David Farnor | On 29, Jul 2017

“Whoever you work for, tell him: this was a Message from the King.”

That’s Chadwick Boseman displaying his fighting chops in Netflix’s new original film. Boseman is the flavour of the the year, as the world awaits Black Panther, the Marvel standalone adventure that will see the actor star in the MCU’s first black-led superhero movie. It’s been a long time coming, as has Chadwick’s rise to superstardom: he broke out onto the world stage with his performance as Jackie Robinson in 2013’s 42 before going on to cement his fame with the role of Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War.

Before he dons his comic book costume once again, though, Message from the King gives us a chance to see him in action. The revenge thriller, which is directed by Fabrice Du Welz and written by Stephen Cornwell and Oliver Butcher, follows a man on a relentless quest for revenge. The outsider from Cape Town infiltrates a sprawling network of lowlifes and elites in Los Angeles, after his younger sister is killed – and the City of Angels is full of violent portent and a sense of brewing conflict.

It also stars Luke Evans, last seen in Beauty and the Beast, Teresa Palmer, who, since her role in 2013’s Warm Bodies, has gone in to star in Lights Out and Hacksaw Ridge, and Natalie Martinez, whom film and TV fans will recognise from her turns in Under the Dome and End of Watch.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, before Netflix swooped in to snap up the exclusive rights to the movie. Now, as summer movie season continues at full speed, the streaming giant is releasing it to the world.

Message from the King premieres on Netflix worldwide on Friday 4th August. Read on or a trailer – or head this way to see what’s coming soon to Netflix UK in August.

 

 

Photo: TIFF

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