As long as you didn't overhype yourself, it's very good

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2018)

This is the part where the pasty white guy says something dangerously close to: "There's no way I could be racist. I have a black friend."
So growing up in Brooklyn, some of my better friends have lived their lives constantly effected by the remnants of institutionalized racism and racism in general. And denying that racism has infected all walks of life, including Hollywood, and continues to do so, is to be perpetuating a fallacy. You need to have some bulletproof blinders on in order to believe anything else. Under-representation of black culture and whitewashing is an easily traceable pattern in Hollywood. Multiple black actors is a rare sight in a film, unless the film is about sports or slavery. I agree that the overly PC culture we live in can go too far in it's demands for "social justice" and in it's outrage where it isn't truly warranted, but facts are facts and the annoying nature of some "SJWs" doesn't alter said facts.
Now, as a middle class white man who grew up seeing racial injustice but never truly living through it, I found the idea of a Marvel super hero movie set in Africa and consisting nearly entirely of black main and supporting actors refreshing and interesting. However, for my friends it was far more than that. It was a source of pride and extreme emotional investment. Even now just looking at their Facebook wall you would see the positive impact that the very existence of this film has on their lives and continues to do so. And that's a beautiful thing. I want every movie I watch to have that effect on me and am thrilled when a movie, even one I don't personally like, has that effect on anyone.
However, that emotional impact, those Facebook posts, the glowing reviews and everything else surrounding this film's release, as happy as it made me for people I care about, is the exact reason I waited a little bit to watch it. Because this movie had all the hype in the universe, and hype culture is a terrible thing with no true benefit to any moviegoer. If you hype yourself into thinking a movie's going to be a 10, and it's a 9, you will be disappointed. If you go in thinking it will be a 5, and it's a 6, you'll be pleasantly surprised. I had to go back into "5" mode before I decided to see this.
So I managed to go into this film with weathered expectations and a constant mind to the things I typically don't like about Marvel films, instead of the hype. Even though I love the idea of this film and am happy that it's an overwhelming triumph financially, none of it mattered to me if it didn't succeed as a film on it's own merits.
It did.
The movie has the three main problems that I have with all Marvel movies: too long, CGI porn and containing bad one liners that take the drama away from a scene. However this movie was one of the lesser offenders in the MCU in those regards. There's only one or two of the lame drama-cutting jokes (and although this joke wasn't of that variety, any "what are those" jokes deserve to rot in the deepest circle of hell). To boot, although the movie felt a tiny bit long, looking back I can't think of any particular thing that could have been cut. I originally thought the Oakland stuff could have been cut, but they paid that stuff off in a big way at the end. I originally though the "challenge" scene didn't need to be there, but it served as a lesson in a Wakandan culture and provided context to later events, so no problem there. Ultimately I can't complain too much about the length. And it's a Marvel movie so CGI porn is CGI porn and it's there and there can't be much done about it. However the warrior culture and natural backdrops of Wakanda make for much more clear and enjoyable battle scenes overall.
The story here is simple but effective: T'Challa is a new King after the death of his father. With the changing landscape of the world, the discovery of a stolen artifact and the eventual arrival of Killmonger, he is emburdened with the question of whether Wakanda's technology should be shared with the world, a new threat and the realization of his father's greatest failing. The movie is paced well, makes sense, is greatly performed, the score is excellent and best of all the isolationist nature of Wakanda meant the film wasn't burdened with gratuitous references to other Marvel movies, much like how the setting of Wonder Woman worked in it's favor.
I knew Chadwick Boseman was a great actor and an excellent Black Panther after his previous turn as him in Civil War, but whether he could carry the main duties in a film was yet to be seen, and he was great here. Emotional yet powerful, serious yet charismatic, and believable. He has great chemistry with all of his co-stars and really fits the bill as a leading man. Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger continues to check marks on his rise to superstardom, creating something as rare as a unicorn: a compelling villain in a Marvel movie. His upbringing is laid bare and it makes his pain, anger and motivation completely understandable. He isn't trying to take over Wakanda because "I'm the antagonist"; he's doing so because he wants both revenge on the world, and in his own mind, to save it. In the context of the film, you definitely feel for him. Also as a child raised in Oakland California in the 90s, his juxtaposition with the African people of Wakanda makes for an intriguing contrast.
The supporting cast members are all noteworthy in their own right. I especially enjoyed Letitia Wright as Shuri. She was the funniest castmember, often quick with a one-liner that lands, and never obnoxiously so save for that "what are those" travesty. She never felt like a caricature or a stock "funny" character. Just a witty character with a sense of humor. Later in the film, when she had to be serious, she was.
In the end, even ignoring the poison to balanced expectations that is hype culture, what you have with Black Panther it a well-paced, well-acted and well-told story and a bona-fide standout among Marvel movies, limiting the little annoyances that plague most of them. If there is an extra emotional element to you personally, even better.