After the disastrous Thor: Love and Thunder, an MCU outing so terrible that I've never been able to pen even a decent review for it, this movie was needed as something of a palate-cleanser; there was just no way that it could sink any lower. Low expectations can be a blessing at times. There was a lot of hype surrounding the original Black Panther, some of which it didn't exactly fulfill; being an MCU movie, it fell into the trope of having the Super hero fight an exactly similar super villain, and it also killed off good protagonists who perhaps had more to add to the future of the MCU.
In an case, this movie starts off as a dirge. It is, after all, the first chance that we get to address the passing of Chadwick Boseman on film since his untimely passing. They address this at the start of the movie, and in a very realistic way, the passing of King T'challa hits us like a sledgehammer (an exact replication of the true life event). This movie gives us a chance to grieve in a most colourful celebration only the likes of which Wakanda could provide. With the passing of the King and the vacancy of the Black Panther mantle (thanks to Killmonger's antics from the last film), the world powers continue to antagonize Wakanda sensing that the nation is at its weakest. It is in fact a facet of this antagonism that sets in motion events that reveal to us Namor the Submariner, and his Kingdom of Talokan.
This movie definitely marks a return to form for the MCU. With the new additions of movies and characters that have made their way into the MCU recently, a lot of the recent stories have emphasized the cosmic otherworldly portions of the MCU, and it can become rather easy to get lost in the mix. Here we have a more grounded story, which at its heart is centred on dealing with grief and embracing loss. Angela Bassett steals every scene as the strong Queen Ramonda who has faced more than her fair share of loss, and finds herself having to steer Wakanda's affairs yet again as its leader. She also has to deal with a despondent Shuri (Letitia Wright) who despite probably being the smartest person in the MCU, is unable to reconcile the mixed bag of emotions she's experiencing, tradition and the spirituality that she's grown up with her whole life.
Thrown into the mix to stir things up even more is Namor (Tenoch Huerta), an imposing figure who rues the antics of the colonizer that he has witnessed in a storied life. While the Wakandans chose to reveal themselves to the rest of the world in the last installment (and even played a part in saving the world from Thanos in both Avengers' wars), Namor craves secrecy for himself and his people. He views the rest of the world as an impediment that might eventually bring war to his doorstep, and he is not averse to waging an preemptive strike to quash any such issues. His mythos is really well done (changes from "Atlantis" and all), and well established. He is a complex villain, but this is well balanced with the fact that the world powers are pretty much established to be just another set of villains sitting at the same table, jockeying for position. His love for his people is unquestionable, it's just that his methods are unsavoury. He marks a new start for the MCU as they finally give us Marvel's roster of mutants.
I really enjoyed this movie. It was tight-knit and cohesive, and never once did my attention wonder. Character favourites like Okoye (Danai Gurira) and M'Baku (Winston Duke) are a joy to watch whenever they're on screen; despite their slightly reduced screen time, they manage to provide both moments of levity and gravitas; and the "colonizer" aka Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) has his story interwoven herein too in a very sensible way, and binds him further to the Kingdom and story of Wakanda. The MCU chose this moment to introduce IronHeart aka Riri Williams, another genius in the vein of Tony Stark. I don't believe she got much love in the comics, but this MCU portrayal might be a chance to update that (just like the Spiderverse did so well for Miles Morales).
Everything fits so well in the story, and it was a joy to watch. I am sad that we lost Chadwick Boseman, and the story had to pivot so much to embrace that. The war between T'challa and Namor is legendary in the comic books, and I think we lost an opportunity to see that fully brought onto the screen; but I have to admit that despite many constraints, this movie made a wonderful soft landing. All thanks to Ryan Coogler and a wonderful cast for a job well done.
This gem came to me by way of the YouTube algorithm. I have listened to John Coltrane on occasion, and I must admit that "A Love Supreme" is a masterclass in concocting a magnus opus; however, on this occasion, one video recommendation kept on popping up for me: "How Coltrane Broke My Favorite Things" by Polyphonic. It was a mostly technical video that outlined the composition of Rodgers and Hammerstein's song My Favorite Things,which was written for The Sound of Music, initially a Broadway musical that went on to become a famous movie. I must guiltily admit that I have never watched The Sound of Music (Rest in Peace to Christopher Plummer)...but I got to learn about this particular piece of music. Having never really listened to the song before, I must admit that it was erroneous of me to to be first introduced to the song in this way because I didn't initially hear the original whose runtime is under 3 minutes; imagine how much less I got to hear of Coltrane's rendition which almost clocks in at a staggering 14 minutes!
I did learn a few things though! Being of a melancholic persuasion, I do tend to prefer songs written in darker more solemn tones. I came to find out in my layman kind of way that those are Minor chords; and the joyous, more triumphant tones...those were the Major chords. My Favorite Things had an interesting mix of both major and minor chords that definitely appealed to Coltrane, and thus he translated his version into modal jazz. By the end of the video it was amazing that I knew more about the technicality of the song than I did about the actual song itself; therefore, I had no choice but to actually sit down and listen.
Coltrane's version just grabs you from the start: I initially thought that they were using some sort of reverb effect on the intro, till I watched other live videos on YouTube and found out that it was all done with acoustic instruments. McCoy Tyner on piano plays question & answer by playing out 3 notes, then responding with another set of 3 notes; Steve Davis (Bass) mirrors Tyner, but he only plays one note and sustains it for every 3 that are played on the piano; and Elvin Jones (Drums), well he basically strikes the cymbal once for every 3 - 3 note couplet that Tyner plays. The interplay between piano and bass sets up a very distinct sort of resonance, and then we delve into this very infectious groove.
For the longest time, I was not able to place which specific song this rendition reminded me of; finally, I figured out that it reminded me of Dave Brubeck's Take Five. That infectious groove that permeates this song is what's known as a Vamp (a repetitious progression that sometimes plays as an intro to a solo or can be randomly played as a bookend of sorts; Take Five probably contains one of the most famous jazz vamps on the piano, and on a recent listen I noticed that that vamp basically spans the whole song.
It is Coltrane's tenor sax that actually comes in to remind us that this is actually My Favorite Things, playing the melody from the original composition. He guides us slowly into the mix, first playing the darker chords, lets us get a taste of that infectious vamp, starts off playing the darker chords, then segues into the brighter chords where he lingers for a bit, then takes us back to the dark chords. After this Coltrane takes a seat and McCoy Tyner steps up to take over the reins. I have listened to various Coltrane renditions of this song, and I must say that this studio recording has the best version of the piano solo. In some portions, it sounds so simplistic; Tyner lingers on some note runs like he's letting the tune air out just a bit, and uses this to bookend the more flairy parts of his solo. I was surprised how much he was able to convey by sometimes playing only one note repeatedly (3:42), and there were times when he just went wild (5:08) and I can only imagine the mish-mash his fingers are going through at that moment in time. I love that live versions of a song usually afford an artist a chance for further exploration and the ability to add more flair to a solo; but in this instance, this was the perfect piano solo.
This song is unique for the part that it affords the Bass and Drums. Elvin Jones and Steve Davis are playing a drone that is really only there to support the Piano and Sax. They just sit there providing a "floor" for this performance. This doesn't diminish their skill in the least; in fact, some of the most beautiful moments in this song happen when the Bass & Drums interplay with the Piano: Tyner slowly fades out the piano, and you become more aware of the aforementioned Bass & Drums "floor", then Jones and Davis also fade out to match Tyner.
Between the two of them, I think Tyner chose to play the more subdued solo so that Coltrane could have the more flourishy solo. Coltrane slowly unpacks his solo over the vamp, conservatively flowing over the minor chord section; he gets flashier when the major chords section comes in, and only really lets up as the song ends. His solo (more conservative than other of his renditions) can really only be appreciated by repeated listening. He has all the notes at his disposal, and he wants to let you see that he can use each and every one of them.
Granted there are many versions of My Favorite Things by a myriad of artists, but the other version that caught my attention is Brad Mehldau's Jazz a Vienne 2010 (*Note that he also has two other versions: Marciac, which is a wholly sweetly melancholic piece, anda Trio version which sounds very much vamped-up like Coltrane's studio version). Mehldau plays it with darkened abandon. On repeated listening, it sounds to me like he borrowed some inspiration from James Brown It's a Man's Man's Man's World or Alicia Key's Fallin'. Unlike Coltrane, he sticks close to the melody of the traditional recording, but he does one helluva job exploring and re-interpreting it. After a very beautiful 2 minute 6 second prelude, he settles down and delves into a classical music exploration, which is at times done in a very dissonant manner that I've noticed some people have said is off-putting. It does appear to be the maestro showing us his chops (which some people may say that Jazz artists do at the expense of sacrificing the enjoyment of their music to a general audience), but I must say that there is a method to the madness. He uses all that dissonance to set up a dramatic conflict which crescendos at the 6:00 - 6:50 mark in a stunning bridge section. After 6:50, he just flies off the hinges, and it actually sounds like it's 2 people playing the piece on the piano. I'm not sure if I have him timed right, but he could possibly be playing in the range of 350 bpm. For him to basically be freestyling, developing the motifs on the fly, and playing that fast is just insane. What's more impressive is that he's playing 2 different melodies simultaneously: one is set to a rapid-fire pace, and the second is slower, measured, only a fraction as fast, and acting as a counterpoint (sounds like the tolling of a bell). I only wish there was a live video so I could see what playing this really looked like. After all the excitement, he brings things full circle with the re-introduction of the sweet melody that started it all; he then slows things down and guides us home.
Really don't know how many times I've listened to both these pieces, but each time it brings me immeasurable joy. The Coltrane rendition, while being quite a long piece, is the more approachable of the two, the easy listen (in the vein of Take Five). Mehldau's rendition seems to meander a bit, at first being easily approachable, then seeming to lose its way; in my opinion, he actually enhances the song by having the "bitter" middle section break apart the "sweet"; the sweet never is quite as good without the sour. It might not be the easiest of listens, but it is well worth the patience.
Take a chance on listening to these two contrasting renditions. You won't be disappointed.
This is my first foray into anything MCU this whole year. I missed out on "Shang Chi" while it was in theaters, and I still haven't yet managed to watched the prolific "What if..." anthology yet. Anyway, I am glad to say that "No Way Home" reflects a return to form for this Spider-Man series. I had honestly had this series pegged as yet another "Iron Man" trilogy where it was just a case of diminishing returns with each returning installment. The underwhelming "Far From Home", which basically played like a bootleg "If Looks Could Kill", certainly filled me with a whole lot of doubt, but I'm glad that my doubts were eventually cast aside.
Far From Home starts off right where No Way Home ended: Mysterio, in a last ditch attempt at revenge, outs Spider-Man's secret identity, and now the whole world is suddenly aware that he's Peter Parker. Unlike the usual peril for his loved ones that tends to be occasioned by such a reveal in the comics, here it just proves to be an unbearable nuisance to those associated with Peter.
People familiar with the comics will be aware that the MCU has attempted to adapt the much maligned "One More Day" storyline for the big screen. In that outing, Peter in his ever self-sacrificing way makes a deal with the Devil (Mephisto) in order to save Aunt May's life. The MCU doesn't typically translate these storylines to screen verbatim, and in this case, Dr. Strange is used as a welcome substitute for Mephisto. Dr. Strange, appearing to be of a more mellow demeanour towards Peter since Infinity War (& Endgame), opts to help him out by basically making the world forget about the secret identity. The MCU's Spidey is still pretty much a child, so of course he tries to throw all kinds of caveats at Dr. Strange about people who should be unaffected by the "forgetting spell", and this ultimately messes the spell and throws his reality into disarray.
This is a return to form for Spider-Man; the "home" series has been lacking that Je ne sais quois of what we've come to expect from Spider-Man. This was basically spelled out in Captain America: Civil War where during our introduction to Peter, in his first talk with Tony Stark, he basically stumbled over the "With great power comes great responsibility" pitch. They then proceeded to basically write out Uncle Ben and handed over this surrogate parent role to Tony Stark. Spider-Man is a great hero because he's basically had to handle most of his adversity by himself, and the MCU basically knee-capped him by making him a Tony Stark fanboy. In Homecoming, he spends his time trying to earn Tony Stark's favour; in Far From Home, he finds himself living in Tony's shadow, and still ends up making the biggest rookie mistake. And why on earth are they referring to his Spidey sense as "the Peter tingle"? (Most annoying change ever!)
The great thing this time around is that there isn't a single mention of Tony Stark. Sure enough Stark-Tech is still involved in the MCU, but even the memorial murals that seemed to permeate Far From Home are gone now. After Peter makes his debacle, he goes about fixing it in the most adult pragmatic fashion possible with the best outcome for everyone involved. From the trailers, you'd know that the mechanics of this story involve "The Sinister Five" - Doc Ock, Sandman, Electro, Lizard, and Green Goblin - drawn in from their different corners of the Spiderverse, and ensuring good outcomes for this disparate group of villains poses a high stakes game that will take everything in Spidey's arsenal and more. A superhero is only as strong as his rogues gallery, and the foil against which he is compared. Alfred Molina's "Doc Ock" and Willem Defoe's "Green Goblin" are the standouts in this movie. Both of them are tragic figures born of intellectual hubris; where they differ is that "Doc Ock" is still fixated on his goals, whilst "Goblin" is psychotic and vengeful. These two provide the most poignant moments and it really is great to see them rehash their performances from the Raimi side of the Spiderverse.
The villain who really gets the biggest makeover is Jamie Foxx's "Electro". The all-rage-all-the-time demeanour of a fanboy turned villain from The Amazing Spiderman II was a rather poor take on the character; this time around he's played as a straightforward snide character with an unfortunate penchant for being literally power-hungry. He doesn't get too much time in the movie, but every bit of it is deeply redeeming.
I have to say that the most beautiful elements in this movie was the addition of Dr. Strange. His mysticism is such an eclectic bag that allows him to fit in well within any portion of the MCU; the addition of the trippy Inception-esque visuals also manages to seemlessly fit in to the story, and always enthrall. With the events that this story sets into motion, the MCU have done more than enough to whet our collective appetites for the Dr. Strange sequel that's due to come out later this year.
The story is very well written and fast-paced, and the action is top-notch. The only gripe I had with the movie is that Marvel can sometimes be indisciplined when it comes to lingering over their jokes. One time during the finale, it got so bad that it took me out of my suspension of disbelief. Shaving out a few minutes of this indiscipline could very well have given us a tighter story; other than that, there was a great deal of fan service draped out for all the fans on this outing. Truthfully, you can't please everyone, but I think you can achieve a fine balance that caters to the masses.
The trailers managed to keep most of the story under wraps, so I will end the review here, and save the rest for a "Spoiler" review; but suffice it to say, this is the strongest Spidey offering that the MCU has ever put together. This is the most mature presentation of Spider-Man thus far, and a delight to watch. Definitely gets an "A" grade from me.
