Decent enough deviation from Marvel formula.

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2018)

'Black Panther' is co-written and directed by Ryan Coogler and stars Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa aka Black Panther, the title character. Following 'Captain America: Civil War', T'Challa returns to his home of Wakanda, a secret technologically advanced nation. Given his Father's demise in 'Civil War' he is to take his rightful place as King of Wakanda until unexpected adversaries surface which threaten not only his place on the throne but the fate of Wakanda itself.
For the most part 'Black Panther' is fun, exciting and sometimes even funny and features excellent performances from a terrific ensemble cast. However, it is not without its problems which for me prevent it from being a top tier MCU entry. First of all it seems in an attempt to side step the very well known villain problem in the MCU, director Coogler has actually shot himself in the foot and created one the most irritating and drab villains in this universe namely Eric Kilmonger. Michael B Jordan's performance as Kilmonger doesn't help either which is over done and at times a harbinger of cringe. The fault of this character is also due in part to the screenplay which leaves him out of it for almost an hour after his introduction. Honestly after his first scene had passed I completely forgot about him and was almost lead to believe that Klau (Andy Serkis) was the main antagonist of the film. Despite his motivations being more understandable than most mustache twirling villains in the MCU, the execution of the character is rather disappointing and a big misfire.
Now that the glaring problem is out of the way there are also some minor issues worthy of mention. The CGI looks unfinished in some places particularly in the big action set pieces toward the end. At one point Black Panther and Kilmonger look like video game creations when they fighting in mid air.
This probably sounds like I am trashing this film but I actually do like it quite a bit overall, I just felt it necessary to point out the wildly obvious missteps that a lot of people seem to be missing or blissfully ignoring. For example, Letitia Wright as Shuri, T'Challa's tech wizard sister, is a revelation not only as comic relief but as vital character to much of the film's plot. Lupita N'yongo also does good work here as T'Challa's love interest. Chadwick Boseman impresses again as T'challa, following on from his small but standout role in 'Civil War', proving a very charasmatic lead. Andy Serkis is also great here looking like he's having all the fun in the world and stealing every scene he's in reprising his character from 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'.
So all in all 'Black Panther' is a decent upper mid tier entry in the MCU with some issues that prevent it from being one of the best that this universe has to offer.