Get your claws into this!

Rating: 7/10 (15 February 2018)

Firstly I've got to hand it to Marvel. They have not only created one of the most impressive shared universes ever established in cinema history but they consistently keep bringing quality movies to the masses year after year. Not all have been earth shattering masterpieces but almost all have been of above average quality and always entertaining.
Without beating around the bush, Black Panther is yet another great addition to this shared Marvel universe and has just enough character and style of its own to make it stand out from the others.
The element of Black Panther I absolutely loved was the overarching story and the motivations behind all the characters. Never have I been more closely connected with each and every character in a Marvel film as I did in this one. To fully understand why they were doing what they were doing and what was driving them. Refreshingly even the main villain had a genuine reason for his actions and at times even made me question why I was so against him and routing for the other guys. This mash-up of motives and emotions really set Black panther apart from the rest.
Not only that but the acting is of some of the highest quality there is. Stand out performance was Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger. This guy just demanded your attention and completely owned every scene he was in. He balanced the dislike you felt for him perfectly and I found myself flitting from hatred to understanding numerous times throughout, by far one of my favourite villains in a Marvel film in a long time. Chadwick Boseman returns as the main protagonist after we first met him in 2016's Captain America Civil War and I was excited to see him again, although his performance didn't blow me away and he seemed to lack that special something that I get from the other MCU players.
Now I mentioned I loved the story and the message it brings with it however I did feel the plot itself was quite predictable and clichÃ©, there simply isn't all that much excitement to go around. No nerve in the core of the story, almost everything you expect to happen, happens. As great as the special effects are and as fun as some of the character scenes are, nothing is very memorable. There wasn't a single moment throughout the entire film that made me sit forward in my seat or really get my pulse going. To put it in context, I got that tingly excitement within the run time of the latest infinity war trailer, but not once through the 2h 14min runtime of Black Panther.
As mentioned in a few other Marvel origin stories, the lack of emotion from me as a viewer is possibly linked to the fact we already know T'Challa (Black Panther) will appear in the next movie and is likely to get a number of sequels of his own... No amount of death fake outs will have that emotional tug on me the creators are so desperately trying to make me feel. This is perhaps something impossible to avoid when you have a universe such as this but it undoubtedly takes away any kind of worry you may have for the main superhero.
One element the movie excels in is in its special effects. The majority of the film takes place in the fiction city of Wakanda and its mighty impressive, with its own unique mash-up of a technically advanced civilisation that still holds onto its ancient culture. The costumes, makeup, and excellent original soundtrack is something to behold.
So as the plot plays out rather passively with little in the shape of memorable moments, Black Panther does bring with it a wonderful message of a world coming together and touches on a number of things that are quite prominent in today's current political climate. Marvel should be applauded for bringing together such a rich and diverse cast and creating a wonderfully unique world within its ever expanding universe. It expertly manages to establish the soul of T'Challa, his moral standpoints and his capabilities, and sets him up perfectly going into Avengers Infinity War.