Ryan Coogler manages to develop the characters and their interpersonal relationships and is competent in the action scenes.

Rating: 8/10 (21 March 2020)

The 'Black Panther' was created by writer and editor Stan Lee and writer and illustrator Jack Kirby, appearing for the first time in Fantastic Four # 52 (July 1966) in the Silver Age of comics, being the first super- hero of African descent created by a mainstream American comic book publisher. This Marvel adaptation brings up the ancient origins of the Black Panthers, a cloak that is passed down from father to son and that traditionally stands in the line of succession between aspirants to the throne of the evolved - but not in the eyes of the world - kingdom of Wakanda.
After several speculations for decades about bringing the character to life in theaters, 'Black Panther' premieres satisfying everyone who has longed since the hero's first appearance in 'Civil War', which showed the hero in action after the attack that killed the his father, King T'Chaka, of the fictional kingdom of Wakanda, again bringing Chadwick Boseman as the character. For this adaptation, director Ryan Coogler, who also contributed to the script alongside Joe Robert Cole, manages to bring a mixture of mysticism, legends and African customs that portray this new world, isolated from the world and that keeps many secrets. If the first 'Guardians of the Galaxy' was daring to change the way a hero film relates to the public, adding the comedy to the genre, Ryan Coogler's feature has the audacity to review the parameters of this thematic foundation, inserting comedy in a few moments and prioritizing a more dense history, which deals with family disagreements, tribal conflicts and revenge.
'Black Panther' accompanies T'Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated and technologically advanced African nation to succeed the throne and to take his rightful place as king. But with the reappearance of an old and powerful enemy, T'Challa's value as king - and as Black Panther - is tested when he is led into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda, and the whole world, at risk. Faced with betrayal and danger, the young king must gather his allies and unleash all the power of the Black Panther to defeat his enemies and ensure the safety of his people and their way of life.
The film received seven Oscar 2019 nominations, including Best Picture, with victories for Best Costume Design, Best Soundtrack and Best Production Design with total merit. Technically, the film is a visual spectacle. The production designer of Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart manages to portray a Wakanda in a fully satisfactory way, knowing how to preserve the most primitive aspect, maintaining the tribal concept of ancient African peoples with the high technology that came from the vibranium, which has shaped all that society since the beginning .
Throughout the projection, we are introduced to highly developed technologies capable of healing gunshot wounds in a short time, capable of developing costumes, vehicles with magnetic levitation, sonic stabilizers, surveillance equipment, ultramodern ships, buildings and futuristic architecture. Even the choice of Seoul, South Korea, as another scenario in history, maintains the same futuristic and technological identity as Wakanda. All this technology is very interesting in a more palpable and credible scenario than previously portrayed, especially in the cosmic characters in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Thor'. It is a mixture of tribal society with extremely advanced technology that enchants the eyes of the audience.
The costume by Ruth E. Carter portrays very rudimentary African tribal clothing very well, bringing the difference in culture between the different tribes that make up Wakanda. The colorful and creative costumes manage to convey this concept of something more primitive and that contrasts so well with the technology of that nation. And this whole nation-building was incredibly orchestrated by Swede Ludwig Göransson, who knows how to thrill when necessary, increase tension at key points and showcase the culture of the people of Wakanda using drums, percussion instruments and tribal chants wisely. The costume, as well as all the construction of the language, habits and traditions of the Wakandians. It looks like a little bit of everything we've seen from African tribes, but at the same time it sounds new, with a certain freshness.
It is impossible to talk about this feature without mentioning the co-protagonists of the film - to call them supporting actors would be to reduce their importance in the plot. The king's personal guard, the Dora Milaje, commanded by Okoye (Danai Gurira), stands out, as does the entire female cast. Shuri (Letitia Wright) - sister of T'Challa - shows how much a Jarvis is out there on another continent and how much a Tony Stark can learn from his technological genius. Pantera's younger sister is equally important in comics - and has even taken on the official role of Black Panther in magazines - and here she is a true teenage genius. Nakia (Lupita N'yongo) is the most efficient and dangerous spy in Wakanda. We also have the power of Queen Mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett), predecessor of the Black Panther's courage, as well as a veteran priestess.
Villains have important roles. Ulysses Klaue, the Sonic Claw (Andy Serkis) - who had first appeared in 'Age of Ultron' - gains importance as a madly believable villain. Even a little cartoonish, his attitudes are anarchic and organized at the same time and his pretext calls into question the goodness of the Wakanda throne. Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) is a brilliant strategist and scientist who earned his PHD at MIT. He is also a skilled martial arts fighter, able to take on the best warriors in Wakanda, including the Black Panther in a fight that causes great twists and turns. Their motivations are completely credible. We also have with W'Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya) - who, if at a moment passionately cheers for the king, rebels unexpectedly motivated by the failure to capture Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) by the Black Panther.
One of the points that were missing a little in the story, is a greater amount to the action scenes. We have great scenes filmed in Seoul, with a practically uncut sequence of fights in a clandestine casino and, of course, the chase scenes through the city streets. The scenes of fighting for the throne and the clashes of the last fifteen minutes are excellent and exciting. Visual effects play a fundamental role in creating Wakanda's look, however, in some scenes the not-so-effective use of effects is noticeable.
'Black Panther' is a cultural manifesto, unafraid to talk about racial and sexist issues in the US, past and present, while making an exciting and universal superhero blockbuster with a director and a mostly black cast , with themes of the black people and with several women as key pieces of history. A film that shows a closed society, but that from its new king, sees the need to build bridges with other nations, and not barriers, and that there is more that unites people than separates them. A politicized film, which has a more serious tone and uses humor punctually. Ryan Coogler manages to develop the characters and their interpersonal relationships and is competent in the action scenes. He uses and explores well the relationship between the real and the fantastic is not only in the mention of these real problems, but in the visual construction of the feature. In the end, there are still two post-credit scenes. The first gives clues as to what a 'Black Panther' sequence might look like and the second connects with the events of 'Captain America: Civil War.