"Black Panther" Movie Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars

In my opinion, though Marvel has had a pretty solid streak of movies, there haven't been that many since "Guardians of the Galaxy" that I would call amazing. Most of them have been just fine. My main problem with all of them is that they have continued to follow a very noticeable formula without really changing anything up. I hoped that "Black Panther" could be the movie to break that mold. After all, he was one of my favorite parts of "Civil War". Even if there are some cliched and formulaic moments in this movie, I still can't deny that "Black Panther" is one of the better Marvel movies I've seen in recent memory. This is due to solid direction by Ryan Coogler, a great cast, and a general feeling that there's more weight to this movie than there have been in other recent Marvel films.

This story could be looked at, in some ways, as an origin story for Black Panther. But, instead of T'Challa having to train a whole lot, he is already a pretty experienced warrior. We begin this movie with him returning back to his homeland of Wakanda and ruling there as king. But he begins to question his ancestors- and himself- upon encountering Erik Killmonger. Thematically, I think this movie does solid work at honing in some pretty complex ideas. This movie is almost solely focused on how T'Challa struggles to find the balance between being a king and a warrior. He is admittedly good at doing both, but there are times when he has a tough time deciding which side to let out in a particular moment. I appreciate that this was the focus of the movie, as it helps let in an interesting subtext to the movie: commentary on racism. I think it was somewhat inevitable that the film would be talking about racism in America. This mainly comes through the character of Killmonger. Rather than making him very over the top or cartoonish (like so many Marvel villains), we get to see a character who is broken inside. He has a sympathetic edge to him, and if you're a rational viewer, you can at least somewhat see where he's coming from in his motivations. Even though we're obviously not supposed to side with him, it's fitting that he makes T'Challa gain some sort of knowledge about himself. That's what the best villains are supposed to do. Erik is easily the best Marvel villain since Loki. It has been such a long time since there has been a truly multi-faceted antagonist like this in any superhero movie. It brought a smile to my face to see such complex opposition be in this film.

Another part of this movie that I love is the world building of Wakanda. Many Marvel movies just take place in America, so there doesn't need to be a real establishing of anything. But this movie takes place in a world that is foreign to its audience, so Coogler had a lot to do to make this world feel tangible. And, to me, it does. There's so much interesting lore throughout this movie about how Wakanda operates. We get to see all their intriguing rituals and traditions. They have different tribes, people with conflicting beliefs, and they put an immense respect on their leadership. My favorite part of the world building is how they reveal the ancestral realm. Not only is it visually beautiful, but it also just feels so ethereal and interesting. The usage of purples and blues gave it a sense of mystery and intrigue. The soundtrack often helped Wakanda feel more like its own entity as well, as the soundtrack here was very different and didn't have your typical action movie beats. My point here is Coogler's creativity in making Wakanda stand out makes this Marvel movie feel so different in comaprison to its peers. In fact, it doesn't always feel like a superhero flick. It doesn't have to namedrop other superheroes or even bring them in to the film. Instead, this movie stands very strongly on its own, and that is such a refreshing and welcome change.

For the most part, the casting in this film is excellent. I had already liked Chadwick Boseman in the titular role previously, and I only liked him more in this film. There's a certain calming presence that he gives in this movie. Even in his weakest moments, you get the feeling that T'Challa is in control and has a plan. He has a dignified aura, and Boseman gives this character a quiet sense of power. I loved following and getting to know Black Panther because of his performance. He really keeps this movie aloft and makes the audience have someone that they can easily root for. The highlight performance of this film, though, comes from Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger. This character was already well-written from a script stance, and Jordan really sells the character in the best way possible. I felt intimidated by this character when I needed to be (especially in one particular scene where Jordan excellently lets out a haunting monologue), and I felt sympathetic to him at other moments. Jordan makes this character charismatic and menacing at the same time. Whenever he is on screen, the movie picks up and becomes even more interesting. I honestly wish he was in the movie more, because there is a good portion of the film when he's not in it. Another highlight is Danai Guirra as Okoye. Guirra completely disappears into this role. It can be hard to make a tough, reserved character seem interesting, but she does it very well. Lupita Nyongo as Nakia has great chemistry with T'Challa. The moments with the two of them are some of the best in the movie. Andy Serkis was a fun presence on screen as Klaue, offering some of the more darkly comedic moments of the film. Even though his role as this old mentor character might be a little cliched, I still couldn't help enjoying Forest Whittaker as Zuri. There were a few performances that, as I thought about them more, I wasn't as impressed by. Letita Wright as Shuri doesn't really have much of a character beyond being a technology dispensary. She also offers one of the more cringy lines in the movie; it was clearly trying to be a funny moment but wasn't at all. Angela Bassett as Romanda, as always, tries her hardest to give a good performance, but her character is uninteresting and stale. Martin Freeman as Everett is not awful, but his type of performance feels like it belongs in a different film. 

There are a couple other miscellaneous issues about this film. While they don't detract significantly from me liking this movie, they're still present. The action scenes in this movie are, overall, not the most impressive in the Marvel canon. Some of them are shot in places that are way too dark to the point where you can't see anything going on. There is a pretty good car chase scene, and the action sequence in the casino is good, but the final fight is standard and underwhelming. Also, some of the CGI in this movie is not the greatest. It can even be awkward at points. Unlike a Marvel movie like "Guardians" where the CGI blends really well, here it can be noticeable. Finally, while this movie doesn't follow all the beats of a Marvel movie, it does follow the beats of an origin story almost too closely. That makes the movie, occasionally, a little predictable. Another slight problem is that we don't really feel that the Black Panther is in any actual danger at any moment in the movie. 

Still, even with those criticisms, I still can't deny that I loved "Black Panther". With most Marvel movies, I leave feeling like I enjoyed myself, but I know that I had problems with them. With this one, it took me much longer to even start thinking about one issue I had with it. Even though my criticisms came eventually, the fact that they took so long indicates just how much I liked this film. In my honest opinion, "Black Panther" is the best Marvel movie since "Civil War". I don't say that lightly. It deviates from what is typical for this franchise, and instead is a movie that feels weightier and has some deep themes on its mind. I definitely recommend you see this one. Also, after I review "Infinity War", be on the lookout for my ranking of ALL of the Marvel films!