Much potential, good-enough execution. (Watch movie first).

Rating: 9/10 (17 February 2018)

I rate Black Panther a solid 9. This is by far the most beautiful movie in Marvel, and the most original. This movie gives you a taste of "The Lion King", "Avatar", and some black nationalism. When one hears these three combined, you think "wow!" or "how?". You can tell the planned idea was genius, but the execution could have gone much better. Now I know you've read many reviews about how good this movie is; so my focus on this review is on how this movie had a larger potential, perhaps to be the best movie of the year.
If I was the director and saw the finished product, the evaluation phase, I would immediately contact a film scorer (someone like Han Zimmer), and ask him for some intense music. The Black Panther/King of Wakanda theme was good, the feel for Wakanda's new world was pleasant; however, the most essential, emotional moments were wasted without a doubt. A scene with a script and CGI is a nice square, but a film score brings volume; it creates a cube. If you remember the final Battle in "Avatar", you remember the intense music during the final battle. I need that for the final battle between Wakanda & Wakanda. Or if that sets the bar too high, at least add some of the trippy music from the trailer. Or "La Tentation De Simba" vibes from "The Lion King". I need some suspenseful music, I need a feeling of the end of relationships and the end of Wakanda. This battle was great, but a great background tone would have made it phenomenal. And not just the final battle, some "Dark Knight" notes for the interrogation scene perhaps. A huge improvement would've been a father-son relationship theme. Something like Mufasa's theme from "The Lion King". The one-on-one challenge fight between the Killmonger and Black Panther should have had a fast-paced score. How about when Black Panther was thrown off the river? Or when he came back to life? Now that is a lot of music for one movie; however, I did say this review is solely to explain Black Panther's potential. A script is the base of the tower, acting and CGI are the construction, music piles up height. Most, not all, scenes in this film should've had something playing externally, because music can fill in emotions actors simply can't.. Those are some ideas to what could've been Black Panther's film score.
Now a problem, believe it or not, that I found was Chadwick Boseman. The star of the show had some questionable acting scenes. My first issue is his acting performance as the son of the King, he really didn't express himself well. Me being a son of a father, realize that father-son relationships affect someone. And he really didn't express emotion towards it. There were many scenes with emotion: hype and action, death, betrayal, anxiety, stress, intellectual, etc. Chadwick Boseman almost felt like he either laughed with his sister, or he had a straight-serious face; in other words, he didn't express much emotion. Now I will give him credit for acting well on the scene where he found out his dad killed his uncle, and when Forrest Whitaker (I couldn't find his character's name) died. But for the rest of the movie I was just finding myself not caring for Black Panther's character, I didn't care for the main hero, the protagonist of the movie. I also have one more comment for Chadwick Boseman, he should've gotten ripped. I need him to look like Captain America in the movie. In his initiation as a king, I was pretty surprised the Black Panther had no calves, he seemed wimpy for a superhero. So if you ask me how this movie could have gone better, I feel Chadwick's performance was a big let-down for the sentiment of the story.
The last thing, literally, to be covered is the final battle. I mentioned the film score that should've been added to the last battle, not the script nor the action. To me the last moments in Wakanda should've gone like how Avatar played on: rise in hype, loss of hope, final 1v1. And in a way the movie played this way, but Avatar's exciting battle also had beautiful creatures and wonderful visual effects. This was a chance to shoot for the stars, and Ryan Coogler missed it. He brought rhinos, but this is Wakanda, I need elephants, lions, panthers (like honestly am I the only one that thought of this), eagles, etc. Bring Africa to life in the last 20 minutes. I assure that would have gone in the books, as the most epic, final showdown. I feel the sky battle between pilots felt like a waste since it wasn't the most amazing thing, it had a cool ending, but it doesn't feel as great if the rest wasn't epic. Like I said before, add some sick music, and show the best of Wakanda that is shown in the comics. And for crying out loud, shoot a scene with Black Panther on top of the rock like in "The Lion King" once he wins the battle, with the people of Wakanda praising him. Do it for the fans. I liked the 1v1 at the end, and the falling scene. I enjoyed watching Killmonger against 5 different skilled women. I loved when Black Panther DESTROYED a spaceship with a vibranium spear. I just felt there was space for improvement, to make something competitive to Avatar's final battle. I'm only here to comment on it's potential.
Anyways those are some thoughts on how the movie could have improved. The movie is great as it is, but it almost feels like marvel didn't want it to be the greatest Marvel film. If these 3 elements had been added, no doubt in my mind this movie would have been the best in Marvel, perhaps the best of the year. And simply a revolutionary, example to be, superhero film.