Everything A Superhero Origin Story Should Be + More

Rating: 8/10 (2 April 2018)

I'm a bit puzzled at the negative reviews floating to the top, but I'm guessing the superhero movie fatigue and racist tendencies of reviewers has something to do with it. Black Panther is everything you could want from a Superhero origin story, and sometimes more.
Black Panther forgoes the typical superhero origin format, and we begin with T'Challa primed and ready for the throne, which is refreshing because we don't have to see scene after scene of a superhero beginning to understand their powers and slowly coming into themselves, we get to cut to the best parts of his story, and essentially get into the action rather quickly.
Although some of the characters are a bit underdeveloped, namely W'Kabi who is unbelievable as T'Challa's lifelong friend and lover of Okoye, because we see so little of him, most of the characters are multidimensional and more fully realized than I've come to expect in MCU films. The first act of the movie sets up Andy Serkis as the main villain, but he's quickly dispatched of midway through the movie to make way for the more interesting Kilmonger. Kilmonger does have a cliche childhood trauma backstory, but is still leagues above the average action movie villain, which often ends up being a CGI monster or last minute obstacle for the protagonist to kill. The morality is surprisingly nuanced, and I found myself siding with Kilmonger for parts of the movie, and actually questioning the heroes motivations and methods, which makes for much more interesting storytelling.
The female characters actually get a chance to shine, and are just as compote to and important to the story as T'Challa. Okoye was the main standout, the leader of a group of generals who serve the throne of Wakanda, Okoye gets to have amazing action sequences and I would've almost liked to have her be the one to defeat Kilmonger as opposed to T'Challa, but I understand why from a storytelling perspective they went with a more conventional ending.
Nakia, is the love interest of T'Challa and actually sides with Kilmonger in some ways, and actually changes T'Challa's opinion by the end of the movie. Unlike most heterosexual romances in these kinds of films, I didn't find the relationship forced or gratuitous, and I liked that it was more of a small part of the story, and their friendship was the focus for the most part, as well as their ideological differences.
Shuri is another very well developed character, and is the Black Panther's younger sister who masterminded much of Wakanda's technology and the Black Panther suit itself. Shuri was not only extremely smart, but a great comic relief at times, although I felt her interactions with Martin Freeman's character got tired eventually, because it seemed like he was tacked on purely for exposition purposes and to give white people someone to relate to.
All in all I I thought Black Panther had great, if not overtly CGI action, and the costume and general set design was amazing, and probably the standout aspect for me. The aesthetic perfectly married futuristic sci-fi with tribal design, as well as an Art Deco sensibility reflected in the poster. Black Panther is one of the best superhero movies in recent years, another hit for Marvel with a touching message about not cutting yourself off from the rest of the world and sharing resources to boot.