All Hail the King!

Rating: 8/10 (23 May 2018)

"Black Panther" was definitely a novel treat, as it broke so many conventions. While not everything it did work, an generous amount of it did and did so in ways I did not expect. The movie definitely has a distinct visual style to present African culture. The cinematography was on-point, delivering vibrant scenery and fully captured the beauty of Wakanda. If I had to single out something that did not work for me, was the CGI. From the badly rendered rhino's to the video-game-like third act, it just didn't connect and at times was blatantly obvious. The performances were strong all-around. Chadwick Boseman got plenty of time to shine, and I was impressed by how much screen-time others, like Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Forest Whitaker, Letitia Wright and Daniel Kaluuya had. Each character had an important role to play, and they did those roles proper justice in my opinion. A pleasant surprise was Martin Freeman as the unassuming CIA Agent Everett Ross. His role was a lot larger than I thought, and his attitude towards superheroes and the Wakandans built a fun rapport that made the story a little more dynamic. Now the villains. I will say this now, Marvel has probably created one of their most fun and most nuanced villain in a while. Andy Serkis's motion capture free Ulysses Klaue was just plain fun to watch as he brought a charming flair rarely seen in other antagonists. Michael B. Jordan was the one I was skeptical about at first, as the trailers did not properly set him up. His moral views and goals where very understandable and it is rare to see a villain so desperate and so rightfully justified in his actions. Even T'Challa was a changed man at the end of it all, which further supports Killmonger's actions. Last but not least, Kendrick Lamar and his curated hit songs may not have gotten a huge spotlight, but with the occasional beats delivered by him, Vince Staples, The Weeknd and others, along with Aftican tribal numbers all but helped add another layer. "Black Panther" bucked usual superhero conventions with its cultural insight, villains, atmosphere and strongly-written characters while also remaining very much grounded in the MCU.