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Rating:
The cinecomics, both a blessing and a curse of entertainment cinema in recent years, are like dairy products—they spoil quickly. They mold fast, easily satiating. At Marvel Studios, they know this very well and have found countermeasures, effectively working to continuously change scenarios, supporting themes, color schemes, and tones.
The new, celebrated work produced by Kevin Feige adheres to this rule and even proposes one of the most radical changes: that of skin color. We move to Africa, to the kingdom of Wakanda, and we deal with (almost) only black protagonists. It's certainly a particularly sly move, but for a good part of the film, it seems that the discourse is genuinely political and uncomfortable.
Wakanda is extremely rich, thanks to vibranium, but they keep it to themselves, in secret. It’s a clear reversal of the real historical and geopolitical situation, with the white man replaced by the black one. Excellent premises, which, however, resolve into an idyllic vision, a triumph of good utopian sentiments, with general grievances that dissolve in a fence-sitting finale.
This film, which for some is the best Marvel movie, I see as one of the worst. Because it pretends to introduce truly serious, complex themes related to current affairs, but in reality, it addresses them in a fundamentally childish way. And so, it becomes even more distasteful to choose to talk about Africa, the inequitable distribution of wealth, the hypocrisies of the powerful if it is only a diversion to tell the usual fairy tale. I mean, I'd prefer to be told a fairy tale without pretending it's something serious.
Coogler's work has some solid elements, like the four female protagonists (another nod to a trendy topic, the "badass women," as it would be said in a Sorrentino movie). But it also has numerous structural weaknesses that I frankly find evident: a protagonist among the least charismatic and a final battle phase that's truly mediocre. There is a lot, too much technology, and not even that captivating—in fact, rather banal. A good villain role well-played by Andy Serkis and a tormented villain—Killmonger—who seems to have some sense and wishes to advocate for different political choices than T’Challa and his father while ending up making much cruder decisions. Consistently with the film, it poses good premises but then reduces to the usual preconceived patterns. Lupita Nyong'o is stunning. The tribute to African culture is instead embarrassingly superficial.
5.5/10
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