Jack Kirby's Black Panther arrives- in style...

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2016)

CAPTAIN America: CIVIL WAR starts out as a gabfest but mercifully degenerates into a cgi slugfest before all is said and done. While it's not exactly sophisticated in its overall concept ("divide and conquer"), it's better than most of the comic book-based fare to which we've been subjected these past several years. The only reason I was interested in seeing this one was because it promised to finally introduce one of Jack Kirby's greatest creations- The Black Panther- to the Big Screen. His origin story is told (however briefly) and we get to see him in costume (in the comics, his one-piece all black costume is almost identical to the DC Golden Age character Wildcat's costume) and in action (outrunning speeding police vehicles in questionable cgi sequences, but otherwise stealing most of the scenes he's in simply by virtue of being there). There are more superheroes per square foot in this one than in both AVENGERS movies combined. Comics fans can't ask for more (the screen couldn't hold 'em).