Review of Black Panther (2018) by Rebecca31 — 16 Feb 2018

Did not meet expectations but it’s entertaining. Remember the five minute intro we got to Black Panther in Civil War? Well forget that because this is the Black Panther movie we deserve. Early reactions have been the most positive for a superhero movie in years and as it stands it’s currently the most positively reviewed superhero movie of all time. How’s that for high expectations. So I must admit I’m a little disappointed, for me it has been overhyped to unrealistic expectations. Not as good as I was hoping for and still one of the better solo Marvel movies but I wasn’t blown away at any point.

T’Challa aka the Black Panther aka the new King of Wakanda played by Chadwick Boseman returns home to his technologically advanced African nation that’s hidden from the rest of the world. Because the rest of the world cannot know about the vibranium and all the futuristic machines and weapons they possess because that could cause war and Wakanda are a peaceful nation who don’t want to wage war on the rest of the world even though with all their superpowered vibranium weapons they’d win easily. Anyway enter Andy Serkis and Michael B. Jordan. Also starring Lupita Nyong’o, Daniel Kaluuya, Martin Freeman, Danai Gurira and Angela Bassett. The cast are absolutely perfect, my only criticism is I needed more of Andy Serkis, his manic performance was great and he seemed underused. Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira give standout performances and add that extra wow factor to the action sequences. It’s got the story even though it reminded me of The Lion King / Shakespeare on more than one occasion. Even when everything else around it is a bit over powering the story-line is solid and doesn’t become an over the top mess as is the downfall of recent superhero films. It also has a great villain, with clear motives and nothing ridiculous about him. Honestly I was very concerned when the film first started because I found the opening scene to be one of the most underwhelming scenes to start a superhero movie. That aside, the rest of the film makes up for it. The action sequences are terrific and thoroughly enjoyable even if the film itself didn’t really blow me away. Maybe it came down to all the hype or maybe it was the ridiculous CGI armoured rhinos. It’s not brilliant, I liked it but more importantly you’ll be entertained. Visually stunning and the soundtrack was excellent. Black Panther is a prime example of a good stand alone superhero movie and it’s recommended for all you superhero fans out there.