An uninventive story saved by good performances

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2018)

Have to admit this is the first Marvel Movie in a very long time where I didn't enjoy the plot. It's highly derivitive and largely unimaginative. The middle section rambles and the plot twists are poor and predictable.
But what Black Panther has going for it is an interesting setting and an exceptional cast. Wakanda is excellently realised. Everyone has a chance to shine. Chadwick Boseman builds well on his excellent showing in Civil War, Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Guria are engaging and very impressive.
But there are two big problems for me. Andy Serkis, who chews the scenery marvellously, is killed off far too soon, replaced by Michael B. Jordan's less interesting Killmonger as the main villian, and we have the old utterly predicatable trope where the main hero is believed dead for a strectch during the movie's second half. This is tired. Is anyone fooled by this? I'm also far from convinced that having Wakanda shut off for centuries from the rest of the world was the way to go. It actually made the country look hypocritical.
But as I say, the acting saves it. This would have been a barely passable six out of ten but for the excellent cast. Winston Duke's M'Baku is an added bonus. He was fantastic and I hope he gets more screen time in future movies. He has the film's best gag, too.