Naturally, one would expect him to get his own solo film and rightly so. He proved through the narrative of Civil War that he was an interesting enough character, and that Boseman had the acting chops, to carry his own feature. So, two years after Steve Rogers delivered to Tony Stark his rightful ass-whooping, we come to this film. Is it a worthy continuation of the story of T'Challa? Is it worth all the praise that both audiences and critics have been heaping on it? Or is it, as some might have you believe, just another sign of Marvel sliding into a bottomless pit of failure?
In this order: Yes, yes, and get a life, losers.
In all seriousness - no, this isn't a bad movie. Is it a good one? Oh, certainly so. I was entertained. However, that doesn't mean there weren't a few problems with it. Despite what some corners of the internet might think about whether or not I'm qualified to even speak of this film, I'm not going to pull any punches. I don't care who is in what film for whatever reason. If they give a good performance and the product itself reflects the quality of the work and produces something excellent, then I'm satisfied.
It's the same reason why I really don't care that Jodie Whittaker is the new Doctor in Doctor Who. We've seen nothing of the writing, so it's really pointless to complain about it. Even a good actor (or actress) can be torn down by piss-poor writing and direction.
I'm glad to say that Black Panther doesn't suffer from that particular problem. The cast is predominately of African descent...which makes sense given that T'Challa is the King of an African nation and that, being rather isolationist, you really aren't going to see a lot of other races running around it. There are, in fact, only two main cast members that are non-African that being Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis, returning from their roles in previous MCU entries as CIA Agent Ross and Ulysses Klaue, respectively.
I'm also happy to say that the cast, as a whole, gives fine performances. In particulary, Boseman continues to shine as the thoughtful T'Challa, newcomer Michael B. Jordan puts in a good performance as "Killmonger" (an instance of things from comics not translating well and still being really, really stupid), and Letitia Wright has become a fast fan favorite as T'Challa's younger sister and technical adviser Shuri.
The plot is your standard Marvel fare - a villain emerges and causes adversity, this time using a secret related to the protagonist's past to cause problems in the present, usually the mistake of one of their parents.
See also Iron Man 2, Thor, and Thor: Ragnarok.
That's not to say that this is bad, of course. The reason it keeps getting used is that it works well as a storytelling device. More the point, it's honestly much more believable here than in the previously mentioned films.
The plot goes for a "Challenge To the Throne" variation this time, with Killmonger making his way into Wakanda to...you guessed it...challenge T'Challa for the throne. Before that, however, T'Challa learns a terrible secret about Killmonger when he attempts to capture Klaue....namely that he and Killmonger are cousins. T'Challa's father had sent his uncle, Killmonger's father, to America to act as a spy and he'd gone rogue by selling vibranium to Klaue. T'Challa killed him, and they had chosen to bury the entire affair...leaving behind Killmonger to mourn his father and swear revenge.
Clearly unable to take the child back to Wakanda because...
...umm...
...reasons?
I joke, but it actually plays into the isolationist nature of the Wakanda, one of the major driving forces of the plot and a question that T'Challa must answer by the end of the film - does Wakanda stay isolationist and watch the world around it, or does it start to reach out and help the world?
Unfortunately, his father chose the former choice and Killmonger comes in on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge, determined to kill T'Challa and take the throne. Does he succeed? Well, since we've all seen T'Challa in the Infinity War trailers by this point...no. No, he clearly fails and dies.
And then he's suddenly back without explanation.
...I won't lie, that would be a hell of a twist.
The film is good, the action is very well done save for a scene in the very beginning in the jungles of Nigeria. While I understand that it's a stealth mission and taking place at night as part of that reason, it highlights a problem I have with action scenes in many movies, namely that they fall to three sins - being too close, too dark, or using shaky cam. In the case of the Black Panther's first outing, being in a black suit in the middle of a thick jungle at night, it falls into the "too dark" category. While establishing T'Challa as a fighting badass isn't a bad thing - since it has been a while since Civil War - I would like to actually be able to see what is going on. From that first scene, all we really know is that asses are being kicked.
That being said, none of the other action scenes fall into this trap. The one during South Korea is one of my favorites. Very well done, and of note because the CGI appears to have actually improved again since Thor: Raganarok, which is definitely a good thing. Not that the CGI in Ragnarok was bad, but it was clearly reaching in more than a few places (the "This is totally Norway" backdrop when Thor and Loki find Odin and meet Hela for the first time comes to mind). The Black Panther suit and the later suit that Killmonger uses look great and most of the visual effects are very well integrated.
Another thing that is much better integrated is the humor, a common complaint of Marvel films being that they go too overboard in the humor. While Black Panther does have some funny moments, they do feel a bit more organic this time around. The jokes are there, but there are levity for the darker moments in a good balance. This is not a film of laughing, joking numbnuts screwing around, and that's both fitting of T'Challa as a character and a very good thing. Particularly after the comedy overload we got in Ragnarok.
It's rather like the inverse of the transition from Captain America: Winter Soldier to Guardians of the Galaxy, this time instead going from something largely humorous to something a bit more serious and less light-hearted.
It really is a good film. Honestly, there's only one problem I have with it - and it comes down to the writing. As I said before, Michael B. Jordan puts in a good performance as Killmonger. Despite the stupid name, he is believable, you understand his motivations and why he does what he does, and you can even sympathize with him to a degree - he's a man who has been robbed of everything and wants what he believes he's due.
The problem is that, by the time he takes over Wakanda...he's another maniac who wants to rule the world. I have heard from so many people and read so many op eds saying that Killmonger is the greatest villain that the MCU has produced since Loki, and that he's so unique and nuanced. And I hate to be the one to tell you this, but...he's not! Motives can vary and be complex. For example, Doctor Doom does not want to take over the world for the same reason that the Kingpin wants to take over all crime in the world.
To use a non-Marvel example, Lex Luthor doesn't want to defeat Superman for the same reason that the Joker wants to defeat Batman.
Reasons can be different. And while Killmonger preaches about helping out other African people all over the world, it quickly becomes clear that he has no interest in anything but causing chaos. He wants to "even the odds" through mass violence using Wakandian weapons. Make no mistake, he may be sympathetic, but he's by no means justified in what he's doing. His motives are noble, his methods and end goal are not.
And they're generic. It cheapens him somewhat, in my view.
Killmonger is also the only Marvel villain to date who has literally died from stupidity. When mortality wounded, T'Challa offers to save him and Killmonger decides to bleed out rather than be healed and then imprisoned for his crimes against Wakanda. This creates a bit of a problem for me, since T'Challa was clearly willing to save Zemo - a man who had murdered his father - but was unwilling to go that extra mile to try to save and redeem his own cousin. Because, honestly, I think he would have done so.
But that's just one minor issue that doesn't sully what is a very good film. You have good action, good characters, and some very good visual work. It's definitely a good fill in for the gap between Ragnarok and Infinity War, and serves as more of T'Challa who, again, I loved in Civil War. Seeing more of him here is good, particularly as he leads Wakanda into a bright, new dawn.
Black Panther is now in theaters from Walt Disney Motion Pictures and Marvel Studios.
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