The_Hollywood_Reporter__February_07_2018

PANTHER: COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS. JOHNSON: JB LACROIX/WIREIMAGE. NANJIANI:TAYLOR HILL/GETTY
IMAGES. DESCHANEL: AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN/GETTY IMAGES. FALLON: NOAM GALAI/WIREIMAGE.
Boseman’s
Black Panther
defends
Wakanda from
adversaries
seeking its
most precious
natural
resource.
that takes place in a lagoon located between
towering brown rocks and a cliff you don’t want
to fall off.
Does this sound like your everyday Marvel
film so far?
It certainly doesn’t look like one. Along
with the color of nearly everyone’s skin, there
are vistas, costumes and settings that keep
the images popping off the screen, even though
this Marvel offering is not in 3D.
Black Panther also sets itself apart via an
ideological divide between two camps within
the Wakandan leadership. The royals and
traditionalists, including T’Challa, insist that
vibranium must remain exclusively in their
own possession, as it’s been the secret of their
success since time immemorial. A minority
believes that this extraordinary substance
should be shared with the world, or at least
with their struggling African neighbors, in
the interest of the common good. It’s a potent
political dispute that will presumably continue
to inform the series in further episodes.
In the meantime, a deliciously nasty bad
guy, a white South African gangster named
Klaw (Andy Serkis, in a role he introduced three
years ago in Avengers: Age of Ultron), is keen to
get his hands on some vibranium himself. That
leads the story to South Korea for a prolonged
sequence heavy on chases and tough-guy action
but rather more conventional than the rest of
the film.
But the most challenging threat to
Wakandian stability comes from another mercenary,
an imposing African named Erik
Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). Convinced
that vibranium should be available to all people
(and that he should profit by dispensing it),
this intimidating wannabe usurper challenges
the king to a duel in the watery arena — one for
which he cannot wear his Black Panther armor.
Much intense drama and action follow;
there’s a real and sustained sense of jeopardy
for the kingdom, and the fighting significantly
involves the female warriors, who are
very cool indeed. Just as he staged the boxing
in Creed with intensity and invention, Coogler
handles the more extensive physical faceoffs
here with freshness and brio, building to
a tensely stirring climax. For such an actionpacked
modern film, it’s surprising how little
blood figures into this combat epic. A brief
return to Oakland at the end brings things
full circle, while the usual Marvel post-credits
teaser reminds us that its next offering will
be Avengers: Infinity War (coming May 4), in
which T’Challa/Black Panther also appears.
The actors are all seen to very good advantage.
Boseman certainly holds his own, but
there are quite a few charismatic supporting
players here eager to steal every scene they can
— and they do, notably the physically imposing
Jordan, the radiant Nyong’o and especially
Wright, who gives each of her scenes extra
punch and humor.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
75
THR’S SOCIAL CLIMBERS
A ranking of the week’s top actors, comedians
and personalities based on social media engagement
across Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and more
This
Week
Last
Week
Actors
1 ↑ I 2 I Dwayne Johnson
A week after Millie Bobby
Brown ended Johnson’s
nine-week run at No. 1, he
regains the top spot with
the week’s most liked
Instagram post by an actor:
A Jan. 28 video of him
playing “The Entertainer”
on a floor piano with his feet
got 3 million favorites.
2 ↑ I 4 I Kevin Hart
3 ↑ I 8 I Deepika Padukone
4 ↓ I 1 I Millie Bobby Brown
5 ↑ I 7 I Will Smith
6 ↓ I 3 I Dove Cameron
7 ↓ I 6 I Jennifer Lopez
8 ↓ I 5 I Priyanka Chopra
9 ↑ I 11 I Gal Gadot
10 ↓ I 9 I Noah Schnapp
11 ↑ I 13 I Finn Wolfhard
12 ↑ I 16 I Zendaya
13 ↑ I - I Chris Hemsworth
14 ↑ I - I Tom Holland
15 ↓ I 12 I Hugh Jackman
16 ↑ I 18 I Cara Delevingne
17 ↑ I 25 I Zooey Deschanel
Deschanel follows her
chart debut (No. 25, Jan. 31)
by jumping to No. 17 with a
654 percent boost in
Facebook shares (mostly
reshares of videos, photos
and memes she had already
posted). She added 413,000
Instagram favorites after
showing off her new haircut.
18 ↑ I - I Bella Thorne
19 ↑ I - I Reese Witherspoon
20 ↑ I - I Vanessa Hudgens
21 ↓ I 19 I Ansel Elgort
22 ↑ I 23 I Lily Collins
23 ↓ I 10 I Jack Dylan Grazer
24 ↑ I - I Shay Mitchell
25 ↑ I - I Hailee Steinfeld
FEBRUARY 7, 2018
This
Week
This
Week
Last
Week
10 ↓ I 7 I Bill Maher
Last
Week
Comedians
1 ←→ I 1 I Kevin Hart
2 ←→ I 2 I D.L. Hughley
3 ←→ I 3 I Joe Rogan
4 ↑ I 6 I Colleen Ballinger
5 ↑ I - I Adam Sandler
6 ↑ I - I Martin Lawrence
7 ↓ I 4 I Marlon Wayans
8 ↓ I 5 I Mike Epps
9 ↑ I - I Kumail Nanjiani
Nanjiani’s Jan. 29 tweet
that art, music, movies and
books “have always been
political. Keep your ‘Keep
your politics out of BLANK’
bs outta my face” garnered
him a 16 percent increase
in retweets and was the
week’s most-engaged-with
tweet by a comedian.
TV Personalities
1 ↑ I 10 I Jimmy Fallon
A 406 percent gain in
Facebook post likes allows
the Tonight Show host to
reach No. 1 on the chart for
the first time. One of his top
posts was a clip of Fallon,
as the character Peter,
singing Journey’s “Don’t
Stop Believin’ ” while
heckled by Will Ferrell.
2 ↑ I 6 I Gordon Ramsay
3 ↑ I 5 I Mike Rowe
4 ↑ I 9 I Jake Tapper
5 ↓ I 3 I Mike Huckabee
6 ↓ I 4 I Tamera Mowry
7 ↑ I - I Tyra Banks
8 ↓ I 2 I Joanna Gaines
9 ↓ I 7 I Chris Hayes
10 ↓ I 1 I Chelsea Handler
Data Compiled By
Source: The week’s most active and talked-about entertainers on
leading social networking sites Facebook, Google Plus, Instagram,
Twitter and YouTube for the week ending Jan. 31. Rankings are based
on a formula blending weekly additions of fans as well as cumulative
weekly reactions and conversations, as tracked by MVP Index.