Birth of a Nation: A Look Back at Black Panther

There's a reason that I wait so long to write about these movies. You know... a reason aside from having an adult job and being generally lazy. I like to give myself a minute to sit with a movie and allow some of my initial emotional reactions to temper a bit. I know me; the initial viewing experience dramatically influences how I see the movie (which is why Avengers still ranks so high). If I had written about Ant-Man right after I saw it, I would have been much kinder. If I had written about Doctor Strange after watching the midnight screening with a crying two-year-old standing next to me, I probably would have been much harsher. Giving myself some distance allows me to strip away some of the mystique I associate with my comic book films; it gives me time to listen to commentaries, watch interviews, and otherwise become an expert on the movie all before my first keystroke. All of this to say that I'm still at the point where watching Black Panther makes me cry, so this may turn out to be more of a literary dick-sucking than some of my other posts have been.

The king accepts your terms, step forward.

Honestly, can any of you out there blame me? I mean, I had hoped that Black Panther would be good, but I never thought in my wildest dreams that it would be this good. Director Ryan Coogler and the folks at Marvel were able to craft a film that's beyond astonishing, inspirational, and basically any other adjective that I've used to describe Marvel films in the past. Black Panther takes everything that Marvel does to a higher level, and has quickly become one of the best superhero films of all time. Yeah I said it.

Strap in folks. It's gonna get messy.

What Works

I am T’Challa; I am Killmonger

You’d think that with a name like ‘Killmonger,’ it would be easy to single out Michael B. Jordan’s character as the villain of the movie. Yet here I am; struggling to figure out what makes Killmonger 'evil' besides his really dumb name. The difficulty in classifying him as ‘da bad guy’ is that the motives of himself and T’Challa are only separated by the thinnest of margins. Both have claim to the throne, both want to aid their people, both look great shirtless.

You're welcome.

So why is one the villain and one the hero? Well, it really comes down to their avenues of pursuing change. Killmonger wants to ship weapons across the globe in order to liberate his people; T’Challa eventually believes in a more diplomatic approach to outreach. While it may be easy to point fingers at Killmonger and say that he’s cruel and twisted for wanting to create a global genocide, don’t forget that most of the movies we pay to see end with our heroes punching their way to freedom in the most violent ways possible. Seems a bit hypocritical to proclaim ‘violence isn’t the answer’ and then watch Cap snap Bucky’s good arm…

Seriously though, if they don't make-out in Infinity War
I'm asking for my money back.

Like many folks out there, I found myself agreeing with a lot of what Killmonger said, specifically when asking ‘Where was Wakanda?’ while the rest of the world suffers. I mean, look at the U.S. We have access to all of the tools, knowledge, and resources we could ever ask for, but what are we doing with it? We’re clearly not helping the homeless, not investing in mental health, not investing in the future of our children, and generally not doing anything to make any meaningful impact on the world. Instead, we sit here playing videogames and writing about movies while we watch our own people struggle to survive. Killmonger is fueled by injustice and driven by anger towards the country that took everything away from him, leaving him alone and abandoned. While I don’t necessarily agree with his ‘and kill their children!’ part of the plan, it’s devastatingly simple to relate to Killmonger, and isn’t that the hallmark of a good villain?

T'Challa: "Staring contest for the throne, go!"
Killmonger: "I fucking hate you so much right now."

Then we have T’Challa; the other side of the coin. T’Challa spends the film trying to figure out how to best serve Wakanda: to be the hero or the king, to help the world or hold true to the traditions that made the country great. When T’Challa visits the ancestral plane for the second time, he comes to the realization that holding steadfastly to tradition can be more dangerous than allowing thoughts and ideals to evolve. After the revelation that his father is directly responsible for the creation of Killmonger, T’Challa stands up to his ghost dad and decides that he is going to be a different king; a king that will hold himself accountable for the decisions of the past. In this moment, T’Challa truly begins to exemplify the statement Shuri made at the beginning of the flick: “Just because something works doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.”

She's just the best.

So how do we reconcile these ideals? Put Killmonger in a Panther suit and let them fight it out, obviously! I’ve read a few reviews that complain that this fight essentially devolves into the classic Marvel ‘two dudes in similar suits squaring up’ battle that we’ve come to know and expect from the genre, and I would tend to agree if one were to completely ignore everything I just discussed. At this point, both of the characters hold the mantle of Black Panther, and the battle is literally for the soul of Wakanda. This weighty and philosophical discrepancy is what makes the fight between the two emotionally impactful. In the end, Killmonger chooses to end his life instead of spending it in bondage (like a total fucking badass), and T’Challa uses his money and resources to create outreach programs throughout the world; to offer help to those who need it. More than the costumes or the powers, Black Panther is about the people that inhabit this planet, and how we can best lift them up. I’m sad to see Killmonger go, but I’m happy that T’Challa is a hero worthy of admiring.

And where do I get that coat?!

People You Trust

If you’ve been following along, you know that I am a HUGE fan of what Marvel has done with building up the supporting characters. From Luis to Ned, from Korg to Kraglin, nearly every character has been given their own moments to shine and become whole. Having said that, the character work in Black Panther makes the supporting casts of previous MCU films look like they’re getting the ‘Jimmy Olsen’ treatment. Each character has an easily traceable arc, and every character is three-dimensional, all without falling into the stereotypical pitfalls that are associated with their archetypes. I love that Shuri is the smartest person on the planet without being socially awkward or an arrogant prick. I love that Nakia is genuinely shaken by what she’s seen as a spy and acts as the ‘we should be doing more to help’ voice without being the nagging, bleeding heart. I like that this is in direct contrast to Okoye, who puts her duty and her country above her personal emotions without being written as a cold-hearted bitch. I love that all of the people I have talked about so far are women; that’s pretty neat!

I want this hanging in my house.

As I’ve said before, investing the time and resources into characters help the world feel complete, but with Panther, there’s an extra layer of depth. When T’Challa visits the ancestral plane the first time, he asks his father how to be a great king. T’Chaka replies: “You’re going to struggle, so you’ll need to surround yourself with people you trust.” If Coogler had not taken the time to develop the characters, this statement would have lost all meaning, as T’Challa would have aligned himself with cardboard cutouts. This character development helps the audience understand why T'Challa chooses these people, and why these people are following their specific courses of action. N’jobu betrays his country to help the rest of the world. W’Kabi’s frustration with the crown leads to him ultimately following Killmonger. M’Baku’s honor stops him from simply taking the heart-shaped herb himself but doesn’t stop him from trolling the fuck out of our heroes. 

How I feel when people ask me for LITERALLY ANYTHING.

Black Panther has accomplished the rare feat of filling the film with remarkable characters. Let’s see if the rest of Hollywood can get on Wakanda’s level.

Wakanda Forever

Speaking of Wakanda’s level, nothing would make me buy a Disneyland Annual Pass faster than if Disney announced that they were beginning construction on Wakanda Land: Inspired by the film Black Panther. Everything about Wakanda portrays this culture as a futuristic civilization rooted firmly in the rituals of their ancestors. Something as simple as the traditional garb of the Boarder Tribe becoming holographic shields in battle, the pristine façade of the throne room is undercut by the patch of red earth directly in the center; maybe to bring them closer to nature, maybe to keep them ‘grounded’ (GET IT?!?) when making their decisions. Even their structures are able to present a sense of familiarity with the ‘grass hut’ look we tend to associate with Africa, while not sacrificing the sleekness of modern architecture. Wakanda looks like it was meticulously thought about, planned out, and developed as a traditional city would be. Everything in the country appears to have a purpose, which adds an extra layer of immersion and helps the audience believe that this is a real place, and a place that we would really like to visit.

Or, you know... live.

It’s fascinating to wonder what a nation untouched by colonizers would look like; a nation that didn’t have their language and customs beaten out of them by a bunch of pasty white folk aiming to spread misery across the globe, a nation that was able to keep their spirituality, musicality, and resources more or less intact. I love that we got a glimpse of what that world might have looked like, but I’m disheartened to think that this world will only ever exist in works of fiction.

The Wise Build Bridges

From casual viewers to die-hard fans, nearly everyone I’ve talked to about Black Panther seems to agree that this movie ‘feels different’ from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Maybe it’s because it’s the first comic book film in a long time to feature a mostly Black cast and spends the first act of the movie celebrating African culture. Maybe it’s because the women are badasses without being highly sexualized. Maybe it’s because the villain is relatable and sexy as hell. For me, Panther feels different because it’s a big budget movie with a point-of-view that it doesn’t shy away from. So often in tent-pole blockbusters, the film is boiled down to the lowest common denominator in order to appeal to the widest audience possible. It’s good business, and why films like the Fast and Furious and Transformers franchises never go out on a limb to say anything meaningful. It’s mostly just ‘hey, look at this dumb thing we’re going to do’ like a million-dollar episode of jackass.

"I'm Johnny Knoxville, and this is 'Wrecking Balls.'"

Even my superhero films that I love and adore so much are lacking in the ‘socially woke’ department. A lot of the Marvel films are solely popcorn flicks to help us forget how fucking terrible the outside world is, and those that do dabble in ‘message’ filmmaking tend to focus on family, fitting in, and other introspective mumbo jumbo. Black Panther seems to be the first film in the MCU that is able to entertain, while also reflecting on the current state of the world without being preachy. The entire theme of the movie can be boiled down to isolationism. I mean, you strip away all of the great character moments and comedic beats, the movie really is about a king deciding whether or not to help the rest of the world, which is a direct reflection of what’s happening today. We are having the same arguments in this country: should we take in refugees, should we be kicking people out, who really deserves our help? Black Panther isn’t afraid of having any of these conversations, and is kinda staring down the barrel at us in a ‘whatchu gonna do?’ sorta way.

"Pull the trigger, bitch!" - T'Challa, probably

Look no further than the mid credits tag. T’Challa, having decided to make Wakanda’s knowledge and resources known to the world, stands in front of the U.N. and says: “In times of crisis, the wise build bridges while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.”

"You listening, you bloated orange Cabbage Patch Kid?!" - Okoye, probably.

During nearly every interview I’ve watched with Coogler, this particular line is brought up in reference to what the U.S.A. is going through, and each time, Coogler deflects the question by saying that this line is an African proverb and was in the script when Obama was still president; he maintains that it was not necessarily meant to relate to the real world. But let’s examine that for a moment, shall we? Even if the movie was being developed at a time when we were still ruled by someone who could go a whole day without bribing a pornstar, this scene would be an easy cut. This scene isn’t necessary to set anything up, and is more or less a rehash of how the movie ends anyway. So why include it if not to say something? They could have released the clip on YouTube, added it as a bonus feature on the Blu-Ray, or just sacrificed it to the Editing Gods altogether. Yet at some point, a conscious decision was made to put the scene in the theatrical cut of the film, knowing full well that it could alienate a very specific, very vocal group of inbred hicks. Maybe they included it for political purposes, maybe for artistic integrity; who’s to say? Either way, this scene serves to show the Panther isn’t afraid to take a stance, and has truly raised the bar for what we can and should expect from movies like this.

What Doesn’t

The CGI and Action

Let me start by saying this: the emotionality and character development tied to the action is what makes the action work as well as it does. Watching Okoye throw her ‘ridiculous’ wig at Klaw’s guards, watching Nakia take off her high heel (a symbol of patriarchy) and stab a dude in the neck with it, and watching Killmonger and T’Challa Phantom Menace it up on opposite sides of a hover train are what make the action interesting to watch. Having said that, I never once thought that I would feel bored watching a man in a cat-suit take down an armor-clad battle rhino with his bare hands, but here we are.

This seems ill-advised...

Like the previous two movies I wrote about, I don’t think that there’s anything bad about the action. It’s just kinda… there. Like, I would be much happier if the action in this movie was replaced with lectures regarding Wakandan infrastructure and what sort of arts programs they provide in their public schools. That seems infinitely more fascinating to me than watching two CGI body-doubles falling in front of a CGI backdrop.

And hey, SPEAKING OF THE CGI, what a mess. It didn’t detract from the movie as much as the CGI rush-job in Ragnarok, but it bums me out that the CGI in 2008’s Iron Man looked more realistic than most of the third act battle in Panther. Come on Marvel, spend the cash.

… And that’s it. That’s literally the only bad thing that I can say about this movie. Shit, I even started out this section singing the movie’s praises. *Sigh* Black Panther really is just that good folks.

Final Thoughts

The energy of the theater on opening night was absolutely electric; I don't remember seeing theater-goers that excited for a movie since... The last Harry Potter flick maybe? I knew then that the movie was going to be huge, but it wasn't until the next day that I realized just how huge. My wife and I went to Target and as anybody who has ever been to Target knows, one cannot simply go in for a single item; you do a lap and allow Target to tell you what you need. We found ourselves back by the toys and noticed that nearly all of the Black Panther merchandise was sold out. There was a single Okoye action figure and a single Nakia action figure. That's it. LEGOS were sold out, the album was sold out, the other action figures, POP figures, playsets were all sold out. After surveying the consumer carnage, I understood that this movie wouldn't just be huge; it would become a cultural phenomenon. Two months later, the movie has grossed more money than your poultry gods and has shattered nearly every box office record. The craziest thing? I work with people who have never seen a comic book movie in their life; they wouldn’t be able to pick Batman or Spider-Man out of a line-up. These same people are walking around the office proclaiming ‘Wakanda Forever!’ and rocking their Black Panther t-shirts. This film has been able to reach out and speak to those that have no desire to be a part of this world and make them see what we've been seeing all along: that these films have something worthwhile to offer. Seemingly overnight, Black Panther became a cultural touchstone, and I for one can’t wait to tell my grandkids what it was like lining up to see a good man become a king.

So where does Black Panther rank on my list of Marvel Films?

  1. Black Panther

  2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

  3. The Avengers

  4. Thor: Ragnarok

  5. Captain America: Civil War

  6. Iron Man 3

  7. Iron Man

  8. Spider-Man: Homecoming

  9. Guardians of the Galaxy

10. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2

11. Captain America: The First Avenger

12. Avengers: Age of Ultron

13. Thor

14. Thor: The Dark World

15. Doctor Strange

16. Ant-Man

17. Iron Man 2

18. The Incredible Hulk

END

Well that’s it… I’m done! I hope you enjoyed reading them at least a third as much as I enjoyed writing them. If you did, please like, comment, and share these lil’ guys. They love to be read! My plan for the coming weeks is to go back and fix some of my older posts before moving onto my next writing project so stay tuned for that! I’m pretty excited as to where I’m going next… I’m on the tweeties @TheJamesBrock and on Instagram… also thejamesbrock. Still no idea how these things work and I’ll probably die never truly knowing what it means to share a story.

Ladies and gentlemen, every once in a while, you have the pleasure of meeting someone truly spectacular; spectacular because their heart, mind, body, and soul are so in-sync that they are only capable of doing good in this world. My friend Kono is one such person. He is trying to participate in the AIDS Lifecycle: a 545 mile bike ride over seven days from Northern to Southern California in order to raise money and awareness for the fight against AIDS and HIV. Sadly, my friend is still about $1500 away from his goal. This is where you come in. Should you have the money and the inclination, please click here to read his bio and donate. If you can’t donate, please share his page and pass the message along.

Until next time...

Be kind to each other.

-James

Ragna-Rock The House!: A Look Back at Thor: Ragnarok

Marvel had a major problem on their hands with Thor. After a pair of solo outings and two different turns with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Thor remained nobody’s favorite Avenger. No director had yet created a tone that resonated with fans and the Thor movies struggled to find an audience. Kenneth Branagh came close with his Shakespearian take on Norse Mythology, but honestly, when was the last time you sat down to watch 2011’s Thor for a reason other than it happened to be on SyFy or because you’re doing some sort of stupid Marvel Retrospective? Thor: The Dark World tried to inject something different by leaning heavily into the Sci-fi/Fantasy genre, which could have been really interesting if the movie wasn’t bogged down by a forgettable plot and an even more forgettable villain. Thor is only relevant in The Avengers due to his fraternal relationship with the villain, and as previously mentioned elsewhere, his glorified cameo in Avengers: Age of Ultron gave him little more to do than stand there and look pretty.

And look pretty he did.

For Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel made a promise. They guaranteed that Ragnarok would do for Thor what The Winter Soldier did for Captain America. While many believed this statement to mean that Ragnarok would shake the foundations upon which the very MCU was formed, I always took it to mean that Marvel would be able to take a less popular character and give them a movie that people would be able to single out as the paragon of the franchise. I’ve gotta say, it really is great to be this correct all of the time. News slowly started trickling out that Marvel was recruiting oddball independent director Taika Waititi to helm the blockbuster, the tone of the film was going to be a cross between Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and Big Trouble in Little China, and the movie was finally going to tackle the Planet Hulk storyline that fans had been foaming at the mouth to see on the big screen for years. When the trailer finally dropped, we all knew that we were in for an entirely different kind of Thor film.

Still gives me chills.

By obliterating preconceived notions of what a Thor movie should be, Thor: Ragnarok easily takes its place as the best Thor film to date and stands as one of my favorite films in the MCU.

What Works

The End of All Things

In approaching Thor: Ragnarok, Waititi, Hemsworth, and the folks at Marvel wanted to wipe the slate clean and do something new with the character. The team decided to subvert the audience’s expectations of what a Thor movie should be by destroying everything that previous movies had built up. And when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Act I saw the passing of Odin, the unceremonious deaths of The Warriors Three, and the annihilation of everyone’s favorite hammer, Mjolnir. In Act II, Thor loses his hair and Hela flippantly reveals the true history of the ‘benevolent’ Asgard. By the end of the film, the Rainbow Bridge is dismantled again, Thor’s missing an eye and ASGARD IS ANNIHILATED by the most Metal looking world-ender we’ve seen thus far.

Ah-AH-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-AH!

However, the dismantling doesn't stop at the objects in the world as ideas themselves are also brought to a close. The back-and-forth between Thor and Loki finally comes to a satisfying resolve as Thor calls his brother out on his stagnation and refusal to change, and essentially tells Loki that he’s at peace with the way things are but that he could be ‘so much more.’ Apparently, ‘more’ to Loki means showing up to save the citizens of Asgard in the most grandiose way possible. It leads to the brothers fighting side-by-side and a scene on the ship in which Loki and Thor non-verbally express that they are here for each other (awwwww). It’s going to make it that much sweeter when Thanos pulls out Loki’s still beating heart and shows it to Thor before he dies.

Though it will probably be a less painful moment than this.
Incidentally, this is what a caffeine headache feels like.

Lastly, we come to the God of Thunder himself. In Thor, our titular hero wants the throne but ultimately realizes that he is not mature enough to rule over the nine realms. Thor: The Dark World sees the Asgardian Avenger straight-up refuse his birthright to his father (who turns out to be Loki, but he doesn’t know that at the time). Thor’s basically been spending these movies, and even the Avengers films, running from his responsibilities as king, choosing instead to remain on the ground and fight with the commoners. Ragnarok forces Thor to run towards his problems, and not away from them, because that’s what heroes do. If this were the Thor we first met seven years ago, I could easily see him turning into Valkyrie on Sakaar; a drunk-yet-sexy junker aspiring to absolutely nothing and hiding in the butthole of the galaxy. Instead, Thor finally comes to the realization that one cannot escape destiny; all one can do is make the most of it. Thor fulfills the prophecy and causes Ragnarok, sure, but he saves his people and ends the movie taking his place as the rightful king of Asgard. I would like to see where his story goes next, how he plans to rebuild his home and find refuge for his people. But in the end, Thor's arc is over and it’s been fun to see him grow. If his head ends up getting crushed like a grape, at least we got some satisfying closure to the story of The Mighty Thor.

Revengers Assemble!

Thor Supports

Part of the great thing about unceremoniously killing off The Warriors Three (besides them being dead) is that it opened up a whole new world of characters to explore. I would watch a stand-alone film starring literally any one of the characters introduced in this movie. You tell me that Marvel is pulling a Beyonce and is dropping a Valkyrie movie with absolutely no warning tomorrow? Sorry work, I can’t come in because I have something more important to do with my time. Netflix is producing a TV series featuring Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster? Sorry work, you can’t expect me to wait until the weekend to binge this one. There’s going to be a slew Burger King commercials starring Korg and Miek over the next several years? Sorry work, I need to make sure that I am always and forever home in order to watch these commercials air live on TV… I’m starting to suspect that I am experiencing some dissatisfaction with my job…

"Hello there! I'm Korg, this is Miek,
And we're here to tell you about a new meat-based food sandwich!"

Marvel is sitting on a veritable goldmine of obscure characters, and while you may not want to risk your jobs in the same way that I am wont to do, who of you out there wouldn’t be excited to see Tessa Thompson lead her own Marvel movie as Valkyrie? I’m just saying that if Hemsworth is done wielding the hammer, it would be very simple and outstanding to pass the mantle to a woman of color that most people fell in love with almost immediately.

...For some reason...

The repercussions reach far beyond the realm of this movie. We’re already getting to see Kraglin as Youndu, hopefully Luis becomes Ant-Man one day, and I pray to any god that will listen that I will get to see Ned dawn some sort of costume before I die (please be Kraven, please be Kraven). As we get ever closer to the end of the current iteration of the MCU and shift our gaze to the distant horizon of Phase 4, I’m comforted in knowing the Marvel has taken the time to craft and explore these supporting characters in ways that make them feel whole. I can’t wait to see what surprises await once the dust settles.

No Banner, Only Hulk!

Marvel finally cracked the Hulk code. The hardest tightrope to walk with a Hulk-centric movie is that the audience is waiting for Banner to do the one thing that he is actively trying to avoid. Ragnarok circumvents this by giving us a fully-formed, slightly more intelligent Hulk from the jump. Hulk isn’t just a destruction set-piece waiting to happen; thanks to Ruffalo’s performance, Hulk is a fleshed out character with feelings and emotions other than anger. It makes me so sad when Thor tells Hulk that Earth hates him and he storms away like a toddler. It’s the closest Hulk has come to being human. Then, we get the exact opposite of what we’re used to and see Hulk physically fight himself from turning into Banner, which has to be one of the most emotionally painful transformations I’ve witnessed on screen.

That's real fear. Like 'walking in on your parents having sex' fear.

Thus, Banner is brought back to us and is slowly catching up to the fact that he’s been a murdering Hulk for two years. Ruffalo’s neurotic take on Banner as he tries not to have a panic attack and keep Hulk at bay makes for some great moments between the scientist and the God, and Ruffalo himself is able to shine doing what he does best: bringing sincerity to the character. It’s made apparent that Banner may not come back if he turns into the Hulk again, and argues with Thor about not wanting to intervene in his ‘family thing.’ Yet, Banner seems to sacrifice that side of himself in order to help save the Asgardians on the bridge. That’s huge to me. In the past, there has always been an unspoken guarantee that Hulk will revert to Banner eventually. This time, Banner has no idea if he’ll ever come back, but elects to do what is right anyway, because it is right (sensing a theme here?). The rumor is that Ragnarok is Part I of Banner’s three-movie arc, and I cannot wait to see where the Russo’s take him next.

Kirby’s Dreamland

In describing the visuals of this Ragnarok, I feel as though the guys over at Honest Trailers said it the best: “Thor’s a cosmic Viking created by nerds on acid in the 60s. It SHOULD look crazy.” 

I mean come on! Jetpack Dragon!

A lot of comic book movies from several different studios (this one included) seem like they’re afraid to lean too heavily into the actual source material for fear of alienating the common movie goer. The problem with this fear is that everything ends up looking the same. I’ve described before how fucking ugly Captain America: Civil War is and if anything is going to kill comic book movies, it’s going to be this ‘lowest common denominator’ filmmaking that the studios seem content with exploiting. 

Might as well be watching it through a coffee filter.

Then suddenly, a hero emerges! Thor took a look around at the competition, handed his stein to the nearest bar wench, proclaimed ‘Hold my mead!’ and went streaking across the battlefield in the zaniest way possible. 

I'm picturing cartwheels.

Sakaar looks like it was taken directly from the pages of a Jack Kirby illustrated book, from the characters to the set design to the alien graffiti on the walls, and feels like a fantastical, real planet as a result.

Power Ranger villains or Sakaarian Guards. You decide!

I know that there has been some comparison between this and Guardians of the Galaxy, but I don’t think that this comparison is a bad thing. I go to the movies to be transported to different worlds, universes, realms, whatever you want to call them. Ragnarok is a movie that is not ashamed of where it came from, and in the face of gritty realism, has chosen to live its life out loud. I hope that future films from any studio can arrive to theaters with the same in-your-face confidence that Ragnarok came to us with.

What Doesn’t

The Action

If you take out Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song, there is nothing special about the way the action is presented in this film. Look, the action in Ragnarok is generally fine, I’m just bummed out that we’ve seen it all before. We’ve seen Hulk fight Thor. We’ve seen Thor fight a horned sibling with a staff. We’ve seen superheroes take down vehicles with their bare hands.

SSSSSOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNN

Like I said in my Spider-Man: Homecoming retrospective, it’s difficult to find new ways to present action when the physicality of the hero is so specific. I’m not saying that the action wasn’t fun to watch, but I was disappointed that they couldn’t deliver an interesting, new piece of meat for us to chew on. Based on the movies directly before and after Ragnarok it seems like Marvel has fallen into a bit of an action rut, and after 18 movies it’s kinda hard to blame them. However, Marvel needs to refocus developing their set pieces into moments that are emotionally relevant and visually interesting, otherwise why even bother with action at all? Then again, there seems to be an awful lot of of our heroes screaming in that Infinity War trailer and the Russo’s are notorious in the MCU for the brutality of their fights, so what do I know from emotionally relevant?

Just... FOR WHAT POSSIBLE REASON?!

The CGI

Let me start by saying that not all of the CGI is bad. Shit, that Hulk I posted above looks like a living, breathing creature. More than that, the jiggle-physics on Hulk’s bare ass are extraordinary, and it really illustrates how far we’ve come as a society that the naughty-bits of a CGI creature are paramount to the general enjoyment of a movie. Having said that, I thought most special-effects teams had reached a point in movies where backgrounds were generally figured out, yet some of the scenes in Ragnarok look like the characters were photo-shopped into a Windows screensaver. This is the most apparent during the scene in Norway. Initially meant to take place in an ally in New York (based on the director’s commentary, behind-the-scenes footage, and the trailer posted above), the emotional resonance of the scene is undercut by the lack of polish on the special effects. It’s hard to take Odin seriously when he points and says “look at that” when we as the audience know that they’re on a backlot in Atlanta.

In a world of magic hammers and sexy Cate Blanchetts,
The scenery is what's most unrealistic.

Then there’s Asgard: a city that looked more believable seven years ago. It’s painful to see some of the sharp contrasts between practical sets and computer generated backgrounds, and succeeds in completely pulling me out of the moment. Why does it seem like CGI is not as convincing as it was in the past? Am I just getting old? I feel like I’m having Revenge of the Sith flashbacks.

FOR WHAT POSSIBLE REASON?!

I understand that this is a made-up world with made up characters within a made-up universe, and normally I let things like this slide, but when CGI is this shoddy I feel insulted. I mean, I’ve seen the movie twice in theaters and bought the Blu-Ray, guys. You can afford to spend a couple extra bucks on rendering.

Final Thoughts

I’ve noticed that some people complain that this movie isn’t heavier, and that the very idea of Ragnarok, literally the death of the gods, should have been handled with more weight and less jokes about The Devil’s Anus. To those people, I say I don’t disagree. I know that this is a dramatic departure from the round-about insults I tend to hurl your way in moments such as these, but I genuinely think you have a leg to stand on this time. To me, the enjoyment one will have watching this movie depends on the type of experience one is looking for. If you wanted a Shakespearian meditation on the fall of Asgard similar to the tone of the original Thor or even something a bit darker like The Winter Soldier, I can understand how you were disappointed. That’s not what I was looking for. When I went to see Thor: Ragnarok, I wanted a movie in which I could see Hemsworth finally utilize his comedic timing and charisma to its full potential. I wanted to see an irreverent Marvel movie with jokes that hit 99% of the time. I wanted to see Hulk body-slam a zombie wolf on the Rainbow Bridge (admittedly, I did not know that I wanted this when I walked into the theater). But really, I wanted to finally have a reason to like and care about a character that was introduced to me on the big screen nearly a decade ago. Sure it’ll make Thor's inevitable death in Infinity War (calling it!) that much harder to swallow, but it’s worth it. Thor: Ragnarok delivered everything that I’ve wanted from a Thor movie since 2011, and if this is the last solo Thor film we get starring Hemsworth, at least I can be grateful in the fact that they hammered (GET IT?!?) this movie out of the park.

So where does Thor: Ragnarok rank on my list of Marvel Films?

  1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

  2. The Avengers

  3. Thor: Ragnarok

  4. Captain America: Civil War

  5. Iron Man 3

  6. Iron Man

  7. Spider-Man: Homecoming

  8. Guardians of the Galaxy

  9. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2

10. Captain America: The First Avenger

11. Avengers: Age of Ultron

12. Thor

13. Thor: The Dark World

14. Doctor Strange

15. Ant-Man

16. Iron Man 2

17. The Incredible Hulk

END

Only one movie left, folks, and it’s the big one! Tune in next week for a look at Black Panther! I’ll do my best not to botch it. In the meantime, if you like what I’m writing, please like, comment, and share these lil’ guys. They love to be read! I’m on the tweeties @TheJamesBrock and on Instagram… also thejamesbrock. Still no idea of how these things work and it makes me sad to think that I’ll have to figure these out one day.

Ladies and gentlemen, every once in a while, you have the pleasure of meeting someone truly spectacular; spectacular because their heart, mind, body, and soul are so in-sync that they are only capable of doing good in this world. My friend Kono is one such person. He is trying to participate in the AIDS Lifecycle: a 545 mile bike ride over seven days from Northern to Southern California in order to raise money and awareness for the fight against AIDS and HIV. Sadly, my friend is still about $1500 away from his goal. This is where you come in. Should you have the money and the inclination, please click here to read his bio and donate. If you can’t donate, please share his page and pass the message along.

Until next time...

Be kind to each other.

-James

Peter Parker's Day Off: A Look Back at Spider-Man: Homecoming

Imagine you’re a member of a basketball team. The team’s pretty good, but as with any team, your team has a star player, whom we shall call Marcus. The coach, recognizing the raw talent of Marcus, spends all of their time and energy focusing on developing Marcus anyway they can. Every play is centered around Marcus; if Marcus doesn’t have the ball, it is your job to make sure he gets the ball. Your entire purpose in life is to make Marcus look good. But then one day, Marcus leaves the team. Maybe he’s recruited, maybe someone I, Tonya’s the fuck out of him, who knows? He’s just gone. Suddenly, you have a team of fully capable, yet underutilized, players standing around like a bunch of jackasses. The coach does what any good coach in a cliché sports movie would do and works with each of the players to become the most unstoppable force on the court. Things are going great, but then outta nowhere, here comes muthafuckin’ Marcus, miraculously back from the hospital! Well now we’re faced with a dilemma. Does the coach go back to feeding the ball-hog or does the team continue to work like it's worked since some mysterious hero piped Marcus in the face?

You can't prove anything!

In 2015, Marvel was faced with a similar choice. In an unprecedented move, two major studios elected to play nice and have Spider-Man, arguably the most recognizable and popular comic book character, return home. Spidey was finally able to play in the same sandbox as the rest of the cool kids. While excitement was palpable to the point of suffocation, the fact remained that Marvel had proved that they didn’t need Spider-Man to be successful, as evidenced by the amount of popular and profitable franchises they had been able to churn out in his absence. But as soon as it was announced that Spider-Man would be in Captain America: Civil War, it was as if the rest of the MCU blinked out of existence in the minds of the audience. It didn’t matter that Civil War would be introducing Black Panther, or that Thor: Ragnarok was gearing up to change the way we watched films starring the Asgardian. All that mattered was that the Arachnid-Kid could come out to play. And boy was I salty about it. Marvel spent the rest of the marketing campaign for Civil War focusing on the return of Spider-Man, and the release dates for both Ragnarok and Black Panther were pushed backed so that the golden child could get a prime summer release for his stand alone flick. Is this what the world needed? Was anyone clamoring for yet another look into the world of Peter Parker? It turns out, the answer to both of those questions was yes.

Smug son of a bitch.

By sending Parker back to high school and filling the film with endearing humor and teenage awkwardness, Spider-Man: Homecoming accomplished what I thought was unthinkable after the disappointing Spider-Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2; Marvel made Spider-Man interesting again.

What Works

Tom Holland

The benefit of rebooting Spider-Man is that you can make him (or her) whoever you want. Parker has always been the most accessible hero because his experiences are universal, so why not make him representative of the diversity in this country? Marvel had the opportunity to make him Black, Hispanic, Asian or Native American instead of a pasty White kid, which I believe would have added an extra layer of depth to the story without requiring the screenwriters to do any extra lifting. Suddenly, the story is about an inner-city minority trying his best to find his place in the world instead of another White kid whose life gets just a little bit easier by winning the superpower lottery. AND YET! In the in the face of change, diversity, and representation, Marvel and Sony decided to go with ANOTHER pasty White kid. Again, we’ve had five of these movies with white guys in the titular role; why was it so impossible to do something a little different?

Fat Spider-Man! There's your hero!

Then they introduced Holland and I had to shut my fat mouth right the fuck up. All of the ill-will I had towards this decision was quickly washed away as soon as 'A Film By Peter Parker’ appeared on screen, and after seeing Holland in the role I can’t imagine anyone else playing Peter Parker, including Maguire and Garfield. Besides having the general look of Parker down, Holland is able to convey the pure optimism associated with the character; a welcome change from Garfield’s brooding take on the role and Maguire’s… well…

The less said about Spider-Man 3, the better.

I think what Holland does best is make the audience realize that he’s just a kid. The scene on Liz’s roof is heartfelt, as Peter looks down and tries to decide if he should show off his skills as Spider-Man and punch Flash square in the face. Watching him awkwardly ask Liz to the Homecoming Dance is painfully autobiographical in its awkwardness. For me, the best scene for Holland to display his acting abilities is the scene in which he is trapped under the concrete slabs after confronting Vulture. Parker is desperately crying out for help to anyone that might be close enough to hear him, and the absolute fear in his voice shook me. I believed beyond the shadow of a doubt that Holland was a scared little kid in over his head, and I genuinely feared for his life.

"When will my reflection show... Who I am... Insiiiiiiide?"

This vulnerability is a completely different take on a superhero and solidified Holland as the Spider-Man I’ve been waiting for.

I’m Birdman

I would never in a million years want to date Michael Keaton’s daughter, son, pet, or any of the other things that Republicans say I can marry because gay marriage is legal now. This dude is absolutely terrifying, comes across as more than a little unhinged, and causes me dread just to think about him knocking on my door. So let’s talk about Adrian Toomes, the guy that this manic was hired to play.

*Shudders*

The movie starts with Toomes salvaging the still warm carcasses of the Chitauri after the Battle of New York, which is great. Start with the villain. We’ll care more. Then low and behold! The MCU’s greatest villain Tony Stark comes and swoops the job out from under Toomes instead of just, you know, hiring Toomes and his crew or something as equally simple. It’s interesting to watch Toomes’ arc unfold over the course of the movie in so much as he isn’t trying to take over the world or even fulfill some personal decade-long vendetta against Stark. He’s just trying to provide for his family the best that he can and if that means building a highly advanced wing suit that makes Falcon’s backpack look like a paper airplane, then that’s what he’s going to do, damn it!

My nightmares are getting awfully crowded...

What makes Toomes a scary villain, more than his look or the fact that he’s played by Michael Keaton, is that he has absolutely no qualms with threatening to kill a kid. Remember, Peter’s a minor in this movie and Toomes flat out pulls on a gun on him after finding out his secret identity. Then! Big Bird threatens to impale him with his razor-sharp wings after repeatedly slamming his frail body into the ground. Toomes goes to great lengths to inform the audience that he is not too good to slash a 15-year-old’s throat, and the performance by Keaton indicates that the man is just crazy enough to do it.

"It's showtime!"
Seriously though, if any of your kids go missing, start here.

In spite of it all, Toomes is a man of principle. When Gargan shows up in the post credits scene and asks if Toomes knows who the Spider is, Toomes protects Peter’s identity. Maybe he’s trying to settle his own score, maybe he’s repaying Peter for saving his life, I don’t know. What I do know is that Toomes is far more than a mustache twirling super-villain, and the movie is better for it. Spider-Man’s Rogues Gallery is second only to Batman’s, and it’s great to see Marvel take full advantage of having the superest of villains back in their house.

Ground-Level Hero

Part of what makes Netflix’s Marvel properties so unique and fun to watch is that none of those heroes are fighting to save the entire world. Matt Murdock has The Kitchen, Luke Cage has Harlem, Jessica Jones has herself, and Danny Rand has… got to be killed off sooner or later, right? I mean really, who thought this guy was a good idea?

"Dur I have to save K'un-Lun durdur," - Jessica Jones, probably

The ‘stopping everyday crime’ routine has been dismissed by nearly all big-budget superhero films in favor of the ‘End of the World/Personal Vendetta/Organized Crime’ storylines. Like, Batman doesn’t get out of bed to stop burglaries unless the mafia is involved or you’re dressed up like an asshole.

"COME BACK WHEN YOUR ORGANIZED!" - Batman, probably

One of the many great things about sending Peter back to high school is being able to have him straddle both sides of that line. Granted, he’s called up to the big leagues to take down Captain America and has a run-in with Vulture, but he also finds the time to help a lady with directions and stop a would-be car jacker from… stealing his own car. It’s cool to me that the story doesn’t get much bigger than: “I should do what is right because it is right.” What’s more, this ground-level perspective gives us a glimpse into how the ‘normal’ world is effected by such extraordinary events. From the history teacher lecturing about the Sokovia Accords to the Captain America PSAs (which leads to my absolute favorite post-credits tag) it’s nice to climb down from the ivory tower and see how the commoners are dealing with potentially world ending catastrophes; it makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe feel that much more realized.

Yeah, Math ain't gonna save you from Thanos, big guy.

The Guy in the Chair

Since Ant-Man Marvel has done a pretty amazing job at creating memorable secondary characters. Luis, Kraglin, Mantis, and now Ned. Which, where is their movie? Call it the ‘B-Team’ and throw Korg in there for good measure.

In FreeForm Voice: "FROM DIRECTOR WES ANDERSON!"

Ned is able to act as surrogate for the audience by genuinely asking the questions and making the comments that we would find ourselves asking and making. I don’t think a single one of us out there would be able to keep our mouths shut if our best friend was an Avenger. I think that all of us would immediately try figure out how to use this information to our advantage like Ned did at the party. I think that every one of us would do our best to insert ourselves into our best friend’s life in any way we could. And while I could write about Ned being just generally lovable, I would be remiss to not mention the fact that the filmmakers use Ned as a clever way to deliver exposition in a way that doesn’t feel forced or like the movie is coming to a standstill. As soon as Ned finds out that Peter is Spider-Man, he starts asking about his powers and how he got them. In addition to this being a funny little moment between two friends, it gives anybody not familiar with the Wall-Crawler a chance to learn a little bit about why and how he does what he does without watching Uncle Ben die for a twelfth time.

Take notes, Batman!

Touching back on the previous section a bit, I think that Ned is representative of the fully formed world that Peter lives in, as every character is appears to be real. From angsty-and-woke Michelle to the beautiful and friendly Liz to the checked-out teachers to the mascot that never seems to be on time, Peter’s world is populated with the same rich and colorful characters that we all remember (or try to forget) from high school. I can’t wait to see what the future holds in store for these characters.

What Doesn’t

The Suit

Honestly, there isn’t a lot I don’t like about this movie so it’s time to get real petty. I really like the AI Karen and the suit itself looks cool, but it really bugs me that so much of the plot and Spider-Man’s powers were based on and around the suit. Even though Spider-Man isn’t a stranger to occasionally using gadgets, what I always liked about Spidey is that he puts on a pair of tights and he’s ready to save the world. We do get some scenes centered around him experimenting with different web-fluid and enhancing his web-shooters, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that Parker isn’t really in any mortal danger as long as he’s wearing Stark-Brand Stark-Tech from Stark. Hey, I freely and openly acknowledge that the suit does not ruin the movie, and led to some pretty funny moments with him trying to figure out how everything works. Plus, the affirmation that he didn’t need the suit to be a hero is what "made him realize he had the power inside him all along yeah!" but that doesn’t change the fact that for me, it seemed like they spent Spider-Man's movie trying to set him up as the next generation Iron Man. Hey, Stark’s character is probably going to die within the next couple of weeks here, so maybe that’s exactly what they’re doing. While it didn’t take anything away from the overall experience, and though the new-new suit seems to play a BIG role in Infinity War, this minor gripe is something I hope they can tweak for Spidey’s next solo adventure.

Dat suit looks real cool doe.

The Action

There have been five Spider-Man movies since 2002 and a special guest appearance by the Web-Head in Civil War; I understand that crafting a new visual language for Spider-Man is basically asking for the impossible at this point. Not only do the filmmakers have the action in the previous films looming like a black cloud over the movie, but they also have to battle the expectations of the audience. After all, the audience wants things a certain way and if what’s presented on screen doesn’t directly align with their own opinions of what the film should be then your movie is garbage and you should probably kill yourself.

No, YOU get over it!

All of that having been said, it’s disappointing coming off of Ant-Man, Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 that the most visually interesting set-pieces that this movie had to offer were to do battle against a green-suited friend’s dad in a glider and a fight against public transportation.

This is why I drive.

There isn’t anything inherently bad about it, but I’ve seen it. During most of the action, I found myself thinking that I would much rather be following the continued adventures of Peter and Ned without any of the super-heroics thrown in. Clearly this says something about the strong writing in this movie, but I feel says far more about the lack of engrossing fight scenes.

Final Thoughts

From the outset, Marvel and Sony wanted to create a John Hughes movie starring Spider-Man, and they accomplished that goal, at least in my estimation. This movie feels like a high school movie set in the 80s, and succeeds in crafting a relatable ‘coming of age’ story, albeit one that includes an invisible plane. One of my biggest complaints lobbied against DC is that aside from Wonder Woman, they haven’t trusted their characters enough to make them distinguishable from each other, and I genuinely think they can learn a lot from watching Spider-Man: Homecoming. From the beginning, both studios were completely onboard to really lean into what makes Spider-Man a great character: he’s a hopeful kid from Queens. That’s all you need. Structure a story around that, structure other characters around that. By starting with that stable foundation, Marvel and Sony were able to craft the Spider-Man movie I didn’t even know I wanted, and they made me excited to see what shenanigans Peter’s going to get into when he meets the rest of the MCU in Avengers: Infinity War.

So where does Spider-Man: Homecoming rank in my list of MCU Films?

  1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  2. The Avengers
  3. Captain America: Civil War
  4. Iron Man 3
  5. Iron Man

 6. Spider-Man: Homecoming
  7. Guardians of the Galaxy
  8. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2
  9. Captain America: The First Avenger
10. Avengers: Age of Ultron
11. Thor
12. Thor: The Dark World
13. Doctor Strange
14. Ant-Man
15. Iron Man 2
16. The Incredible Hulk

END

Well that was fun! Tune in next week for a look at Thor: Ragnarok! Only two movies left until the big day, folks! In the meantime, if you like what I’m writing, please like, comment, and share these lil’ guys. They love to be read! I’m on the tweeties @TheJamesBrock and on Instagram… also thejamesbrock. Still no idea of how these things work, I'm basically my dad.

Ladies and gentlemen, every once in a while, you have the pleasure of meeting someone truly spectacular; spectacular because their heart, mind, body, and soul are so in-sync that they are only capable of doing good in this world. My friend Kono is one such person. He is trying to participate in the AIDS Lifecycle: a 545 mile bike ride over seven days from Northern to Southern California in order to raise money and awareness for the fight against AIDS and HIV. Sadly, my friend is still about $1500 away from his goal. This is where you come in. Should you have the money and the inclination, please click here to read his bio and donate. If you can’t donate, please share his page and pass the message along.

Until next time...

Be kind to each other.


-James