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‘Black Panther’ Trailer: Like Nothing You’ve Seen Before

“I’ve seen aliens drop from the sky but I have never seen anything like this.”
By  · Published on October 16th, 2017

“I’ve seen aliens drop from the sky but I have never seen anything like this.”

Marvel made a huge splash a few months back when they dropped the first Black Panther trailer. The trailer opened a window to an unexplored corner of the MCU, presented a unique visual style, and also made every member of the cast look like grade-A bad-asses. With the film’s February launch closing in fast, Marvel has dropped the second Black Panther trailer. And as hard as it is to believe, this new trailer puts the original one to shame.

Black Panther director Ryan Coogler may not have many movies under his belt but his first two outings were both impressive. In 2015, Coogler took Creed, a Rocky spin-off nobody was asking for and infused it with heart, soul, and visual flair — who can forget how Coogler staged an entire boxing match in a single shot? Coogler brought his artistic vision to a 40-year old franchise and turned what could have been a basic studio cash-grab into one of the year’s best films. And now, with Marvel’s considerable resources behind him, it looks like Coogler has once again taken his work to another level.

Black Panther’s trailer is impressive on every level: slick visuals, intricately choreographed action sequences, glimpses of the fantastic cast, hints of the story without getting too spoilery, all scored to a version of Gil Scott Heron’s “The Revolution will not be Televised.” The look of the Earth-based Marvel films is my least favorite part of the MCU – we won’t be seeing many images from Avengers: Age of Ultron on One Perfect Shot anytime soon – but Black Panther looks to have remedied the MCU’s drab aesthetic. It’s exciting to see an Earth-based Marvel film use such a vibrant color palette and imaginative style.

The new Black Panther trailer’s action comes fast and furiously and it looks otherworldly. My first reaction was to compare Black Panther’s slick candy-colored look to Marvel’s cosmic movies like Thor and Guardians. There’s a moment where T’Challa and Killmonger battle their way through what is likely a vibranium mine and the action looks ripped from Guardians Vol. 2’s climactic showdown inside of Ego the Living Planet. Another shot, where the camera glides down over a Wakandan marketplace is evocative of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets bustling inner cities. What’s great about this trailer is that the imagery is reminiscent of other films while still feeling fresh and distinct.

Black Panther’s lead, Chadwick Boseman, has the goods to become a Hollywood superstar. Anyone who watched his performance in the James Brown biopic, Get on Up, knows this man has talent to spare. He’s handsome, he’s a world-class talent, and the only thing left for him to do is to explode onto the mainstream stage. It doesn’t get any more mainstream than a Marvel movie and after stealing every scene in Captain America: Civil War, Boseman is set to have his moment in the pop culture spotlight.

Black Panther’s cast is a straight-up embarrassment of riches. Aside from Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, the cast includes Angela Bassett, Sterling K. Brown, Martin Freeman, Forest Whitaker, and Lupita Nyong’o, just to name a few. I haven’t been this excited for a Marvel movie in a long time. Black Panther combines one of Hollywood’s hottest up and coming directors with a talented cast and places them in an unexplored corner of the MCU. I’m all in. February 16, 2018, can’t come soon enough.

Black Panther Synopsis:

Marvel Studios’ Black Panther follows T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king—and Black Panther—is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.

Here’s a gallery of fine shots from the trailer, as well:

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