It's Own Merits

Rating: 8/10 (9 October 2019)

Black Panther's narrative is rooted in tradition, yet, it wisely navigates and questions the ideas of that very same narrative. The film feels steeped in myth... the likes of "Middle-earth" and biblical history. And the film knows and uses its mythology wisely.
Stylistically, it feels cut from a different cloth than that of its contemporaries. Director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed), is a force of a filmmaker that has a distinct and powerful sense of story and direction. And while you sense studio involvement at times with horrendous CGI and a "climax" that doesn't match its mature build up, the film is balanced out enough with character and even some fantastic practical action sequences.
Black Panther is good film, even a great one at times based on its own merits, not on the hype that was seemingly fabricated for it...