(Let's all stop pretending it isn't incredibly fun to say the word 'Nom')
With the always-sorrowful end of the NFL season (Rest in Peace), we have entered a new season. And no, I'm talking about the AAF, though more football does interest me, of course.
It is Oscar season!
For me and my wife, it has been Oscar season for quite a while. We've completed our first run through all of the Best Picture nominated movies as a married couple (we're just missing Blackkklansman, but it looks like it finally hit Redbox, so we'll get that watched soon), and we're planning on making this a yearly tradition.
As I personally feared, this year's crop of nominees is mostly a group of movies people probably wouldn't normally watch if not for the nomination. How many more movies with an English setting can one person take? Why are we celebrating a fourth-edition remake about the beginning of a singer's career as an incredible film? Why do we keep treating lame indie movies better than they deserve? These are the tough questions my wife and I asked ourselves before deciding to venture on this quest.
You know what genre is not a repeat offender for Best Picture nominees?
Superhero movies!
Yes, I'll take any excuse to rewatch "Black Panther," one of the better entries to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film also has been nominated for Best Original Score and Best Original Song (it won't come close to winning either), Sound Editing and Sound Mixing (first of all, it's deserving of both nominations, but man, there's another movie that's better in both categories), Production Design, Costume Design, and Film Editing. It's an incredibly well-stitched, highly enjoyable movie that isn't just an "Oscar chaser." It should win multiple Oscar's, for sure.
But can it win the big one? Will it win Best Picture?
Of course not.
When a movie earns that many nominations, there's no reason not to give it a Best Picture nom, too. Frankly, it would be a pretty obvious slant against superhero movies if it wasn't nominated. And to speak candidly (no offense to anyone!), while I do think better inclusion/racial representation is the reason it did so well at the box office (At best, it would be at the bottom of my Top 10 Marvel movie list), those reasons are not why is deserves its Best Picture nomination.
The Academy was considering adding a new award category this year based on movie popularity, which, if you ask me, translates to a pity award. The Academy's thinking was probably something like "Hey, we don't take blockbuster movies that everyone in America clearly loves very seriously, but we'll go ahead and give Black Panther an award, anyway." I shouldn't mock the Academy, though, because they actually gave Black Panther recognition for what it is - an incredibly well-made movie. Just because it's a superhero movie doesn't mean it can't tell an evocative story or have incredible set pieces (not just green-screen effects) or hard-working music artists, costume designers, or writers.
Should Black Panther win Best Picture?
Me: I don't think it should, yet somehow I feel like this would be the most pleasant surprise. It's not like the acting was that awful (Michael B. Jordan was actually pretty compelling). And honestly, if there was ever a year for a superhero to steal the Best Picture award, it's this year. There aren't any clear favorites (okay, there's one, but only because it's called The Favourite), but having all the right pieces doesn't guarantee they come together to form the best singular picture.
The wife: No. I feel like this movie was only nominated for its popularity. Unlike my husband, I think they should make a category for audience favorite. "Black Panther" was a great movie, but it doesn't hit the same caliber of film expected from a Best Picture nominee, and it doesn't measure up with the movies it's competing against this year.
Do we recommend this movie?
Me: Absolutely. "Black Panther" is still an incredible film with a strong tone, fun (but predictable) story, and great visual effects. Plus, it's a Marvel movie!
The wife: Yes, absolutely. It was a well-made superhero movie that was entertaining. One of the best Marvel movies in my opinion.
The best parts of this movie?
Me: The tech, Michael B. Jordan's scene when he's fighting Black Panther, and the change in culture Black Panther implements when getting Wakanda to join the rest of the world (his press conference speech was awesome).
The wife: How they made Wakanda feel both third-world and highly technologically advanced at the same time; it was visually impressive to see Wakanda.
The worst part of this movie?
Me: The story was just meh, especially when factoring in the short-lived run of the Klaue character.
The wife: There wasn't anything truly bad I didn't like about it, though it was a bit predictable, especially with the "twist" of Black Panther not really dying or Killmongor eventually being defeated (it obviously was going to happen). Most superhero movies are predictable in that way; the villain always loses.