Black Panther claws his way through box office
Marvel kicks off the year with another fantastic film called Black Panther. The film grossed $108 million on its opening weekend alone! Also, on box office release it made $704 million. On its third weekend of release it is expected to make $75 million in the US alone! This beats both “Red sparrow” and “Death wish”.
Black panther is about T’challa returning home to claim his rightful place as King after his Father’s death. But suddenly a new enemy appears and draws T’challa into a conflict that puts Wakanda and the world at risk.
The cast included: Chadwick Boseman as T’challa/Black Panther, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Andy Serkis as Klaue, Martin Freeman as Everett Ross, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Forrest Whitaker as Zuri and finally Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger.
Sam Zola told me that “The film was good, I liked how that they didn’t force too many characters in the film. Like How Black Widow got forced into Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
Adele Akpan says, “I liked that it had a lot of action and the fight scenes were amazing, I loved the humour in the film, I can’t wait for a sequel!”
Amara Akpan also told me “I was very thrilled to see a movie that has African superheroes, that is one of the first of its kind. I wish Wakanda was real!”
Michael B. Jordan played Killmonger in the movie, he arguably was one of the best villains in the MCU, some people even say that he is comparable to Heath Ledger’s Joker in “The Dark Knight”. I asked Zola what he thinks “I would say that Michael B. Jordan’s portrayal of Killmonger was really good. Definitely one of the best in the MCU. However, it is not as good as Heath Ledger’s Joker, but is on a similar level.”
Adele, on the other hand told me “Killmonger is nothing like the Joker, he just wanted justice, whereas joker was just killing for fun.”
I asked Sam what he thought made Killmonger different, why was he such a great villain? What made him so different? He replied “I liked that he was a grounded, not like a massive monster or a god that want to take over the world. He has good motives but the way he wanted to achieve it was wrong. I actually agreed with him sometimes. He also actually changed the way the character thinks, he made Black Panther see from his point of view. Not many villains have been able to do that. Finally, Killmonger wasn’t really a villain, he just had a different opinion and a different view of the world to the main character, he is also very relatable, I felt bad for him.”
Adele said “Killmonger wasn’t really a villain I suppose. He just wanted to get back at the people who wronged him, he was very relatable. When he told us his origin I was really upset, they really made you feel sorry for the character, I almost cried.”
In the movie, there are many different themes explored. One of the most prominent being Traditionist vs innovation, in the movie different characters represent different political ideologies. Some characters want to Wakanda to remain the same it has been for thousands of years, but others want to see change. “I liked how they explored different themes, and it made the audience consider both sides and to create our own view of what Wakanda should do.”
One of the best things about Black Panther was the music. “The music was really cool. It wasn’t generic, and it didn’t sound like any other film. It was very unique.”
Adele told me “I loved how they mixed two different cultures of music together. They use rap and African instruments to make a masterpiece, I loved how when two characters fight the drums are banging loud and you can feel the tension, the excitement.”
Amara Akpan said “The music was one of the highlights for me, especially in the car chase scene. They mixed rap with afro-beats to create a perfect combo of tension and excitement. The best moment was when they revealed Wakanda to the audience, the music became loud and majestic with the African drums playing in the background. I could hear the audience gasp in awe!”
Black Panther has been released worldwide on February 16th, 2018.
Farringtons school, Daniel Akpan
