Black Panther Squad Review

The time is here and the panther is on the prowl. Black Panther came out Feb 16 and you know squad was there for opening weekend. Wakanda is a sight to see and squad is here to give you our take the on the king and hero, Black Panther. Check it out.

“When I left the theater...I was proud, I didn’t expect to feel that”

By: Mark aka The One True N00b

Black Panther, starring Chadwick Boseman and directed by Ryan Coogler, was a shining example of a film that not only challenged many prevalent conventions of today, but was just an all-around great film that left you excited, engaged, and most importantly hungry for more. While Chadwick Boseman did a fantastic job portraying the titular hero of the film, it was Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger who was the breakout star for me. Killmonger was one of those rare villains whom you wanted not necessarily to win, but you wanted to see get his due. His backstory not only solidified the harsh cold world that made him who he is, but it also helped to address the often complicated relationships between the African-American and African communities.

It really was just a great film. When I left the theater...I was proud, and I didn’t expect to feel that.

“My high expectations were met and I am happy with the result”

By: Eric aka Frosty Phenix

In my line of work, being apart of the media is an almost 24/7 expectation. With Black Panther on the horizon of release, fans of Marvel and fans of “Blackness” used their powers combined to not only set records for ticket reserves but flood the media with ample excitement and pride. Once the movie released to select individuals with special access (movie reviews, journalists, etc), nothing was held back in giving this movie nothing BUT praise. I tried to avoid these expectations because for one, if my expectation is set too high I would not enjoy the movie for what it would be, and secondly...I wanted to just ENJOY the movie and be surprised (check out one of the crew’s articles about lack of surprise in today’s society). The first of Marvel’s 2018 movie line up did not disappoint at all. Chadwick Boseman (T’Challa/Black Panther) played his role as the soon to be king quite well. His opposite, Michael B. Jordan (Erik Kilmonger) also stood at the forefront not only as a marvel movie villain, but a representation of an African American scorned by an oppressive system just fighting for what’s his in the world.

The movie held a strong 8 out of 10 score for me throughout, but it was the last 5 minutes of the film that netted those 2 extra points to bring it home. WAKANDA FOREVER!

“Empowering, with a cast that I would put up against Hollywood’s best!”

By: Hasani aka CorneredFOX

There are now a generation of children of color, that will come to know the Black Panther as a pioneer superhero in the modern era. A generation of our youth will grow up knowing that heroes come in shades and hair textures that they can identify with. Not only that, but this film serves to show black people in a light and narrative that is sadly too rare in film and television today - that of the intellectual, the warrior, the chief, the caretaker, the lover, and the main protagonist. It is these depictions and explorations of culture, and the carefully cultivated affinity to afro-futurism in Black Panther that make this film more important than any other in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and one of the most important in the history of filmmaking in general. My main takeaway from this movie however, is Erik Killmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan. In a story where he himself is in fact the hero of his own character arc, we see a “villain” who transcends that of Ultron, Malekith, and even the well-done ones such as Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Vulture - to show us ourselves. Killmonger reveals to us an all-too-true reality, of a boy growing up without a father. A boy who is half Wakandan royalty, and half descendant of the slaves not fortunate enough to have been born there. His spite is with the Wakandans, but more importantly, with the dream that is Wakanda, and the blind-eye that they turn to the oppressed Africans in every other part of the world. His complex is real, and his resolve is displayed in a way that is both passionate, relatable, and something that makes you wonder even for a moment, whose point of view is the right one. These are what make a villain’s storytelling a true gift. Black Panther is a phenomenal movie that gets everything right about the character, brilliantly puts strong and intelligent women on the forefront, and builds up everyone around the main hero for an experience that cannot, and must not be missed.

9.5 out of 10

“A movie that showed me things I didn’t know I needed”

By: Drew aka Desertwiz

Black Panther is the movie I wanted and needed. Since T’Challa appeared in Captain America: Civil War I couldn’t wait for Black Panther to get his own movie. I can say without a doubt that I was not disappointed. Everything in Black Panther made me so happy and proud to be black and see black people portrayed so well. I felt like every detail was purposeful and the vision for the movie was clear. And to our black women...YES!!! They were strong, brave and every ounce as important as Black Panther from his guards to his little sister. I loved seeing the culture, people and traditions of Wakanda. Currently I have seen the movie twice and I will probably see it again and get it on BlueRay and then get the special box set. Everything about this movie is special and I hope you share in it. Who knew a movie could be this powerful and fun to watch.

“All I have to say is: WAKANDA FOREVER”

By: Malik aka Leek3mwavy

MY OH MY! When I heard they were finally making a movie on one of comic books best characters, Black Panther, my eyes just blew up. From being a kid and hearing about this character and his story, soooo many things popped up in my head with what they could do in this movie and how they could show off Wakanda by itself. MAN…...this movie really did it and just presented everything so well from BEGINNING to END with everything they’ve shown in the city of Wakanda. Also, with everything that was said and the importance of the movie of what was said on both the good side and bad side of the movie, if there even is a bad side. And when I say bad side I mean Michael B. Jordan’s role of Erik Killmonger and him taking over the throne of Wakanda because if you think about his motive. Of course the way he presented it was wrong in getting Wakanda to deal weapons around the world, but the reason WHY he did it was to help the rest of the people that looked like him around the world that are still struggling and Wakanda is not offering to help. So when you look at it from that perspective it makes you think, like who should you really root for, and that is something that is shown a lot through this whole movie where the bad guy motives are ALMOST good motives and that can be hard to do in film so Ryan Coogler did a great job in that aspect. I would also add that a good way to describe Killmonger and T’Challa at the end of the movie kind of in a couple ways is T’Challa being Martin Luther King Jr and Erik Killmonger being (early) Malcolm X. The writing in this movie was wonderful, when I heard all of the cast talking it was almost like I was reading a Black Panther comic book (and by the way PLEASE read his newer comics, they are simply just GREAT). I heard famous one liners from Black Panther that I know him to always have in whatever comic he is in. The action and the way they were fighting was straight ripped from a comic book as well similar to Captain America: Winter Soldier.

This movie shined in so many areas, of course there were very MINOR gripes, one being that it went fast in certain areas, I did not understand why Klaue lived for so long. Also, and this is not a gripe at all but more of a wish, in that I wish they mentioned something about King Namor somewhere in this movie but of course due to rights probably they couldn’t mention anything alluding to him, but that was really all the gripes I had and let me tell you I am nitpicking. Characters were not altered from how they are in the comics and people like Shuri (who is SO BOSS) shined so bright and really was the comic relief and you couldn’t do anything but love the relationship her and her brother T’Challa had. This movie hit in dialogue, visuals, messages, action, source material and lets not forget the MAGNIFICENT WAY they threw in his newer armor from his recent comics. It was like seeing dreams just come to life! Black Panther felt like a movie in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) but not really in the MCU and also not really Disney which I think was great how that worked out. The many messages really hit you when you hear them and they are not hard to see or find at all (like Killmongers last sentence in the movie, simply WONDERFUL), and when you do find them they will leave you wondering and thinking to yourself over and over again, next thing you know you will be screaming WAKANDA FOREVER!

Overall 9.3/10

It’s About More Than The Movie

By: Taylor aka DaybreakPaladin

First off, this is definitely an excellent film. But you’re on a black-owned site reading a review about a movie with an all-black cast with a black director about a black superhero made by a studio that leaves nothing but smashed box office records in its wake so of COURSE we all loved it. That should come as surprise to absolutely no one. The fact that you’re on this site probably means you enjoyed it as much as we did. My piece in this article isn’t so much about the movie Black Panther.

What I think is more important than the film itself is what it represents. I don’t know much, but I do know that it’s not every day you see a movie released that sparks fundraisers so that classrooms full of children can go and see it. It’s not every day that you see a movie that represents a culture so thoroughly that it becomes more of a responsibility to see it than a choice. It’s about more than simply being an all black film. If that’s all it took, there’d be classrooms of children at every Tyler Perry movie. But it’s more than that. It respects, pays homage, and highlights the impact of black and African culture. It’s influenced the real world in ways few movies have. That impact combined with excellent writing, visual effects, and the tasteful handling of the topics of race and culture earn this movie a solid 10 from me.

There you have it the squad review. What did you think about Black Panther. Please leave comments and let us know how it affected you. Whether you liked the movie or not please be respectable and treat each other as if we were in one big tribe. Peace!

#marvel #culture #blackpanther #superheroes #wakanda #wakandaforever #doramilaje