Oscars 2019: How we'd vote

Tonight is the 91st Oscars ceremony and by tomorrow morning we'll know which pictures have taken the golden statuettes, and are therefore entitled to have 'Oscar-winning' on their DVD covers in a dusty Oxfam in 2021. 

To honour this, we've decided how we'd vote on a few integral categories...

Least Favourite Film

Paul: A Star Is Born 
I strongly suspect we will be pretty in sync on this one. For all its hype and polarising feedback, I think A Star Is Born is a hugely overrated mess. It seems so preoccupied with being fashionably rambling, driven by the characters’ emotions and with music utilised to its full extent to accentuate the drama, that it forgets to ensure that the plot builds up. Neither Ally’s ascension nor Jackson’s paralleling descent achieve the interdependent storyline that it should, the songs aren’t good enough and really it wasn’t worth the remake. I haven’t seen any of the previous interpretations but a quick trip into movie history can rectify that one.

Doug: A Star Is Born

Paul is right in this instance. A Star is Born was my least favourite by miles. One of my frequent cinema-going friends criticised my review for not getting into why I disliked it and I had a long think about it. I do think the script is lazy, the performances are fine but not excellent and apart from ‘Shallow’, I can’t remember any of the songs at all. But after really considering it, I think my biggest bugbear is that it doesn’t ever strike a real note. A scene where Gaga smashes up posters after a traumatic event felt like a writer lazily using the cliche of destruction to show grief, and actually in the moment felt false. Much of the film was filled with these unimaginative traditional choices that ended up making me not believe - or root for - any of the characters. Apparently none of the other ‘Star Is Born’ films were particularly good either, so it may be that the story itself is just a bit dull. 

Favourite Male Performance 

Paul: Mahershala Ali for Green Book 

This was one of those performances where the actor gets to grips with an extremely vivid character and transforms. Ali may well be a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actor (again - he has already won for Moonlight) because he moves effortlessly between Don Shirley’s vulnerability, his cultivated dignity, and his bad habit of snobbishness, without losing grip on his character. Green Book is a lovely film, and if Viggo Mortensen wins Best Actor then I will also be pleased, but it was Ali who made it for me. Rami Malek and Christian Bale deserve shout-outs too, as does the cruelly-unrecognised Nicholas Hoult in The Favourite.

Doug: Christian Bale for Vice 

I don’t actually warm to Bale the actor as he always picks flashy roles in which he gets to showboat. The whole thing feels a bit arrogant and self-obsessed. However, annoyingly I can’t fault him here because it may be flashy, but it’s also superb. It’s a fully realised character rather than an impersonation, and there’s certain moments where Bale hunches over, showing us Dick Cheney, but slumped and toad-like, always watching before making any move. In the somewhat too fast-paced film, Bale finds real moments of stillness and utilises them to his benefit. Also shout outs to Mahershala Ali (Green Book), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther). 

Favourite Female Performance

Paul: Olivia Coleman for The Favourite

I mean, who else is it gonna be? Colman is a UK National Treasure, ready to replace Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Angela Lansbury when they finally pop their clogs. Here, she proves that she has spectacular comic timing, can transform into the character completely, and evoke the complexities of Queen Anne through body language and expression. It’s certainly time for her to gain the international recognition she deserves, although she may struggle when up against Glenn Close and Melissa McCarthy, both of which are strong contenders for Best Actress. Her co-stars, Weisz and Stone, are also excellent, as is Yalitza Aparicio in Roma (also nominated for Best Actress).

Doug: Melissa McCarthy for Can You Ever Forgive Me?

If this question were ‘who do you want to win’, then it’d be Olivia Colman hands down. She deserves this award, and the narrative of an actor slugging away for years, taking minor comedy roles in British television, and slowly rising to become known as one of the country’s greatest dramatic talents is glorious. An Oscar would just crown it. However. My favourite performance by an actress this year is just stolen by Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me? It’s a towering performance, particularly so because of McCarthy’s utter restraint throughout. She allows us to read into her mindset, rather than showing us. She doesn’t apologise for her wrong actions, and yet imbues the character with enough warmth that we still are interested in what happens to her. Interestingly this year has been so strong with female performances - Glenn Close, Yalitza Aparicio, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone and Danai Gurira all gave great turns, especially the latter who dominates Black Panther as the warrior Okoye. 

Our Choice for Best Film 

Paul: The Favourite 

Again, who else was it gonna be? This is a pretty mediocre year for Best Picture nominees. The Academy can nominate up to a maximum of 10 films for Best Picture, and I don’t quite understand why they didn’t utilise the other two slots for films such as The Wife, Can You Ever Forgive Me? or If Beale Street Could Talk just to lend some variety. The list in general makes me think “meh”. But rant over, I would certainly vote for The Favourite. It has the perfect combination of humour, tension and tragedy to keep anyone entertained, and boasts a stunning trio of performances from the three leading ladies. At least one of them has to win an acting Oscar surely?! Don’t treat it as absolute historical fact, but rather as an insight into ambition, manipulation, loneliness and the ridiculousness of aristocratic life - but told from the female perspective instead.

Doug: The Favourite

It’s innovative, fresh, dynamic and a host of other buzzwords said by dreadful agency-types in Farringdon. Really this should be going to If Beale Street Could Talk because that’s the best film I’ve seen in ages, but the Academy weirdly didn’t even notice it. The Favourite features three fabulous performances by great women, an excellent blend of sharp comedy, historical detail and gorgeous sets (thanks Hampton Court Palace), and rampant lesbianism. Good work all round. 

But...who do we think will actually win? 

Paul: Roma 

A tricky one. I’m ruling out The Favourite because I suspect that the showier, grander pieces may win it. Having said that, this decade has displayed a trend towards films which may deal with big themes but in a more artistic and technically innovative way, with The Artist, Argo, Birdman and Moonlight being prime examples. These films were all the underdogs of their respective years, and certainly not the biggest budgeted pieces. For this reason, I think Roma may well do it. It tackles it’s topics full on with heart and fearlessness; it is visually beautiful and artistically unique, which is very popular right now; and it displays Mexican life which could be one in the eye for the Trump administration. It is not my favourite of the nominees, mostly because I know it won’t appeal to everyone due to its slowness and quiet nature, but I think I’m in a slight minority here. Let’s see what goes down on the night!

Doug: A Star Is Born / Roma 

Much as I hate to say it, A Star Is Born could take this. They’ve been working the publicity machine, Gaga has a troop of devoted followers, and there’s a host of new forgettable pop songs to be blared out at Heaven at 2am. However, none of the previous A Star Is Born films have won, so we must hope that Hollywood has enough taste to skim over this. If this is the case, I agree with Paul that Roma is a strong possibility. It’s artistic, a labour of love from director Alfonso Cuaron, and hits a lot of political buttons. Not to mention, it’d be the first Best Picture winner to not be in English, and I think with all the outcry about diversity issues, it’d sit well with the Academy to finally break this barrier. 

2019 Oscars 3: Vice & A Star Is Born

Once again the Oscars are in town, and so we're pausing our film project to deliver our thoughts on this year's nominees for Best Picture. In this final week we tackle an unconventional biopic of Dick Cheney and the Gaga/Bradley Cooper fourth version of A Star Is Born. 

Vice plot intro

Dick Cheney (Christian Bale) along with his wife Lynne (Amy Adams) gain much power, and use it for Controversial Reasons.

Doug says...

Ooh this is an interesting one. It’s not actually very good but it has flashes of real brilliance. I don’t know therefore what my overall feeling about it is. The first half showing Dick Cheney’s rise to power isn’t that interesting, and the film really picks up in the second half when it starts dealing with the subject that director Adam McKay is actually interested in: Iraq. It presents a very solid argument for the invasion and occupation of Iraq actually having nothing to do with 9/11 whatsoever, and it leaves you darkly wondering. 

This film is really interesting though for its more meta moments. In one scene Cheney and his wife Lynne speak in Shakespearean couplets, plotting their future. In another, Cheney turns directly to camera and delivers a monologue. It feels like McKay has read or seen Joan Littlewood (Oh! What A Lovely War! etc)’s work, because moments like the scene in which a waiter reads Cheney and his friends the menu - only the options are how to bend laws to torture and detain - are utter genius. It’s cold, clever and cinematic. Littlewood would be proud. 

Overall it’s messy, and McKay shoves in weird frantic montages of clips that are sporadic in how well they hit home. Adams is woefully underused, and Bale (much as I dislike his arrogant style of acting) is brilliant; delivering emotionless epithets with a toad-like disposition. Not a great film, but some great flashes of how cinema can go beyond the naturalistic. Also fun to see Steve Carell playing Brick from Anchorman, but as a politician. 

Mark: 4/10

Paul says...

Political biopics don’t come much more unconventional than this. Cheney’s rise to power is told through jumps back and forth in time so quick you don’t see them coming; clever touches of meta-theatre to illuminate the comedic element of some of these events; and montages of seemingly unconnected but deeply symbolic images.

Bale drives the film and completely transforms physically and otherwise. I think he’s a shoo-in for Best Actor for two reasons. Firstly, he shows his ultimate versatility by playing someone decades older and considerably more overweight than he. Secondly, as Gary Oldman proved last year, the Oscars formula tends to go: expensive prosthetics + passable imitation = ALL THE AWARDS! I’m also glad that Amy Adams has a nomination too. I’m a huge fan of her work and here she plays the stalwart Republican wife with surprising sympathy for someone with quite snobbish views.

All in all, this is an interesting film, providing insight into, and, quite frankly, a full-blown attack upon the Bush administration and its polarising invasion of Iraq. But the aforementioned use of montages, cutaways, and meta-scenes become so frequent that they become cumbersome, and render the film fragmentary, chaotic and often confusing. I get that this is Adam McKay’s style, but such things have been done with much better effect in The Social Network and, as Doug has mentioned, Oh! What A Lovely War.

Mark: 5/10

A Star Is Born plot intro

Alcoholic international rock star Jackson (Bradley Cooper) falls in love with wannabe singer-songwriter Ally (Lady Gaga) and they sing and argue a lot.

Doug says...

This was utter codswallop. The songs aren’t particularly noticeable, Gaga and Cooper deliver purely serviceable performances that never reach excellence. The plot is hackneyed and the ending cliched. I am shocked that this got nominated while If Beale Street Could Talk didn’t get a look in. I spent most of my time waiting for it to finish, and when it did, I felt the same dissatisfaction as I did at the end of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 4. Vapid, dull and self-important. 

Don’t watch this. Instead go see If Beale Street Could Talk. This is a beautifully delivered film with moments of comedy, tragedy and the reality of being a non-white person in the world. The story of Tish and Fonny is told with empathy and love, and director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) shows the moments of elation, such as when they house-hunt together, directly contrasted against the moments of menace - particularly any involving the terrifying rat-like Officer Bell. Every shot of this film is a masterpiece, while the two leads deserve (and did not receive) nominations for their roles. Why the hell this film has been overlooked by the Academy is beyond me. It should have been nominated - and it should have won. 

Regarding Star is Born - our friend Luke reviewed this (you can watch it here) and received hate for his fair (and in my opinion: generous) appraisal of Gaga. One wonders if the Academy too fear the twitter onslaught from Little Monsters blinded to what excellence actually is by their subservient love for Gaga. Yes she’s a wonderful singer. But KiKi Layne or Olivia Colman, she is not. No. 

Mark: 1/10 

Paul says...

I’ve heard such polarising views of A Star Is Born, ranging from people sobbing at the end through to utter disdain, that I’ve been looking forward to seeing what I think of it. I must admit I fall into the latter category- though not to the same extent as Doug, perhaps.

Cooper and Gaga are fine if not Oscar-worthy. There are glimmers of excellence, such as Cooper’s emotional scenes in rehab making amends for his alcohol-charged misdeeds, and a lovely performance of 'La Vie En Rose' by Gaga at the beginning. 

But the huge, HUGE problem with this film is that, in terms of story-telling, it’s atrocious. Ally’s sky-rocketing career moves from singing in front of a live audience, to recording her first album, to her face on a billboard, to winning a Grammy, but with absolutely no flow between these benchmarks. Like a badly-written soap opera, one moment she sings a song and the next, she’s famous and everyone loves her! Also, Jackson’s alcoholism jumps wildly from staggering around and being a bit embarrassing, to going to rehab, to suicidal notions, with no examination of what has driven him to addiction or the mental health issues intertwined with it. Everything happens with such suddenness with very forgettable dialogue scenes in between that it just meanders from dramatic scene to dramatic scene but with no moment to captivate its audience.

Even Gaga’s lovely singing couldn’t save it for me. The film needed much more focus, much more emphasis on plot and character development in between its most dramatic moments and, dare I say it, a more memorable soundtrack. 

Mark: 3/10

2019 Oscars 3: Green Book & Roma

Once again the Oscars are in town, and so we're pausing our film project to deliver our thoughts on this year's nominees for Best Picture. This week we tackle the story of an educated black musician touring the Deep South in the 1962: Green Book and director Alfonso Cuaron's elegy to his family's housekeeper: Roma. 

Green Book plot intro

It’s 1962. Italian-American bodyguard Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) is employed by black musician Dr Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) to drive him on a tour of the Southern states, and avoid trouble. Easier said than done…

Paul says...

This year’s hot topic is race relations, with BlacKkKlansman and Black Panther also tackling the issues faced by black people across history. For me, Green Book is the most successful at dissecting it. It particularly targets the hypocrisy of many white people in that they admire the talents of black people, but will quite happily avoid giving them a true helping hand. Don Shirley plays to sell-out performances of white people from Trump-heavy states such as South Carolina and Mississippi, and to great success. But whilst he is hailed as a “guest of honour” by these people, he is still not allowed to dine in the same restaurants or use the same toilets. 

It’s true that there is a certain predictability to this buddy-buddy road movie. Both men start off not seeing eye-to-eye and it is no spoiler to say that, due to an escalating series of events and adventures, they both learn new things about living a good life from each other. The plot doesn’t have the same unexpected twists and turns of last year’s Three Billboards or this year’s The Favourite. Nonetheless, the lessons they learn are food for thought, as the film dissects how one should go about making a stand against society’s abominable racism. Should we resort to battle like Tony claims, or maintain dignity and stoicism like Don? 

Green Book also boasts phenomenal performances from Mortensen and Ali, especially the latter who thoroughly deserves a second Best Supporting Actor award. It’s a great piece of character acting and he’s rapidly become an actor to look out for. This is a poignant, thoughtful and fascinating film, regardless of the controversies that have arisen around it.

Mark: 9/10

Doug says...

As Paul says, this is the third of this year’s films dealing with black oppression across history. I also agree that this is the strongest, thanks to its willingness to embrace humour as well as pathos and tragedy. Mahershala Ali does outstanding work as the educated, occasionally snooty Dr Don Shirley. It’s a performance that constantly surprises - for example in moments when he becomes angry, we see the careful elocution of his words slightly drop away, the sense that this is a man who has trained himself to be elegant, actively stepping away from hurtful stereotypes that abound. 

I particularly loved the motif of dinners and food throughout. Tony Lip (Mortensen in a hearty, invigorating performance) constantly munches throughout, including folding a pizza in half and taking a massive bite. We see them share food in the car, and then also see Shirley barely tolerated at dinner, where the hosts have ‘asked the help what Dr Don might like to eat’, and in another place flat out refused to be served. The film culminates neatly with Shirley welcome at (in fact enthusiastically entreated to join) Tony’s family dinner, Tony’s wife hugging Shirley in thanks for all he’s done for her husband. Food as a connection and sign of love is often used through culture and here it’s very successful. 

It’s warming, while not becoming chocolate box-y, and it avoids binary comparisons. A policeman in the backwards South tries to convince his colleagues not to be awful, while black workmen in the liberal North still garner suspicious looks. And it ends on a note of hope. The film has been critiqued for not being strictly adherent to the truth, but I’d counter with asking why we expect cinema to be akin to history textbooks. This is excellent storytelling, with wonderful performances.

Mark: 8/10 

Roma plot intro

A year in the life of an indigenous-Mexican housekeeper, Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) who cares for a family headed by heartbroken matriarch, Sofia (Marina de Tavira).

Paul says...

Here’s the “Phantom Thread” of the year, but unlike Phantom Thread this is a whole lot stronger. It’s filmed in a documentary manner, with the camera often sitting in the corner of the room panning back and forth at the events before us. This provides us with a fly-on-the-wall view of life in 1970s Mexico, which allows us to see the events transpire through small events and comments that occur out of the corner of our eye. 

This extremely artistic format doesn’t always work, as it detaches the audience from the action. Granted, this could be director Alfonso Cuaron’s intention (it’s based on his own upbringing in Mexico City), but I kept wishing for some more hard-hitting camera work when Cleo gives birth to a still-born, or is held at gun-point by her baby’s father who has become a revolutionary, or when she saves two of her employer’s children from drowning in the sea. This slow, ponderous and emotionally-detached tone may have the Academy reeling with excitement, but it may prevent the film from appealing to regular audiences.

Despite these misgivings from me, Roma is a frontrunner for winning Best Picture. This and The Favourite have the most nominations and if either Aparicio or Tavira were to win the acting awards they are nominated for, I would be very happy- they’re both outstandingly nuanced and real. Roma is beautifully shot, with some stunning cinematography. But it probably needed more indulgence in drama to give it universal appeal. I mean, there’s one bit where a man dressed as some kind of Mexican folklore monster sings in front of a forest fire. What the hell is that all about?!

Mark: 6/10

Doug says...

A slow-moving black and white film entirely in Spanish dialects with very little plot does not sound thrilling. And indeed Roma isn’t thrilling. But it is captivating. Alfonso Cuaron has made this as a labour of love: writing, directing, shooting and editing it himself. Yalitza Aparicio has never acted before, and yet underpins the entire film with a quiet, peaceful serenity. It’s an astonishing performance, and supporting her is Marina de Tavira as her employer, in a brittle and beautifully observed turn. 

I love this film for its jigsaw feel. We see fragments of their lives and put it together to realise what’s happening. The husband is cheating and eventually an abandoner. We see Cleo’s understated passion for an (eventually worthless) man. We realise quite how loved and central Cleo is to the whole family. I thought at first it would be a hard tale of how abused she was - but really we see that she is integral, and loved. Sofia drives Cleo to the hospital; Sofia’s mother takes Cleo shopping for baby furniture. The children flock around her, pulling her into their lives, their arms around her neck as they all watch television. We see she works hard, but we also see the value she brings, and their appreciation of her. 

Film wise, this is gorgeously shot. A scene where Sofia, drunk, drives the too-big car into the garage, crashing it against walls is hilarious and also somehow meaningful. It’s filled with symbolism - aeroplanes constantly fly overhead, simultaneously symbols of freedom and also the other worlds that Cleo will probably never visit. We see the Corpus Christi Massacre shot through a shop window in a panning, devastating take. And it leaves one with a melancholy feel, as if this world is a by-gone one we could have known. For Cuaron, of course, it is - and everything he does here makes the viewer feel that it is somehow our history too, filling us with a sense of longing for a past we never had. 

Mark: 10/10 

2019 Oscars 2: Bohemian Rhapsody & Black Panther

Once again the Oscars are in town, and so we're pausing our film project to deliver our thoughts on this year's nominees for Best Picture. This week we tackle the Queen biopic: Bohemian Rhapsody and the first Marvel with a predominantly black cast: Black Panther. 

Bohemian Rhapsody plot intro

Singer-song writer Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) teams up with three other musicians (Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello) to make music history. 

Doug says...

Bohemian Rhapsody is problematic to review because it’s highly imperfect. As has been pointed out by countless reviewers so far, it’s actually pretty irresponsible in its hasty attempt to ‘straight-wash’ Freddie Mercury. His forays into the gay scene are pretty much shown as all-round negative, while the writers chronologically moved his AIDS diagnosis to before LiveAid, to make that concert a sort of triumphant farewell. His long term partner is reduced to a short scene where he’s a waiter (he wasn’t a waiter) and a footnote at the end of the film. I get it, this isn’t great. 

But where it succeeds is that it brings to life - vividly - just how powerful and exciting Queen and Mercury were, and continue to be in the history of modern music. Scenes where ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ are constructed are powerful, mainly because we know just how good these tunes are. Rami Malek does a great job, showing the transformation from long haired dreamer to tank-topped icon; and those last twenty minutes as he recreates Live Aid are astonishing in their pure technicality. 

I was moved to tears at several points, but it wasn’t really because of the film, or the acting. It was because the music of Queen and the story of Freddie Mercury (the legend, I should say) are so gripping and important in himself. He has become a gay icon, glittering in the face of death. They underscore it well here, with songs like ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’ playing gently as Freddie receives the diagnosis. A decent film that succeeds mainly by reminding us how utterly wonderful its subjects were and their work continues to be. For a real tribute though, you want to see We Will Rock You on stage. I dare you to listen to their performance of ‘Only The Good Die Young’ and not bawl your eyes out. 

Mark: 5/10 (but for Freddie Mercury a solid 15/10, always. Love you Freddie).

Paul says...

The fundamental problem with Bohemian Rhapsody is that it tries to squeeze an interesting story about relatively uninteresting things. Freddie Mercury aside, the remaining members of Queen are three very ordinary blokes with great talent and good ears for progressive music. They met, they played together, wrote some music, got a record deal, and it was a massive hit with audiences from the mid-'70s onwards, and their career trajectory remained high right up until Mercury’s untimely end. So in terms of movie biopics, Queen’s rise to fame is hardly comparable to Gandhi’s struggle with the British Empire and therefore I question it’s worth as a Best Picture winner or even as a nominee. My cynical side thinks that the Academy felt it needed more LGBT representation in its nominees, but maybe I’m being too cruel.

However, it does benefit from a phenomenal performance from Rami Malek. He especially comes alive when he almost perfectly mirrors Mercury’s performing style. I don’t think he will win Best Actor (it looks like Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale are the frontrunners for that). Nonetheless, personally I think the film should have been all about him, with much less time being given to the early days of Queen or to May, Taylor and Deacon. If the film had focussed on his later years and his issues with his sexuality and his health, it could have been more hard-hitting, more interesting and more controversial (in a positive way). 

I’m not too bothered by the lapses in historical accuracy. I quite liked the use of Live Aid as a framing device and climax to the film. It emphasises just how magnificent Queen were to see live and how they effortlessly dominated the concert. It’s a real shame that my generation will never be able to see the complete foursome doing a comeback tour. So all in all, whilst I’m surprised by the academy’s selection of this film for the Best Picture race, it’s at least well-acted, enthusiastic and utilises and celebrates Queen’s music and influence in a way that will make you proud of British music.

Mark: 6/10

Black Panther plot intro

Newly-crowned king of the hidden African nation of Wakanda, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) finds his reign threatened by an evil family member (Michael B. Jordan), a terrorist (Andy Serkis) and an untrustworthy ally (Daniel Kaluuya).

Doug says...

Doug + Superhero Films = Snoozetime. I don’t like ‘em. I never got into comics, I don’t like the deference to ‘masculinity’ and the women are often shoved into tiny male-gaze-pleasing outfits. Apart from the Nolan Batman Films, I’ve never got through one. So I think we know my opinion of Black Panther. 

Wrong! I loved it! It’s a great, gripping story that is literally INUNDATED with the strongest female characters I’ve seen in a film for ages. This film belongs entirely to Danai Gurira who plays the head of the all-female special forces, Okoye. Her comic timing is flawless, her power unquestioned, and at no point do we get a backstory showing her weakening or explaining why people are okay with her power. They just are. She’s just great. I could write an essay about how Okoye is the character we need to see replicated across so many genres. She’s necessary. 

The plot is fun, I liked Wakanda and director Ryan Coogler is giving the people what they want with a multitude of topless scenes for both Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan. There’s even a car chase scene which I (unusually) enjoyed for the great blend of comedy, thrills and drama. I don’t necessarily know that it belongs in the ‘Best Film’ category but I found it a lot more enjoyable than many other Oscar nominees. Weird to see Martin Freeman doing an American accent too. 

Mark: 7/10 

Paul says...

A superhero movie being nominated for Best Picture is quite something. Since the proposed “Popular Film” category has been postponed, it’s good to see a film that is genuinely popular among audiences, with no attempts at esotericism, as opposed to the long string of historical dramas, and talky political studies. 

Like all good superhero movies, Black Panther maintains a sense of fun, especially during a very creative car chase sequence in which Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong’o get to show off their comic timing as well as their stage fighting skills. Visually it’s stunning, and I loved the idea of a futuristic African nation being hidden from the smug eyes of the West. It also touches on issues that black-oriented movies usually study such as poverty, gang violence, racism and political corruption, without becoming portentous or losing its focus on contributing to the Marvel universe. 

But for me it’s the weakest of the nominees we’ve seen so far. I think because, like most superhero films, the plot is absolute nonsense. Why does the late King’s brother betray his nation anyway? Why does Daniel Kaluuya’s character turn on our hero? Why is one of the Wakanda tribes so hostile to everyone else? And why do they suddenly change sides? And what on earth is the point in Martin Freeman’s character?! None of these questions are really answered, but these events happen because, well, it’s an action film and we need these essential dramatic ingredients. With the politics of Wakanda and the characters being so simplistic, the film ran out of steam in the second hour. The death of the character who is set up as the main antagonist only to be replaced by another is meant to be a bit of twist, but it lacked dramatic oomph. And the final battle scene felt a bit limp, especially when compared to the emotional turmoil of the final battles in The Lord of the Rings or The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

But Black Panther still scores a few points thanks to its well-drawn female characters, its unexpected glimpses of humour, and the fact that its important to see more films like this where non-white actors are unquestionably fulfilling the roles that white actors have dominated for decades.

Mark: 4/10