Widows (2018)

There’s a scene in Ratatouille where Linguine tries to improve a soup by adding every ingredient within reach.  Fortunately, he had Remy to help correct this mistake.  When I saw Widows, it seemed like the writers were adding all manner of plot elements.  The movie starts with a robbery gone bad.  There are two candidates for alderman of Chicago’s 18th Ward, both corrupt in their own way, one of which was the victim of said robbery.  He compels the widow of the lead robber to steal his money back, leading to a group of novices trying to do a job of their own.  Add to this plot elements like racism, religion, grief, sexism, betrayal and loss and the movie seems like it’s trying to do too much.

I later found out that the movie is based on a British miniseries.  I think a better cooking analogy might be a reduction.  It looks like the movie is trying to retain as many elements from the source material as it can without sacrificing the basic story.  There’s just enough of each side story to get the idea.

This is one of those movies where the trailers don’t quite do the full film justice.  That can be forgiven, as there are several plot twists.  (No, I’m not going to give them away.)  the basic story is about what you would expect.    Harry Rawlings is the leader of the pro heist crew.  After they pull in to their hideout, the police shoot up their van, killing all four people.

Jamal Manning pays a visit to Harry’s widow, Veronica.  Jamal was Harry’s victim.  It turns out that the cash went up in flames when the van was destroyed.  That money was supposed to finance his campaign for alderman.  Jamal gives Veronica one month to get back his $2,000,000.

Apparently, selling assets isn’t as simple as Jamal would make it out to be.  Instead, she recruits two of the other widows to help her carry out what would have been Harry’s last job.  They have plans, but aren’t really clear on key details, like where the actual vault is.  They do have the resources to find out, though.  If successful, they would be able to repay Jamal and keep about a million each.

Of course, nothing ever goes exactly according to plan.  Veronica is the only one with any motivation, considering she’s the only one Jamal seems to know about.  She does have the ability to give him the names of the other two widows, which serves as leverage.  However, one of the other widows isn‘t too bright and the other has other obligations to worry about.  Veronica doesn’t have a crack team at her disposal.

I’m kind of on the fence about this movie.  I came out of the theater entertained, but it’s not a movie that has any nice people in it.  Both candidates for alderman are not in it for the people, despite appearances.  Jamal is a preacher who is in the race for the money.  When his brother points out that the church makes more money, Jamal tells his brother about all of the kickbacks he could get handing out lucrative projects.  Jack Mulligan, the other candidate, is already doing just that.  He has a project that ostensibly empowers minority women, but takes a cut of their business in return.

There were so many side stories going on that it seemed like the movie was trying to do too much.  There’s one thread about Harry and Veronica losing their son, which seemed unnecessary.  I can see where it would have been better in the miniseries, as it could have been explored in depth.  Here, it felt like it only served to add tension, which could have been done in less-conspicuous ways.  I think for a lot of people, this is going to be a movie to watch at home.

IMDb page

Black Panther (2018)

Context matters.

It‘s true for art as well as people.  How a movie is interpreted depends on where it came from and who made it.  Also, what I bring to a theater will differ from what someone else brings to the theater.  I doubt that any two people will see Black Panther the same way.  (For instance, those that have studied history will probably pick up on certain aspects of the movie.)

There’s also the fact that there’s a majority-black cast.  As someone of European descent, I’m viewing the movie more as a comic-based action movie, which it does well.  However, it also has a hero who’s African.  It didn’t come off as an African hero movie to me.  It came across as a movie that used Africa and its culture as an effective backdrop to a great story.

Black Panther starts in 1992 with the then-king of Wakanda, T'Chaka, calling out his brother, N'Jobu, on assisting an arms dealer named Ulysses Klaue.  Cut to a small boy on a basketball court watching the king‘s ship leave.  In the present day, T’Chaka has died.  T’Chaka’s son, T'Challa, ascends to the throne after a ritual battle.  Meanwhile, Erik Stevens is helping Klaue steal vibranium.

Wakanda is a technologically advanced nation that uses vibranium as the basis for much of its technology.  It presents itself as a developing nation, keeping the technology hidden from the rest of the world.  Klaue is one of a few outsiders that know of the truth.  It was N’Jobu’s plan to share the technology to help oppressed people everywhere.  Klaue and Stevens have picked up the torch.

Well, Stevens moreso than Klaue.  Klaue is an arms dealer who intends to sell the vibranium.  He’s a rather happy guy for an arms dealer.  He really seems to enjoy his job.  Stevens tends to identify with those that were oppressed.  Like N’Jobu, he’d like to see Wakandan technology given to the underdogs.

This isn’t an easy call.  Wakanda has remained hidden for a reason.  To give out the technology would invite questions about where it came from.  There’s also the issue of the oppressed not stopping at mere freedom.  Our history is one of war and oppression.  Who’s to say that it wouldn’t completely reverse the dynamic rather than bring balance?

I do see the comparisons to the Bond movies.  You have a hero who gets great gadgets and cool transportation from a scientific advisor.  In this case, Q’s counterpart is T'Challa sister, Shuri.  She presents him with stealth shoes, communications devices and the suit you may have seen in the coming attractions.

I would say that the primary difference is that you don’t have the sexual innuendo and ironic names.  (Well, there is Killmonger, but I’m going to let that one go.)  I would say that if anything, this is what James Bond might have looked like if the movies were done with more of a serious tone.

For those who are new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movie doesn’t seem to rely too heavily on other movies.  There were a few scenes that made more sense after looking stuff up, but I was able to follow and enjoy the movie without much trouble.

IMDb page