Black Panther 7.1

Rating: 7/10 (12 April 2018)

The first fifteen minutes of this movie is a bit of a mess, giving you information that would've been more impactful to learn later in the story. After that fifteen minutes you are introduced to Wakanda, which was ruined by off beat and distracting music. The music switched from generic cheesiness, that didn't fit the movie, to a sort of rap music that fit really well in some scenes, but they didn't feel like they were in the same movie. The music played out the same way the action sequences did. Most of the action felt choppy and failed to impress, with one fight between T'Challa and Killmonger being great. It was as if inside the passable action were flashes of greater action scenes that could've been something else. In the same scenes opposing the flashes of greatness, were flashes of rubbery and pixely CGI, that took you out of the scene momentarily. This is all present especially during the final fight. Which looks like it was conceived after a double feature of Tron: Legacy and The Phantom Menace. What it fails to do on an action movie approach, it makes up for in characters and story... With the exception of one thin character played by Daniel Kuluuya. T'Challa is a stoic protagonist, who basically has the same character arc as Thor in Thor: Ragnorok, but he works fine, just like the rest of his family. The only place this movie greatly succeeds in, is the villains. Killmonger and Klaue are a refreshing duo of menace and menacing comedy that doesn't ruin the tension like in other Marvel movies. Ulysses Klaue is funny and has a very unsettling puffy robot hand which is an interesting little tool. Killmonger is a tank with a new compelling background and motivation that continues to impress, up until his very last lines, which are great. He rips through every level of Wakanda seemingly effortlessly, which makes him probably the most badass villain in the marvel universe, even though his endgame is bit overdone. Him and T'Challa are caught in a feud for the throne of Wakanda that develops an interesting story, that comes with a few surprises and twists. Although it does go on for a bit too long. Overall, I liked this movie. It's not great nor is it bad. It's successes beat out it's failures just enough to make it an enjoyable movie. So I give it a 7.1