Best Marvel Origin FIlm, Maybe the Best Marvel Film Yet...

Rating: 9/10 (19 February 2018)

The fact that the film's rating continues to climb despite the organized efforts to bring down it's rating is a testament to how good this movie really is.
I went in fairly skeptical - I'm not into comic books and am not familiar with the Black Panther series at all. I also haven't seen Creed or Fruitvale Station so I'm not familiar with the director's work.
As we were stepping out of the theater I was almost speechless, the best I could say at the time was "there are a LOT of things I loved about that."
The first thing that came to mind at the time, was the wonderful portrayal of Shuri by Letitia Wright and she's a good place to start...
As the plot is being constructed, shortly into the film, we are introduced to King T'Challa's younger sister, the brilliant Shuri in a role that defies all the typical 'nerd girl' cliches (she's self assured in all ways, enthusiastic to the point of exuberance,and completely ready to take the fight on herself) - she takes her brother on a tour of her lab showing him all the new tools and inventions she's come up with to help on their mission - the scene is an unabashedly loving take on the classic "Q and Bond" sequences from James Bond.
The Bond feel then carries over into the next scene in a South Korean casino, which culminates in the best choreographed fight scene to date in any Marvel film.
This then carries into a car chase sequence that continues to pay reference to Bond - in just the first viewing I caught references to both Brosnan and Moore era films in the car chase alone.
Outside of that aspect of the filmmaking, every other aspect of this movie is also very nearly perfect;
The world of Wakanda is so well built and the supporting characters are so much fun and so well done I could see this being the foundation of a long and varied franchise. I can think of three spin-offs I'd love to see.
The overall storyline is the most original to date in the Marvel Universe - especially for a 'tentpole' film.
The villain, Michal B Jordan, is one of the most menacing and yet fully realized villains for Marvel - it's been said that the villain is the hero in his own story and this couldn't be more true than in this film.
The dialog is fast, brilliant, and daring.
The final words spoken by Michael B Jordan, towards the end of the film, are the heaviest, darkest and most meaningful words spoken in any of these Marvel films. The line is so raw and honest and devastating I forgot I was watching a Disney-produced comic book film.
This is an exceptional film - ignore all the phony reviews here, give up preconceptions or misplaced feelings of being 'left out' of a 'black movie'. The pitiable and ineffectual racists who feel the need to blast this movie without seeing it are perhaps the ones who need to see it the most.