Good, not nearly as great as everyone thinks

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2018)

After 18 movies the MCU has delivered a spectacular surprise - Black Panhter. His debut in Civil war was one of the highlights of the movie, and everyone wanted to see him in action in his own movie. And here we are, faced with a very good action adventure that deals with extremely difficult questions and intends to have a great cultural impact. Now, that sounds a lot for an MCU movie, an unfortunately, it is.
The thing that makes Black Panther a good movie is the acting, the visuals, the story and political-cultural critique of the modern day world. The acting is in every way superb with one exception. Boseman was, in regard to everyone else, overthrown. His acting is really, really good, but the problem is that he had to compete with the likes of Whitaker, Basset, Nyong'o, Jordan and (the great and powerful) Serkis. Not only does he find himself a little in the shadow of such great names, but certain newcomers such as Gurira do such a brilliant job that the main character actually becomes a little less interesting. But, do not mistake that fact with the fact that he does not act out the main protagonist in style - he does, and he does it very very well. On the other hand, Jordan dominates every scene with such ease it is almost disturbing. He is intimidating, dangerous, and has a great shift from a gangster looking and sounding persona to a legitimate Marvel villain halfway through the movie. His only problem was Serkis who, in many ways stole the movie. It is more fun to watch how much fun he had playing his character that one actually forgets to observe the surrounding story. Crazy, entertaining, fun and really the only character that stays with you long after the movie ends. On the other hand, Freeman did such a routine job that it almost hurt to see. He does function as a supporting character but seems disinterested and distant in many ways. A shame.
The visuals were impressive. The colors and contrasts of the Wakandan city to the bleak standard city depictions, the traditional African wardrobe and breathtaking scenery really make Black Panther worth more than just one watch. The musical background fulfills the ambient of the movie and gives every scene another layer of depth. So, the movie does have an atmosphere worth noticing.
The main problem with Black Panther is the fact it tries to deal with extremely important modern day problems (immigration, gun control, racism etc.). Now, the problem is that MCU has a way of portraying difficult subjects in a lighthearted manner. Black Panther is not lighthearted (thank God), but still does not pass that necessary boundary to make it a difficult and important movie. Passing that boundary is risky and does not always pay off (e.g. BvS Dawn of justice), but after 18 movies and such a fan base, a little risk should not present a problem. Simply noticing in a sentence or two problems of immigration ("If we let them in, they bring their problems with them...") or gang related shootings ("No tears for me?" "Nah, that's just how things go around here."), accompanied by a minute or two of heartwarming scenes is not enough. It is noteworthy, but more should have been done. The director does a marvelous job at that, but I fear studio interference took it's tole here.
Another great problem this movie tries to discuss is the conflict of traditional and modern day views. It is, maybe, the heart and soul of Black Panther but it feels a bit undone. It is unknown if this can be pinned to the problems of the script or the direction. Knowing how Coogler makes his movies (e.g. Creed), I'll go with script. This problem feels one dimensional, and it should not be. This is a problem that plagues the Middle east today, and dealing with it in such a way does not do it justice. That combination should have been explored more, worked out more, and the overall impact the movie would have had, would have been far greater.
All in all, Black panther is an improvement over the last few MCU movies. It establishes a direction that was much needed after the catastrophe that way Ragnarok, and seems like a transitional movie towards the Infinity wars. Superbly acted, decently written, greatly directed, but flat and one dimensional at points when dealing with difficult subjects. Well done. Really well done.