Storyline
After the events of Captain America: Civil War, King T'Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new leader. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from factions within his own country. When two foes conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must team up with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje, Wakandan special forces, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.
Actors:
Chadwick Boseman ... T'Challa / Black Panther
Michael B. Jordan ... Erik Killmonger
Lupita Nyong'o ... Nakia
Danai Gurira ... Okoye
Martin Freeman ... Everett K. Ross
Daniel Kaluuya ... W'Kabi
Letitia Wright ... Shuri
Winston Duke ... M'Baku
Sterling K. Brown ... N'Jobu
Angela Bassett ... Ramonda
Forest Whitaker ... Zuri
Andy Serkis ... Ulysses Klaue
Florence Kasumba ... Ayo
John Kani ... T'Chaka
David S. Lee ... Limbani
Director:
Ryan Coogler
Review Black Panther
Long Live the King - 9/10
Black Panther, directed by Ryan Coogler, tells the story of the new King T'Challa of Wakanda who must learn to handle the responsibilities of this title. Chadwick Boseman reprises his role as the Black Panther and goes up against his nemesis Killmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan.
Pros: Coogler has already proven himself to be an excellent director after movies like Fruitvale Station and Creed (both starring Jordan), but he showcases his full talents in Black Panther when given a huge budget to work with. The movie looks beautiful with bright lush colors. The soundtrack and musical score are also very good. At its heart, the movie's message is very profound and relevant to real world politics.
As expected, Boseman is awesome as T'Challa. His character goes through so much and his development throughout is handled perfectly. The best scenes of this movie are when he has to look within himself to find answers when the people he always trusted let him down. The cast in general has very good chemistry. T'Challa's relationship with his sister Shuri (Letiitia Wright) is very funny and it's easy to buy them as siblings. His relationship with his love Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) is even better. It would be criminal not to mention Danai Gurira and what she gives this movie from an action standpoint. Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger is without a doubt the best villain the MCU has presented so far. His motivations are so clear and his ideology directly challenges T'Challa's. He is physically and psychologically the perfect adversary for Black Panther.
Cons: The pacing of the movie is a bit odd. It moves pretty quickly until everything comes to a head at the very end. More time should have been spent in between to flesh out the side characters and let the emotions sink in. In addition, the action scenes are not among Marvel's best. The last battle between Panther and Killmonger in particular is pretty disappointing in all honesty. The CGI felt unfinished and they could have been cut together better.
Overall, Black Panther is a triumph for the MCU and its societal connotations. This is, in my opinion, the best origin movie that Marvel has made because of its amazing hero, great cast of role characters, and truly menacing villain.
Black Panther gets an A.
