Following World Premiere, Initial Reactions to Black Panther Pour In!
John F. Trent
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Black Panther had its World Premiere last night on Monday, January 29 at The Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA and fans and journalists are already reacting to the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Thor: Ragnarok’s Tessa Thompson only had two words to describe Black Panther, “my goodness.”
BLACK PANTHER, my goodness.
— Tessa Thompson (@TessaThompson_x) January 30, 2018
Donald Glover who stars in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story movie called the film “beautiful.”
https://twitter.com/donaldglover/status/958272095007383552
Josh Gad gave the film high praise calling it a “cultural phenomenon.”
Believe the hype. Believe the buzz. Believe the words “cultural phenomenon.” #blackpanther is about to blow minds and take names. My God. Where to even begin. Long live the King. pic.twitter.com/cECg2mxnKw
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) January 30, 2018
Ricardo Lopez gave a little more detail and especially praised Michael B. Jordan’s performance as Erik Killmonger!
https://twitter.com/rljourno/status/958258605479796736
Kumail Nanjiani said he “cheered and laughed and pumped [his] fist.”
https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/958264381434880000
Controversial ESPN host Jemele Hill said, “You will see this movie five or six times. It is everything and then some.”
Just got back from the Black Panther premiere and after party. You will see this movie five or six times. It is everything and then some.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) January 30, 2018
LA Times reviewer Jen Yamato praised Michael B. Jordan’s performance. She even claims his performance had her “weeping.”
BLACK PANTHER is incredible, kinetic, purposeful. A superhero movie about why representation & identity matters, and how tragic it is when those things are denied to people. The 1st MCU movie about something real; Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger had me weeping and he’s the VILLAIN
— jen yamato (@jenyamato) January 30, 2018
Entertainment Weekly’s Rebecca Theodore-Vachon praised director Ryan Coogler saying he’s “changed game for MCU.”
Y'all. Y'ALL. Y'ALL. #BlackPanther is everything I wanted and so much more. Ryan Coogler has changed game for MCU. My God. pic.twitter.com/12dfz0xKkk
— FilmFatale_NYC 🇭🇹 🇩🇴 🇺🇸 (@FilmFatale_NYC) January 30, 2018
She also gave rave reviews for performances by Letitita Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, and Danai Gurai.
Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurai bring the heat in #BlackPanther. Their action scenes had the audience cheering and clapping. I loved every second. pic.twitter.com/tmHcWMTnW6
— FilmFatale_NYC 🇭🇹 🇩🇴 🇺🇸 (@FilmFatale_NYC) January 30, 2018
Mashable reporter Angie J. Han said she didn’t want Black Panther “to end.”
#BlackPanther: I never wanted this movie to end, and as soon as it did I wanted to go back. Solid action, smart story, tons of personality. Shuri is my new fave, Nakia is everything, Killmonger is incredible, T'Challa deserves to rule the MCU. Coogler has done it again. 💜🖤💙 pic.twitter.com/t9gG3DLuCL
— Angie J. Han (@ajhan) January 30, 2018
Interestingly Erik Davis of Fandango compared Black Panther to James Bond. He called it the James Bond of the MCU. I never got the idea the film was a spy movie.
#BlackPanther is exceptional – the James Bond of the MCU. You've seen nothing like this in a superhero movie – it's bold, beautiful & intense, but there's a depth & spiritualness that is unlike anything Marvel has ever done. It's 100% African & it is dope af. pic.twitter.com/Z77IjnIjf2
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) January 30, 2018
Despite the rave reviews one Twitter user was feeling hesitant.
https://twitter.com/vonbeed/status/958343530165997568
Others are getting more and more hyped.
I have not been as excited about any movie as I am about Black Panther.
— Adri 🍉 (@_yoadrienne515) January 30, 2018
https://twitter.com/firstclassmari/status/958343522842763267
This isn’t the first time in the past year, we’ve seen a movie get high praise from the critics. Star Wars: The Last Jedi also received phenomenal reviews from critics. However, the film ended up being extremely controversial with audiences. As time has gone on, the Audience Score for The Last Jedi has actually continued to decrease. It currently sits at 48% on Rotten Tomatoes.
While, The Last Jedi might be an example of over-hype and critic disconnect from audiences, everything Marvel Studios has put out for Black Panther looks phenomenal. The epic showdown between Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa and Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger has been built up effectively with the trailers, TV spots, and other promotional material.
I’m optimistic Black Panther will be a very good film, but I’m also a little leery given the insane hyperbole of some of these reviews.
Black Panther comes to theaters on February 16, 2018.
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