A Black Panther that pounces

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This article was published 16/02/2018 (3101 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fantasy is its own reward. So tune out.

That is the prevailing attitude towards the fantastic genre in general and the Marvel universe in particular. In the service of cinematic escapism, thousands of people construct elaborate alternate universes where superhumans tread, allowing audiences in the millions to zone out from reality.

Sure, occasionally, the fantasy intersects with notions that touch nerves in the real world, as when Robert Downey’s Tony Stark/Iron Man confronts the collateral damage of his weapon-building tech, or when Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) discovers an ugly vein of fascist extremism in the very institutions he helped defend.

And hey, let’s acknowledge that America would be a better country today is more people had paid attention to the Spider-Man dictum that with great power comes great responsibility.

But lately, the default setting on Marvel movies has been comedic (Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy; Ant-Man). Hence, the arrival of director Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther comes as a corrective by adding much-needed gravitas to the Marvel realm.

Yet it does so by creating one of the most interesting and elaborate of alternate realities.

We met Black Panther, a.k.a. T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) in Captain America: Civil War. Upon the assassination of his father, T’Challa is crowned king of Wakanda, a technologically advanced African nation that exists largely in secret. Powered by a usefully versatile substance called vibranium, the country is developed decades beyond its neighbours. But politically, it practises an isolationist nationalism that prevents it from aiding other countries in need, a bone of contention between T’Challa and his love interest Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o).

It’s even more of an issue for Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan, also of Coogler’s Fruitvale Station and Creed). A mercenary in the employ of a gleeful criminal reprobate called Klaue (Andy Serkis, enjoying himself), Killmonger has his own secret claim to the Wakandan throne.

The palace intrigue scripted by Coogler and Joe Robert Cole adds a Shakespearean tone to the proceedings, not unlike the battling royals in the Thor sub-franchise. But Coogler scores points by putting the background into the foreground of our attention.

Marvel’s world-building energy is actually focused in exciting and provocative ways, reflecting African culture and experience in the film’s amazing production design. And, yes, if Wakanda appears to be a male-run monarchy, note that Nakia emerges as the most sensible of its players. If that’s not enough empowerment, note also T’Challa’s all-woman bodyguards, headed by Okoye (Danai Gurira of The Walking Dead, magnificently badass), and T’Challa’s genius tech-savvy sister Shuri (Letetia Wright). One senses that Wakanda’s best-kept secret is that it’s actually a matriarchy.

Boseman, who demonstrated himself capable of outsize energy in the James Brown biopic Get On Up, plays it restrained, allowing himself only a few moments of sheer cool. He leaves the thespian fireworks to Jordan, who manages to colour Killmonger’s villainy with a touch of sympathy that amazingly allows for a moving grace note at the end of it all.

It’s fantasy, yes. But it’s a culturally constructive one that may ultimately tune you in, not out.

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @FreepKing