Black Panther is Another Solid Entry in a Continually Expanding MCU

Rating: 8/10 (19 February 2018)

With the glut of superhero movies being released in theatres, one of the things that I credited movies like Deadpool and Logan for was trying to tell a more personable story. It doesn't have to be about saving the world, just introduce some characters we can enjoy following and provide some motivation we can relate to. Black Panther centres around the rivalry/conflict between T'Challa and Killmonger and I think that's an interesting choice. Killmonger is a shadowy version of what T'Challa could have been and the movie brings you along with their new king's struggle to understand his father's and his uncle's actions. But the important thing about this is you understand the differing perspectives of the characters and while you're cheering for T'Challa, you can at least understand where Killmonger is coming from. Their situation doesn't come with an easy answer and this problem compounds T'Challa's other issues (dealing with the death of his father, the responsibilities of running Wakanda, Nakia not reciprocating his affection for her etc.). The character development in this movie was pretty good and I appreciated the effort put in that way.
The strength of this movie is that its effective in bringing you into this new and exciting environment. The kingdom of Wakanda is beautiful and is a pleasant change of pace for a Marvel movie. They play up the more traditional aspects of life in Africa while providing a new spin on it. It makes it easier to digest some bits of exposition and I would credit Coogler and his team for doing something off-beat. The cinematography was excellent, and the special effects were first rate. Couple that with some interesting technology and gadgets for our heroes and villains to interact with, there are few scenes where they don't utilize something fun to punch up the action or even the drama.
This movie is populated by accomplished actors and actresses, but I was legitimately surprised on who impressed me the most. Chadwick Boseman is a star on the rise. He's got a lot of ability and charisma and while I enjoy his more dramatic performances (Marshall and 42) he slips into Black Panther with ease. Michael B. Jordan had a lot of energy in his performance and he was obviously giving it his all. He's a lot better in this compared to the Fantastic 4 but he was still bordering on overacting for me. I would give him credit for being one of the more impactful Marvel villains of recent memory. Andy Serkis is having a blast in the other villainous role as Ulysses Klaue. He's an awesome actor who doesn't get his due. Daniel Kaluuya was good after his breakout in Get Out, he's very measured here and strong. It was fun to see Lupita Nyong'o, she owned her scenes completely. Letita Wright gave one of the funnier performances in the film as T'Challa's sister Shuri. My favourite performance came from Danai Gurira as General Okoye. She sold all her scenes; her character has a strict code of honour that came across well in her acting. She is passable as a military leader (which is no mean feat) and yet there were some moments in the movie where she managed to be funny as well. She was very well rounded and deserves credit in her supporting role.
One of the reasons that this movie will be so popular is that it is promoting diversity. We don't get many African-American superheroes (let alone a superhero from Africa) so it is important to get them right when they get the chance. Black Panther tackles this challenge as well as they could have. Not only is the story interesting and the actors/actresses are clearly on their game, but they incorporate how difficult it can be to come from the background that these fictional characters come from. It is not only addressed but it is at the forefront and they don't falter. I guess that shouldn't be a surprise considering who is involved with this project, but it is worth mentioning nonetheless.
The biggest problem that this movie suffered from isn't even the fault of the people who made it. The hype surrounding Black Panther got a little out of control. Is this a good movie? Absolutely. Is it one of the better standalone Marvel films? You can absolutely make that argument. Best Marvel movie ever? For me, not even close. It absolutely deserves praise for the things that it gets right but people need to calm down a little. I would put this firmly in the middle somewhere, Marvel is the victim of continued success that way so simply making a good film doesn't qualify as doing something amazing for the studio (a comparison I would use is A Bug's Life or Brave, both are good movies but compared to the rest of Pixar's output, neither are exceptional). I had a couple of smaller issues, the action was very middle of the road, I didn't find a show-stopping moment in any of the fight scenes. Some of the characters arcs weren't satisfying, I feel like the only reason Martin Freeman's Everett Ross was included was to connect to the rest of the MCU, he had little to do on his own.
Another few months go by and another exciting/action-packed movie put out by Marvel Studios. This has become the norm and while some people are growing sick of it, if they keep putting out quality material, I'm open to it. Black Panther isn't the second coming for comic book movies but that shouldn't detract from the fact this is a great movie. I would give this an 8.5/10 but I can't quite give it a 9/10. So, I have to go with an 8/10, I would recommend this to comic and non-comic fans alike.