So mediocre

Rating: 4/10 (27 March 2018)

"Black Panther" is just another, average superhero movie if we're being honest. It's been getting rave reviews, but in my opinion it is massively over-hyped. And no, I didn't go into this movie wanting to hate it. In fact, I was excited walking into the theatre. But after the first dimly lit, poorly shot action scene, I knew I was in for a wild ride into mediocrity.
First of all, let's talk action because most people go see superhero movies for the high-octane action sequences. Literally every action sequence in this movie, except for maybe one, were awful. Why is that? Take the first action sequence that I mentioned above: it was so dimly lit and filled with shaky camera that the action was incomprehensible. And that was incredibly disappointing because it set the standard for what is to be expected, quality wise, when it came to the action, for the rest of the movie. Another big action scene that takes place in a type of underground South Korean casino had the same problem: shaky camera. Sure, the action is shown in a very clever one shot take that was cool to watch, but when the action can't be clearly seen because the camera is shaking and because the camera is too close up that the action is off-screen, the entire scene loses its entertainment factor. There is one action scene that I thought was exciting (it's towards the end and so you know exactly what scene I'm talking about, let's just say that it ends with someone being thrown off of a high place), but pretty much the only reason I thought it was exciting was because I really enjoyed one of the characters involved in the fight. And yes, it was better shot then the rest of the action scenes, but I've seen much better shot and more exciting action scenes in other Marvel films, like "Winter Soldier," for example. And when an action film doesn't have good action, it's just disappointing.
Also, the titular Black Panther was one of the blandest main characters I've ever seen. I didn't connect with him at all. Killmonger, on the other hand, I could connect with. For the most part his rationale made sense, and at one point I even thought, "How is this guy the villain? He wants to do a good thing." BUT THEN, FOR SOME REASON, Killmonger's actions as a villain take a completely different turn and it seems like he completely changed his mind and wanted to do something entirely different. Maybe I just didn't get what he wanted to do or maybe I didn't understand how he wanted to complete his goals, but it was super stupid because his original goal absolutely did not need to be completed in the way he was going about it. I mean, when you get down to it, what Killmonger wanted to do was noble; it was something no leader of Wakanda was willing to do, or wanted to do, in the past, so I was totally on board with him and honestly, I wanted him to win. In fact, I kind of think Killmonger was the hero of the film - he just went the wrong way in trying to accomplish what he wanted, but if he would've accomplished his goal, there is no doubt that the positive consequences would have far outweighed the negative.
I really have not much else to say. This was just an ordinary superhero movie that did nothing new; it was bland. The villain was cool and gives viewers a lot of food for thought, but the action sucked, which pretty unforgivable, in my opinion, and every other character except Killmonger was forgettable. Other than that, yea, you can see this and maybe you'd like it but I don't recommend it. It's just a boring film - I was bored and I wanted it to end.