Black Panther

Black Panther                                                                                                               February 20, 2018

Black Panther achieved several mile stones. The box office over the President’s weekend will be north of $200m and with some estimates of $1b, including forgein markets, projected. The film has been lauded for its positive portrayal of black super heroes and the uplifting effect for Afro-American youth. This film establishes a new “tentpole” for this Disney which can generate sequels and character spinoffs under the Black Panther franchise. With this potentially huge box office this is clearly a cross over movie.

The film it is a spectacle. It has all the super hero elements. Handsome hero with super powers, bad guys, one handsome the other not. Beautiful women; some bald carrying electro charge spears. A wise mouth sister who is a science wiz.

Chadwick (Chad to his friends) Boseman is the Black Panther. Boseman is a versatile actor playing various roles: Jackie Robison, James Brown and Thurgood Marshall. He plays Black Panther, or his royal name T’Challa, with an air of seriousness subverted by sibling jabs. His powers lie in an impenetrable suite made of a rare mineral called vibranium. The vastly advanced scientific achievements of Wakanda are at his disposal. There are plenty of fight scenes and battles featuring a mélange of new and old weapons.

Michael B. Jordan (Creed) is the main villain. With all the modernity of Wakanda the fights between Boseman and Jordon are hand to hand combat which harkens more traditional films. The uniqueness of this film is combining traditional African motifs with advanced scientific achievements created by the proud indigenous population.

Lupita Nyong’o is T’Chatta’s former lover and warrior who displays fighting chops. Forrest Whitaker is a sort of shaman. This a cream puff role for Whitaker, but great performances is not mandatory for super hero movies. Martin Freeman is a recognizable face and plays a CIA agent who is an ally of T’Challa. Andy Serkis is a South African actor, he is the ugly bad guy. I cannot say anything about Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), without being attacked as a plot spoiler. One comment about Angela Bassett, Queen Mother, she is an ageless beauty. The star power of this movie is impressive but with so many stars their air time is limited, except for Boseman.

For authenticity in the movie they speak the South African language isiXhosa. This was the langue of Nelson Mandela.

This movie more like an experience than just a film. At some point you should catch it.

p.s.-As with other Marvel movies there is the “Where’s Waldo” gambit; here Waldo is Stan Lee.

Creed

The Rocky franchise has been very lucrative, but how to keep it going? Maybe Walking the Dead Stallone or Dancing With Balboa. Or you can have a very angry illegitimate son of Apollo Creed ascending into the ring. He disdains his father’s reputation, wanting to make his own mark in the boxing world. He changes his last name form Creed to Johnson, but keeps his first name Adonis. Yeah, in South Philly, with that name you better be fast with your fists or fast with your feet.

This film is a melodrama throwing some jabs as a drama. Besides the young romance of little Creed and his girlfriend, Bianca, all the elements of the Rocky formula are present. Long shot dreams, failure, perseverance, blossoming kinship, museum steps and animal carcasses (I lie no dead cows were punched). There are some touching scenes between Rocky and Adonis as their relationship evolves. This is a better movie than the “post” Rocky films, it has the familiar uplifting theme which is the engine of these films. This film is like hot chicken soup on a cold winter’s night, warm and fuzzy.

Stallone was Stallone. With his hound dog eyes and droopy lips he looked like a Muppet. He was still talking with marbles in his mouth and sometimes needed sub-titles. Stallone had more scenes out of the gym which he handled well. The rest of the cast did fine work, but no one broke sweat. Michael B. Jordon, with his Adonis body, grows from a bitter young man to a disciplined boxer capable of respect and love. Tessa Thompson plays Bianca, Creed’s love interest. She is Adrian with dread locks. Phylicia Rashad plays Apollo’s widow who takes in little Creed. She has small functional roles. Hey, after the Cosby show, any work is welcomed.

The big fight takes place in Liverpool England. As usual the fight scenes are a big hit. Antony Bellow is the opponent. Tony is a real prize fighter who has the swollen face to show for it. The boxing choreography is impressive. Towards the end of the film the producers could not retrain themselves and threw in some old Rocky memorabilia. The stars and stripes shorts were reprised and the soaring Rocky anthem heralded the fight.

Given Hollywood’s horrible performance this year this modest film is a shining light (you though I was going to say a knockout). Stay tuned for Creed II.