not as good or as bad as you've heard (in the opinion of this reviewer)

Rating: 6/10 (5 March 2018)

One of the most hyped movies I think has ever been released, 'Black Panther' is definitely something special for Marvel, but to cinema as a whole it is somewhat mixed. Most everything about it is at least competent (except for SOME of the lesser CGI effects), but the final battle is less than compelling or entertaining, sadly drowning out some of the really great things in this film that would make it more worth a rewatching. For most of the film's running time, I genuinely enjoyed it, particularly in its first half. There is some really good humor (although there were a few moments that were rather eye-rolling in their unfunniness), some great action (I thought every action sequence was almost perfectly handled UNTIL the lengthy and frankly boring battle the film climaxes with), some very interesting concepts explored in a very fair and well done way, and an extraordinarily compelling villain whose arc does contain some real sympathy and understanding. Much of the film is a fun, entertaining ride, but towards the end it does unfortunately fall apart and breaks into some pointlessly loud and disorienting scenes of generic action and such. A very good film that could have been groundbreaking if some flaws were fixed. Not as bad as some w/overly high expectations or even an alt-right-esque racial agenda might have you think, not as great as some liberal critics and hyper reactionary twitter users may have you think; instead, it is a bit of a fun improvement of the standard Marvel affair that contains various elements that I feel could have made up a masterpiece but were sadly put slightly down by some of the film's weaker ones.