Movie Review - Black Panther

As we get ever so close to the most anticipated Marvel film of the decade, it's time to get serious as we look at a film that brings in a few firsts for both Marvel films and superhero films alike. Its the first Marvel and superhero film to have an almost all people of colour cast and crew. Its the first MCU film to have less humour and more serious moments (which for a film like this just before the war, seems appropiate). And its the second film after Civil War to be a solo film focused on a character introduced in that film. Lots of great things to be seen here as well as a few not so great things. So let's enter the kingdom of Wakanda:

The film begins by taking us centuries before the First Avenger came about. We see five tribes who go to war over a meteorite of the alien metal known as vibranium. One warrior in the war, ingested a herb that was affected in some way by the metal and gave this warrior superhuman strength. This warrior would then become the first Black Panther who's one purpose is to reunite the tribes to form the nation of Wakanda. Though not all tribes agreed to this form of peace among themselves, the Wakandans would use the vibranium to create highly advanced technology and would also isolate themselves from the rest of the world. We then move swiftly to 1992 where the former Black Panther T'Chaka (reprised by John Kani with his son playing his younger self) goes to deal with an undercover operative who plans to reveal Wakanda and its technology to the rest of the world as a means for war. Without spoiling the rest of this bit, this scene provides exposition for the rest of the film. So now we are at the present where following the death of his father, the current Black Panther T'Challa (reprised by Chadwick Boseman) returns to Wakanda to claim his rightful place on the throne but not before extracting his ex-lover Nakia (played by Maz from Star Wars, Lupita Nyong'o) alongside the leader of one of Wakanda's many fighting forces Okoye (played by Michonne herself, Danai Gurira). But the past slowly catches up and it isn't long before the Black Panther has to deal with some new threats that threaten his place on the throne.

As packed as the film is, its largely more talking and exposition than anything else. But that's OK as it feels like the most stand alone film in the MCU so far. Mainly because of how very different it is to your typical MCU film. It has a great cast who I'm sure will all do well after this film. It has an Avatar feel to it due to its isolation and how different this place is to the rest of the world. And I also like how they manage to mix gangsta and African music well together without it feeling forced. As for Michael B. Jordan who is no stranger to a Marvel film, he is much better in this than as the Human Torch I have to say. As I said, its not your typical Marvel film and some of you may not enjoy this as much as Marvel's other work. But I'd say its a welcome change of pace especially in the lead up to Infinity War. And yes Stan Lee does have a cameo in a casino area and a familiar face appears in one of the credits scenes so you got that to look forward to as well. 8/10