‘Black Panther’ gave us the best score of 2018

Marvel movie music sucks.

As a whole, the drab bombast exists as just another means of propping up the Iron Mans and Black Widows of the Cinematic Universe, dramatic enough to propel action sequences but anonymous enough to never distract from Tony Stark’s shiny “Hulkbuster” armor. (Look no further than Every Frame A Painting‘s viral takedown of MCU scores for some concrete analysis).

So color me surprised to say I haven’t stopped thinking about Black Panther‘s music since February. Composer Ludwig Göransson hasn’t just written the best score for any Marvel movie ever; he’s written the best film music of any movie this year.

As a film, Black Panther has a lot to say. The fictional kingdom of Wakanda and its new ruler, T’Challa, draw on questions of culture and legacy and conquest — all of which are complicated with the introduction of violent usurper Killmonger. And, mind you, this is one of those rare superhero joints where the baddie has a not-entirely-unreasonable perspective.

Ultimately, the biggest idea on director Ryan Coogler’s mind centers around how people can learn to honor the past while not repeating it. It’s why Coogler begins and ends with a Wakandan “bugatti” spaceship landing in the middle of the Oakland projects.

It’s also why Göransson’s music is genius. The longtime Coogler collaborator traveled to Senegal for a month to study its music, following, among other musicians, Baaba Maal and incorporating recorded selections into orchestral arrangements. In blending contemporary action scoring with traditional African music, Göransson textures Black Panther with culture and ingenuity; it’s about as symbolically “Wakandan” as you can get. Among the many standout examples:

Black Panther‘s opening sequence is tremendously efficient in introducing Wakanda’s tribal history and cutting-edge technology, and the narration hints at subsequent geopolitical stakes as a result. And all of it transpires under this babbling brook of talking drums:

One of the strongest elements in Göransson’s work is how his recurring themes rest somewhere in between triumph and tragedy. His introduction for T’Challa as the Black Panther announces the character’s importance while never championing his actions against a terroristic Nigerian caravan:

As for the introduction to Wakanda, Goransson recalls T’Challa’s triplet theme but not before using a ceremonial “outcall” that glides over the African countryside. The result is a majestic balance of the country’s fictional present and its traditional past:

My favorite theme serves as a familial one, first playing under T’Challa when he reunites with his father’s spirit in the Ancestral Place. The sequence features this figure prominently, with gorgeous strings playing in unison:

Goransson issues variations on this theme throughout the film, including a darker distillation for Killmonger, which serves as the exclamation point at the end of his raid on a British museum. Knowing the story behind his true identity, it’s as clever a bit of foreshadowing as it is an empathetic acknowledgement that this particular villain’s complex pain is neither nor foreign not unjustified:

The MCU’s primary objective is to make inoffensive content first and push ideas second (or even third). Because of that low bar, Marvel’s successes are graded on a curve. But Black Panther is a rare exception, a cinematic miracle for any number of reasons, from its positioning of actors of color to its massive box office take. Its music is essential in understanding its success, introducing a fictional world while paying respect to a real one.

Infinity Worn II

THOR: This is my friend, tree.

GROOT: I am Groot.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: I am Steve Rogers.

 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe knows its characters.

Two-and-some-odd hours of Infinity War taught me that. Dr. Strange calling Tony Stark a “douchebag.” Sticking a de-Hulked Bruce Banner in the Hulk Buster suit. Peter Parker thinking Aliens is an old movie. This exchange:

There’s so much in just those three lines that summarizes what those heroes are all about. Typically, calling a film “fun” is up there with a food critic deeming an item “zesty.” But the MCU has fun with its super-powered players, to the greatest extent in the newest Avengers installment.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe does not know villains. Loki and Killmonger are almost a decade apart from their respective introductions. Between them lies a ravine of forgettable moguls, elves, frenemies, and aliens. Broadly, Thanos is a mixture of the last two. The Mad Titan also feels, and Infinity War wants you to know that. His goal, to eradicate exactly half of all life in the universe, weighs heavily on him. It’s not just something one can snap their fingers and do. Well, technically it is. But it’s an important snap.

Thanos is both the most and least predictably parts of the Avengers. He never hesitates to let us know he has a conscience, and yet none of his choices reflect that. He’s not immortal, but when you can manipulate time, space, and life itself, what’s the difference? (Thanos using the Time Stone at a specific moment makes for a fascinating recall of Funny Games for the superhero movie generation.) He’s — at the very least — interesting to think about, like an egalitarian Apocalypse.

In some respects, Infinity War is better than the first Avengers. Your mileage on these films depends on what you want out of them, and The Avengers gets its fun out of building up the team. The climax is that awesome shot of all of them in a circle, ready to kick butt and save NYC. It’s an iconic moment, and it’s basically the entire movie. Superhero stories are defined by an air of inevitability. The heroes will ultimately save the day. Always. Thor isn’t going to die at the hands of some anonymous Chitauri. Agent Coulson might. But he’ll come back for the spin-off. That’s how companies keep stories on the racks. That’s how we sell ad space.

Infinity War‘s fun comes from having those fully fleshed out characters interact. The destination, with all due respect to the aphorism, is more important than the journey here. Tony Stark knows who Tony Stark is, and now we know who Tony Stark is. But what would happen if he ran into a snarky space pirate angel? Infinity War isn’t about anything. It’s a blockbuster opportunity for fantasy booking. In that regard, it’s a qualified success. (Score’s pretty good, too.)

Unsorted observations, because it’s Monday:

• A PTSD-induced Banner gets the thankless, hilarious role of awkwardly reintroducing himself for the first half. The Hulk hid in plain sight with the first Avengers; here, he limps into things.
• I ask this as someone who has never cared about any romantic relationship these movies have (failed to) set up: Is Pepper Potts ever going to leave Tony? It feels exploitative at this point.
• The Guardians of the Galaxy meeting the Avengers is everything, like placing an ad for light beer next to one for the premium draft.
• I’ve heard a number of podcasts call out that Peter Quill was “done dirty” here. I don’t agree. He’s already petty in the Guardians films, it only makes sense that the chip on his shoulder would get bigger in the presence of other confident, snarky, bearded heroes.
• Peter Quill (almost) killing Gamora is a compelling echo of what Space Kurt Russell did to his mother. Also exploitative.
• Red Skull (via a fantastic impression by Ross Marquand) guarding the Soul Stone is a great spin on Charon ferrying souls through Hades.
• Conversely, repositioning Gamora as “the Daughter of Thanos” is more of a retcon than dramatic leverage. Her fate feels hollow. And exploitative. Man, these movies are not good with women huh? Maybe Captain Marvel will be good.
• Big Peter Dinklage feels too cute by half.
• Any time we go to hordes charging at other hordes, this thing loses steam — and at a cost to that setting. Between Black Panther and Infinity War, Wakanda goes from feeling essential to incidental.

Infinity Worn

I haven’t seen Avengers: Infinity War yet, but the FOMO is strong. So strong that — in spite of my sisyphean attempt to avoid spoiling plot twists, deaths or any of the 37 post-credits scenes — I indulged in David Ehrlich’s running diary of the 31-hour Marvel Movie Marathon.

If you’re a fan of his work (and you should be), you’ll already know that it’s hilarious writing. I wanted to draw attention to one of his more pointed observations about the MCU aesthetic, though:

8:18am: Dreaming up a supercut of moments in the MCU when there’s no music playing — it’d be about 25 seconds long. I’ve been trying to put my finger on the sameness of these films, how such a grab-bag of candy can taste like the dominant flavor, and the wall-to-wall scoring is a major factor. The movies were always going to blur together by this point of the marathon, but our current fugue state is enhanced by the sense that we’ve been listening to one long, sustained note since we got here.

This.

As much as I want to credit the crummy approach to action, the bland sounds of the MCU feel like a dark horse of suckitude here. Sure, there are standouts. Silvestri’s Avengers theme is just a subtler version of the music for the NFL on CBS. Thor: Ragnarok sounds like a party, and Black Panther has ingenuity that’s novel for the entire sub-genre, let alone for one studio.

But there’s a pervasive formula to scoring most Marvel movies, with the studio’s go-to composers recycling the same plug-and-play approaches. Heroes and villains get their own themes. Those themes get shuffled into an hour’s worth of dourness and effervescence. Those themes get shuffled into some EPIC fight music. Wash, rinse, repeat and then sit back as the three film music outlets out there have fun playing Find the Motive. Guardians looked novel when it decided to add music that already gets overplayed on classic rock stations. Up until now, I thought Tyler Bates and Brian Tyler were the same person. Yikes.

Anyway, you can read the whole thing at IndieWire.

David Ehrlich is the best

My favorite film critic turned an awful idea into a great one: raising money for Everytown for Gun Safety by slogging through a 31-hour Marvel Movie Marathon.

having said that, the two things i’ve been most outspoken against in my time as a film critic are the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and gun violence. it goes without saying that one is a much greater threat than the other, but both have become ubiquitous in recent years, both are distinctly American phenomena, and both would be extremely confusing for the Founding Fathers.

You can contribute to stopping either threat here.