domestically) at 501 M.
It will soon pass "Beauty and the Beast" (2017) which made 504 M, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story", which grossed 532 M, and 2008's "The Dark Knight" (534 M).
How high can it go ?
Posts: 4264 | Location: NY | Registered: August 03, 2010
It's definitely caught lightning in a bottle, half a billion in the US alone, in less than 3 weeks. As for the quality of it, it is superbly made, but the story could've been a little better. Acting, costumes, set pieces, stuff like that was all top notch. I rank it in the middle of the MCU movies so far, probably in the upper half. I'll see it again on BluRay when the time comes. Looking forward to Infinity War. That one will likewise be an enormous moneymaker, I have no doubt.
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Posts: 3384 | Location: California | Registered: December 23, 2007
It has now passed a billion worldwide in less than a month.
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Posts: 3384 | Location: California | Registered: December 23, 2007
Originally posted by Tommy C: Black Panther is now only 5 M away from surpassing Titanic, and becoming the # 3 highest grossing film of all time, domestically.
Only Star Wars The Force Awakens and Avatar made more (not taking into account inflation)
Of the top earners, I'd say Black Panther was better than Avatar, but not as good as Titanic or Force Awakens.
Regardless, it's incredible that this movie played well enough that it'll actually still be in theaters (budget theaters, anyway) when many of its characters return in the new Avengers movie in 3 weeks.
____________________ Everywhere around this burg they're running out of verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. Everywhere around this town, they're running out of nouns.
Posts: 3384 | Location: California | Registered: December 23, 2007
Black Panther wasn't as good as most of the Marvel movies. There are scenes that we've seen before, but they just switched characters. Nothing unique and nothing to link it to the Marvel movie universe. It could be that people are still going to see this because it's thin on the ground for anything else at the moment.
Posts: 3804 | Location: United Kingdom | Registered: April 21, 2004
I agree. I was disappointed with BLACK PANTHER as well. I would rate it light years below TITANIC, AVATAR and THE FORCE AWAKENS, but a little above or on a par with the also very disappointing THE LAST JEDI.
Of course this is just my opinion.
Posts: 2513 | Location: USA | Registered: November 08, 2009
Originally posted by Tommy C: Black Panther is now only 5 M away from surpassing Titanic, and becoming the # 3 highest grossing film of all time, domestically.
Only Star Wars The Force Awakens and Avatar made more (not taking into account inflation)
It's now #3 in US all time, it's hard to compare with not so recent films (inflation ect.), but it does show it has been hugely successful. I doubt it will reach the grand total of The Last Jedi though it may come close.
Posts: 1126 | Location: UNITED KINGDOM | Registered: December 19, 2003
I really think we are dealing more with cultural phenomenons and inflation rates these days than we are with movies.
Box office comparisons are completely out of whack when you say this one beat that one. Just the fact that box office records are being broken left and right tells you that the records mean nothing. People are going to events because everyone is going. People follow the opinions of every one else because they don't want to be left out.
Black Panther was a decent movie, just caught it on DVD. It's not the best movie of the year. It's not the best Marvel movie I've ever seen, about 6th from the top really. There is no way its box office numbers should make it seem better than some truly great films of recent and past years.
Since I borrowed the DVD and did not add to the total, I think I'm OK with not following for the sake of the crowd.
Posts: 10529 | Location: New York | Registered: November 20, 2007