A Fresh Take on a Tired Genre

Rating: 9/10 (16 February 2018)

Wow. There's just not much to criticize here. I think the people who will be most disappointed are the people going in expecting a standard action-packed superhero movie where a costumed hero battles a costumed villain for the better part of two hours with a little dialog and drama interspersed so as not to get tedious and a forced and unnecessary romance subplot no one actually cares about. This is kind of the opposite.
It's an almost Shakespearean drama with fresh takes on everything that has made this genre feel tiresome. Beautiful world-building, artistic vision, mind-blowing sets, elaborate and gorgeous costuming, a dozen brilliant acting performances, a nuanced villain with a grounded real-world perspective and motivation, an extended cast that actually matters, a historical background that provides context without the endless flashbacks and hamfisted exposition, and a real sense of danger and importance surrounding the events.
There are a few predictable tropes that play out exactly as expected, but it's mostly fun and highly inventive in other areas. Killmonger is one of the MCU's best villains, and the final battle was like watching a Tron remix of a Capcom fighting game.