Marvel’s Black Panther Movie opening night had ArcLight Cinema LIT!
Marvel’s Black Panther movie came out yesterday and all I can say is WOW! I went with very high expectations because Marvel Studios is the greatest movie franchise ever (debate the sidewalk- I said what I SAID) and they are great at story telling. Marvel movies are always over the top with production and they spare no expense which means their movies are not only intricate stories carefully woven to perfection, but visually they draw you in to the point you forget you are in a movie theatre.
Wakanda is Here…
We got our first glimpse of Wakanda at the end of Captain America Civil War. In the post credit scene, King T’Challa agrees to look after Bucky Barnes while he goes back under ice to sort out the events from the last 2 movies. They are in a high-tech lab where all the technicians are black. Captain America thanks King T’Challa but warns him that if they find out Bucky is there, they will come for him to which the King reply is “let them try.” We pan out to see a foggy horizon with waterfalls and a bunch of trees and a giant rock sculpture that resembles a panther on the prowl. We literally had to wait TWO YEARS to get back to Wakanda and it was so worth the wait.
Wouldn’t Miss It
Martha and I were invited by our friend Ashley to see the movie opening night at 10pm. It was her sister Amber’s birthday and she wanted to pack the theatre out with all their friends. We immediately agreed although we knew NO good could come of this. 10pm on a work night was against our nature and Marvel movies are longer than a CVS receipt, but for the culture and Amber’s birthday there was no discussion. We were going. We purchased our tickets and made plans for that date well I advance. Naps had to be scheduled and a clean diet was needed the week of to insure we didn’t fall asleep because we are almost washed up. Not quite washed but washed adjacent. We would be getting off work at 5pm, going home to nap then driving from LAX to Glendale for a movie that didn’t start until 10pm. We got there around 9 and grabbed dessert from the Cheesecake Factory before the movie to sneak in (you already know what it is) then we headed to the lobby to link up. What we saw filled me with pride. Not just any pride, Black Pride.
THE VIBE
Every single screen at the Archlight was showing Black Panther and the lobby was FULL to the brim with black Kings and Queens decked out in crowns, fur, jewels, Kente cloth, the whole nine! We wore all black everything with Black berets giving props to the Black Panther Party. Everyone was posing for pictures and fawning over each other’s looks. We hardly knew anyone in the lobby but that didn’t matter because we were all family. We posed for pictures with strangers, complimented outfits and passes around crowns and posed for pictures. Groups came dresses as the royal cast of Coming to America, others had on beautiful dresses and gowns made of bright Nigerian fabric. We were home.
THE CULTURE
When Black Panther was announced the culture banded together to make sure this movie was a success. Marvel movies always break box office records, but every black person that had never seen a Marvel movie knew who Chadwick was and they were determined to support. We broke presale ticket records, and it didn’t stop there. Leading up to the release it became the most tweeted about film in 2018 and with every commercial and teaser trailer, we wanted more. Our culture was hungry to prove that an all-black cast is more than capable to break box office records where we are not portrayed as slaves, poor or drug dealers. We deserved to be seen as we truly are, and this movie was our chance.
THE VISUALS
The movie was visually stunning. We got to see our culture celebrated the way our ancestors taught us, nit the way we were taught in school. The theatre erupted on multiple occasions and we even got a new greeting out of it. What do you mean the Princess Suri is on Tony Stark level of genius? OMG when they link up it will be nothing short of amazing. Ryan Coogler and the MCU gave us everything we wanted and more. This is the movie the culture deserved and if you have not seen it yet, I’m going to need you to log out and go fix that. It filled us with so much pride that it is hard to describe, it is just a feeling you need to feel for yourself. My review is up, but I can tell you NOW, don’t read it until you have seen the movie for yourself. My words won’t do it justice.
Marvel’s Black Panther Movie Review, all opinions expressed are my own. Thanks for reading!