Surprisingly serious MCU film with great world-building

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2018)

Some preliminary remarks: overhyping a pop culture film into the second coming of Martin Luther King or (fitting for the title) Malcolm X never does any good, although a lot of the themes of the American civil rights movement resonate in the conflict of T'Challa and Killmonger.
The film has a five act structure, which is a nice change of pace for an MCU release. The first act is mainly expository and world-building and gives an intriguing view of the nation of Wakanda. The place looks gorgeous although it is entirely CG. I am still not sure why the Wakandans have chosen to remain hidden for so long. The second act is action-packed and has the best fight scene of the entire film, the casino in Busan in South Korea. It is a signature move of Ryan Coogler to keep one long camera shot on the fight without cutting away (cf. his work in "Creed").
Both third and fourth acts are more drama than action, especially the fourth act, building up the villain of T'Challa, his cousin Killmonger. His motives are believable but Michael B. Jordan does not give his best performance here in my view (especially if you remember him in "Creed", in which he was phenomenal). It was during these two acts where I lost interest a bit in the film, especially after Klauwe got killed. He was the far superior villain and this is mainly due to the phenomenal acting of Andy Serkis. Give this man more live action roles! In general, I found the acting performances to be Ok for an MCU film but nothing outstanding.
The final act is all action, with lots of CG. Most of it fell flat for me, but the metal rhinos were a neat idea. The ending was nice, with Wakanda stepping out of the shadows and onto the world's stage. All in all, another good entry to the MCU, with a much more serious story (and almost no or only mild jokes! The Anti-Thor: Ragnarok of the MCU!). Best MCU film ever? No, certainly not, at least not after my initial viewing. It reminds me of coming out of "Doctor Strange" but with a more meaningful story and better world-building.
One thing intrigued me very much: in the second act, having all these Africans in Korea, that was a glimpse into a post-white world and I would have loved to see more Asian-African crossovers. Maybe for another time!