'Black Panther' Review: Another solid Marvel film, but not a Masterpiece

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2018)

"Black Panther" serves as yet another solid entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, showcasing a wildly different world feel and a deeper story than previous entries, while still providing the staples that the devoted fan base enjoys. Many critics and audiences are proclaiming this as the best of the series and even saying that the film is a masterpiece. I feel that is stretch as there are some apparent issues with film's execution of action, effects, and actual focus of the story, regardless of depth. "Black Panther" is indeed a good film, but not a "masterpiece".
The story follows T'Challa aka the Black Panther, sometime after "Captain America: Civil War", finally taking the throne of his late father in the advanced hidden capital of Wakanda, an African country pretending to be a typical third world nation. When an old enemy pops up again, the new king finds himself face to face with a mysterious American mercenary with stirring obsession with Wakanda.
The story to "Blank Panther" is actually really good and goes a step above the usual in the MCU with plenty of emotional depth to its characters and not relying too much on previous films in the series. I will refrain from speaking on it to hold back spoilers. I will say that the story basically becomes the "Lion King". Nuff said.
Our hero is very likable and never does anything to break his status as a good role model. Chadwick Boseman created a fan favorite with Civil War and those qualities carry over here.
The villains are also above par, which for me has always been an issue with Marvel movies: a lot effort for the hero and the villain is just a one note baddy played by a high profile actor. Andy Serkis returns to replay his role of Klaue from "Age of Ultron", providing yet another over the top and energetic performance. His character isn't deep, but he knows how to chew the scenery. Yet again, this man proves he should have more roles, even outside motion capture. Then there is Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger. I won't spoil his character, but needless to say Jordan continues to show why he is one the new greats by providing an entertainingly defiant and yet emotionally involving villain. It's nice to actually have one that was an understandable reason for his behavior.
From the beauty of the advanced world of Wakanda to the superb soundtrack by Ludwig Goransson, the film provides a great blend of native African culture mixed with a futuristic cyberpunk style. The film is downright beautiful at times, especially during the spiritual ancestorial plain scenes. There is even a hint of James Bond through a scene where T'Challa is given a new suit and gadgets ala every Q scene ever. Boseman's charm helps with that vibe too.
As I said, the film is not a masterpiece. First off, while I do like the story over all, I do feel like there is was one story going on and the then another one just sorta starts halfway through. The film is pretty focused on Klaue until the halfway point where in which Killmonger suddenly just takes center stage. I found that little jarring. I guess Klaue was just a means to an end. I also found the fight scenes to be rather meh. The action itself is good with some great set-pieces such as cool chase scene in South Korea. I mainly mean the coverage of the one on one fights. They were just shot too close and cut too quick at times, making it hard to really appreciate the conflict. You just get the idea that people are beating down on each other. This is why I praise movies like "John Wick" or "The Foreigner" for actually covering visible fight scenes. I also found the final conflict at the end to be disappointing as it was ruined by some pretty meh CGI. It honestly looked like a 3D animated cartoon by the end. The CGI was actually iffy in some other areas too, and this late into the MCU that shouldn't be the case. It sorta looks like "Gods of Egypt" at times. (A guilty pleasure by the way) Also, some of the camera work as just headache inducing. One shot in particular where it starts upside down and spins around really just hurt my eyes. I get the idea: "the situation has been turned upside down so let's literally shoot this in an unnerving way". Ultimately, it just gave me a headache.
Despite these issues, I still think "Black Panther" is a solid entry in the Marvel cannon and I am excited to see more of Wakanda in the upcoming "Infinity War". I just feel some are making this sound better than it really is. It is really good movie, but not a great one. I feel perhaps it might be some the politics of the film that is raising it up to "masterpiece" level. I just don't care about that. I just care about whether it was a good movie or not. "Black Panther" was good.
Recommended.