Disappointing, considering the hype

Rating: 6/10 (19 September 2018)

I felt guilty disliking "Black Panther' because, like "Wonder Woman" (2017), there was so much media focus on the supposed social significance of the film. The entire plot revolves around 'vibranium', a fictional unobtainium-like element in the MCU, out of which you can make anything that the plot requires or that would look cool on film. Wakanda, a hidden paradise in the heart of Africa, sits on a mountain of the miracle metal and therefore has technology, including weaponry, far beyond anything else on the planet (outside of Tony Stark's workshop and similar MCU hero/villain enclaves). The Black Panther is the super-powered king of Wakanda, whose costume can be stored in a necklace, allowing him to change instantly (where his civilian clothes go is not clear to me, but certainly the tightfitting cat suit can't be worn over his Savile Road suit) and, as The Black Panther, he can do pretty much anything (regardless of physics). Despite its sophisticated technology, the rulership of Wakenda is decided by brawling, so we end up with two Black Panthers: a good one and an evil one (maybe semi-evil, as he seems to be possessed by murderous good-intent if you are a fan of race-wars). Needless to say, this narrative bifurcation is resolved by a huge melee and a Black Panther mano a mano (easily the worst part of the film from a CGI perspective). Even by MCU standards, most of the characters are pretty much cut-out dolls (especially T'Challa's trite Q-like sister) with the exception of Micheal B. Gordons "Kill Monger", an implausible but at least interesting character. As these sorts of movies go, 'The Black Panther' is fine. The look is novel but the script and story are pretty typical of the genre, so perhaps ground breaking in the sociocultural world of big-budget comic book adaptations but otherwise, not much new. Maybe I just don't get it, but Wakanda is this incredibly wealthy enclave in Africa but these elite 1%ers don't seem willing to do anything to help out their troubled continent. I can accept ethical reasons for not using their hyper-advanced weaponry to solve Africa's problems but there seems little excuse not to surreptitiously assist with their hyper-advanced medical technology (I suspect that these are awkward questions best avoided in a movie based on a comic book in which they are the 'good guys').