Clawing its niche in the MCU

Rating: 8/10 (26 February 2018)

I went to watch this movie a week late, and by then I had heard rave reviews about it. These ranged from how it's a swansong for the colored peoples to how Killmonger was the best MCU villain of all time. To be frank, it was neither. In fact, it is safe to say that Tom Hiddlestone's Loki is still the best in the MCU with close competition from David Tennant's Killgrave (Purple Man).
The point of this entire movie is to show the story behind the mysterious ruler of Wakanda, and it does this quite beautifully. (However, I could not really enjoy the little details in the visuals because of a really annoying kid sitting next to me while I was watching it.) The idea behind the visuals though was exquisite. There was something beautiful about the way that the city was shown, and at this point I would rather go there than Asgard. The only thing that bothers me about this movie is that T'Challa kills Killmonger because he wanted to open the doors of Wakanda, only to end up doing the same thing in order to woo Nakia.
The characterization of the colored in Hollywood movies has always bothered me. Even in this movie, the only white man to actually be in the entire movie is a war hero, rather than the coward he is in the source material. Killmonger happens to be a beautifully written character, even in the comics. None of the charm of that character is from the actor. In fact, I believe that a child in the same role would have shown a similar emotional range. The anger and mystery we had come to adore about T'Challa (in Civil War) vanishes with this movie. He becomes a King and that takes away his warrior spirit (so to speak).
I think it's safe to say now that when Tony Stark dies (we all know he is, so just accept it), Shuri will be the best person to take over as the brains of the Avengers. Nakia is probably the least irritating female lead in a Marvel movie. Maybe it's just that she doesn't whine about the safety of the title character.
The true scene-stealer in this movie is M'Baku (Man-Ape), the leader of the Jabari. Even his quips don't feel out of character, and that is saying something for a Marvel movie. (Please don't watch this movie if you haven't read a single Black Panther comic)
Overall this movie makes for a decent watch. If you are looking to watch this movie to stay updated on the next steps of the MCU, you will be sorely disappointed. The ending is the only thing that even takes the larger universe into account.