A combination of a political character study and a superhero extravaganza that doesn't always mix.

Rating: 6/10 (17 February 2018)

Black Panther is the newest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Chadwick Boseman reprises his role from Captain America Civil War. The rest of the picture also features an great ensemble of well known actors. These include Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis. All of whom give serviceable performances. After the events of Civil War, T'Challa (Boseman) returns to his home Wakanda, a land that is deeply hidden within the African forest. Wakanda has been hidden from the majority of the world for centuries, Challa has to make a choice when an unexpected enemy comes to take his place. Boseman plays Challa / Black Panther with a mixture of wisdom, patriotism but also a lack of experience when it comes to the world. This is a interesting combination that really pays off when T'Challa meets with the main villain of the film played by Michael B. Jordan. The idea of a advanced culture with innovative technology that remains hidden from the world is very interesting. The majority of people from Wakanda believe that this makes the world a better place. However when Killmonger shows up these ideas are challenged through his character. Killmonger is the best villain the MCU has had since Loki, this is because both T'Challa and Killmonger can learn a lot from each other. This aspect is easily the best thing about Black Panther, unfortunately the film only becomes compelling after we pass the first act. The first act consists of a generic superhero plot in which T'Challa and his team race after Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) in order to capture him. This is important for the story in the long run but left me very emotionally empty. It also gives very little attention to Killmonger who only becomes interesting after the first hour. There is plenty of humour in Black Panther, the best jokes in the film came from Shuri (Letitia Wright) who plays the sister of T'Challa. She added plenty of self awareness that made myself and the all of the audience roar in the theatres. Unfortunately Black Panther also suffers from the same issues that Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2 and Thor Ragnarok suffered from and that is the fact that jokes are implemented in the wrong scenes. Sometimes a scene is meant to be serious until a character cracks a joke killing the impact of the scene. The action scenes also let me down, most of the them were too cgi heavy and I would've prefered some more realistic stunt work (but that's personal taste), especially because the director's previous film Creed had one of the sleekest looking fight scenes of recent years. Many of the special effects in Wakanda also felt unfinished, the look itself were breathtaking. However there were many set pieces that felt incomplete and too cartoony. The costumes and music of the film is terrific though, they really give this exotic african feel, it makes the film a lot more authentic. After the first hour passed, I really enjoyed this picture. There were some minor gripes with special effects and tone, but for the most part I had a lot of fun with it.