Don't Believe the Hype

Rating: 4/10 (16 February 2018)

After the excellent.....and hilarious.....Thor 3, I was rather looking forward to this. Positive reviews had also whetted the appetite. Perhaps it was the expectation that undermined the enjoyment?
The genre is a little hard to quantify, but it reminded a lot of Wonder Woman. Except, instead of the WW2 setting, we had a kind of Bond-style thriller instead, complete with ridiculous gadgets and under-developed baddies.
The film looks great (some dodgy CGI aside) - I liked the armour, weaponry and cultural aesthetics. I also felt a lot of the performances were quite compelling. Unfortunately, it is all rather dull. And doesn't feature anything we haven't seen before.
What is most disappointing, is that it doesn't seem to tie into the Marvel continuity at all (apart from the unremarkable Everett Ross, who appeared from nowhere in Civil War and is a poor attempt to replace Agent Coulson). Like Wonder Woman, this is simply a "Black Panther tale" and you can take it or leave it when embarking on your next Marvel marathon.
I also found the advanced technology to be completely over the top. Weapons and armour, I can understand. Miracle healing and Panther suits concealed within necklace teeth is VERY hard to swallow indeed. Vibranium was an indestructible Alien metal that could absorb sound. Fair enough. Great material for weapons and armour. But spaceships and miracle healing? Really? Couldn't we have toned it down just a little?
I was bored. My friend was bored. After his wonderful debut in Civil War, this was a bit of a wasted opportunity.