Lion King x Avatar = Black Panther

Rating: 7/10 (22 February 2018)

The Black Panther setting made me think of Avatar on many occasions. The whole tribal vibe is alike. Vibranium is basically Unobtanium; and both Wakanda and Pandora are pretty much the typical isolated "hidden elf village". The difference is that Wakanda has lots of tech whereas Pandora is less tech-advanced, but for all that it matters to the story Wakandan secret tech power might as well be Pandora's mystical Eywa power.
As for the plot, the Black Panther Shakespearean drama reminded me a lot of Disney's Lion King. Basically it's a 'What if Mufasa killed Scar, then after he dies and Simba becomes king, Kovu decides to walk in Scar's footsteps?' plot.
It's all not exactly original, but good popcorn entertainment for a Friday night out when you want to dial down your brain for a moment. Visuals are stunning, characters are engaging to watch, and while I would've enjoyed a bit more comedy I still enjoyed what was delivered.
A few small annoyances did continue to niggle at the back of my mind:
1a) No country, empire, community, etc. has ever been technologically super-duper advanced and rich while at the same time pursuing an isolationist policy. Just check world history, everywhere isolationism happens, it sends people back into the Dark Ages or (even worse) the Stone Age! So, unless the Wakandans were snubbing their fellow primitive humans in favor of open trade borders with Asgardians, Kree, and other Marvel aliens, a technologically advanced but isolated Wakanda is a complete socio-economic impossibility.
1b) Related to the above, technologically advanced countries never rely on a single person for all their tech. Shuri is great, where are the other Wakandan geniuses?
2) Why was only the king allowed the super herb? If Wakanda industrialized the cultivation of that herb, they could've created an entire army of super soldiers to protect their borders; no need to pretend to be a third world country. Furthermore, that herb could boost human productivity like super-coffee, increasing Wakanda's economic output by miles an turning them into a superpower greater than the USA and China combined! Where is my Wakandan hegemony??
3) Wakanda is a highly advanced society that chooses its leader with a good old fist fight. Really?
I get it, it's a comic book movie, so there isn't anything inherently deep or realistic about it, nevermind realpolitik. Still, call me a nitpicker, but for some reason these 3 points continued to annoy me throughout the movie, not that it wasn't entertaining.