2018 Film Review: Black Panther (2018)

Directed by: Ryan Coogler
Written by: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
IMDb Link

An MCU movie that's excellent even for the MCU and has enough going on to stand out from the rest; from here on out what you read may be seen as spoilers, so if that's all you need to know, go see it.

The story follows T'Challa (Boseman), the Black Panther, almost immediately after the events of Captain America: Civil War, returning to his home of Wakanda, a super-advanced nation powered by tech made from Vibranium, a mine of which the capital is built upon. T'Challa ascends to the throne and begins his life as the new king, and we get to see him struggle with exactly what it means to be a good king and indeed what it means to be a good man, as the spectres his father left behind come back to challenge him and his ideas on how to lead a nation.

We're very quickly introduced to a lot of significant characters in his life, including but not limited to his friend and loyal adviser General Okoye (Danai Gurira), his outward-thinking spy ex-girlfriend Nakia (Nyong'o), and his irreverent and genius tech expert sister Shuri (Letitia Wright). Boseman continues to be a charismatic and dynamic character, but each of these side characters is so well-realised and engaging that it's easy for them to steal the show. This is particularly the case with Shuri, whose playfulness is so natural that you know who she is to T'Challa before it's even spelled out for us, and whose humour is both organic and endearing.

A surprise is just how good villain called 'Killmonger' can be. Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger is the most well developed villain in the MCU, with a conflict at once relevant and righteous but forged and distorted by hatred and time. He's a cold-blooded murderer, beyond salvation because he refuses it, and yet in his final moments it's impossible not to feel sympathy for the ideals of a once innocent child, bleeding through a soul marked by loss and anger. It's key that his plight is culturally relevant too; it offers a little unique insight, not a lot but more than you would expect from an Afro-futurist fantasy movie from the MCU.

A final key feature of the movie is its aesthetics; both in terms of visuals and sounds, Black Panther is excellent. The camera moves slickly and with purpose, across a landscape of vibrant colour with an intriguing mix of the primal and tech. There's an incredible amount of style here, and it leaves you wanting to see more of Wakanda. The music is the lifeblood of the movie, accentuating scenes with a fast pace and tones ranging from aggressive to heartfelt, and most importantly stopping entirely when the film really needs you to breathe in a moment. 

This is also where the only real criticisms of the movies are. The visuals are often stunning, but there are a number of composites and green-screen scenes that just don't look good, and while the movie does take a breather once, there's so much packed in that the film may have benefited from a longer running time. They don't ruin the movie, by any measure, but they are notable. 

The Short Version: Black Panther is a fresh frame for a familiar format. It has an engaging story, memorable characters, fantastic visuals, and a pulsing soundtrack, all of which are some of the best that the MCU has to offer.

Rating: 8/10

Published February 15th, 2018