Solid enough but not t'op drawer.

Rating: 7/10 (19 February 2018)

The 18th film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is another solid entry to the franchise but It's a testament to how far Marvel have pushed the concept of a "Superhero film" in the last couple of years that "Black Panther", which would have been amazing as little as three years ago, now feels a bit out-dated.
Following the death of his father during "Captain America: Civil War", T'Challa returns to Wakanda to be crowned its new King. He discovers that agents both within and outside of his homeland believe that the country should be doing more with their advanced science and technology to help the oppressed around the world. At the same time, Wakanda's most wanted, the only man to see hidden treasures and escape its borders, Ulysses Klaue, commits a daring robbery and may finally be vulnerable to capture.
It's a beautiful looking film, and feels authentic to the region, even though Wakanda is a fictional land. Its debates about the morality of interference outside its feels like a genuine cause of conflict and Killmonger, excellently played by Michael B Jordan, is a villain whose motivation you believe in, even if the MCU's villain was/is family to the hero trope is again in force.
However, I did find myself feeling at times that it was a bit po-faced, especially when compared to last years near comedies of "Spider-man: Homecoming" and "Thor Ragnorok", though the times when it is funny, usually revolving around Letitia Wright as T'Challa's younger sister - Shuri - usually hit the mark.
Another criticism I'd have for the film would be the editing, particularly in the earlier fight scenes. Modern action films are plagued by fight scenes shot too tight on the participants, which creates for a kinetic energy but, to my taste, makes it difficult to determine what's actually happening. Fortunately, for me, this stopped in the later fight scenes. Also, and very unusually for the MCU films, the CGI is occasionally a little subpar, particularly in the climactic battle.
Though not breaking into my personal top five films of the MCU, there is much to enjoy with the characters and plenty of story scope for Black Panther 2.