Black Panther

This review may contain spoilers!

This is beyond a doubt the worst film Marvel has created thus far, which is a real shame considering what it could have been. I would give Black Panther a 4/10.

Black Panther is best when it is the main hero, T'Challa trying to prove himself as a leader and hero; there's a real sense of adventure to this aspect of the narrative which makes his journey interesting to watch. There's a reasonable degree of development in T'Challa's journey and it's nice to see a new unique hero lead his feature well. The cinematography is excellent, a number of shots are incredibly creative and make the dialogue sequences as exhilarating visual as some of the action sequences.

Chadwick Boseman, who played Black Panther, is so naturally this role; he has a quiet confidence to him that is complemented by his mixture of charisma and aggression in moments of conflict. Michael B. Jordan, who played Erik Killmonger, is an example of an actor who performs above and beyond the script; Jordan is a boisterous and commanding antagonist who steadily shows himself to be out for blood. Danai Gurira, who played Okoye, is an incredibly intense warrior role; the way Gurira portrays her character's struggle between duty and her own conscience is a great aspect of this role. Martin Freeman, who played Everett K. Ross, is very by the book and plays quite a respectable law enforcement agent; Freeman lends a lighter edge to his role than he managed in Civil War and is an intriguing empathetic observer throughout. Winston Duke, who played M'Baku, is a very staunch warrior who is both stern and likeable; Duke shows a more comedic side to his character making him a fast favourite. Andy Serkis, who played Ulysses Klaue, is the best antagonist of the film; Serkis' is a natural figure of unpredictable chaos throughout his screen time.

However, the best performance came from Letitia Wright, who played Shuri. This is such an energetic, happy character who is nothing short of brilliant both in terms of intellect and personality. Wright's bright demeanour and carefree attitude make her an immediate fan-favourite. Shuri is such a capable character who puzzles out solutions and designs to vast problems in a matter of moments. Wright's natural charisma results in some great chemistry with Boseman and the brother/sister dynamic is one of the best relationships in the entire film.

This is a very exposition heavy film if your eyes don't glaze over from the mountains of information being handed over to you in near every scene then you're doing pretty well. It's nice to be in a new setting within the Marvel universe but half the film feels like a small novel about the culture, politics and history of Wakanda. There's a real disillusionment in how the characters related to Wakanda are written here, the American director is being heard very clearly but this means that often you don't feel like the story stems from the characters but rather the voice of the director. After the plot has spent so much time teaching you about the admittedly dull setting, there is then a confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist that ends with a particular result. The problem with this is that as a result of the conflict the antagonist wins rather rightfully and there isn't much reason to support the protagonist. In fact, if the antagonist wasn't such a cut and dry angry, spiteful role who wants to kill and conquer for little reason at all he would actually be as easy to like as T'Challa. The film doesn't spend time letting you get to know many of the characters, you're barely introduced to most of them and as a result, when these characters come into danger you don't care what happens to them much at all. The special effects for the film seem great sometimes but it's very clear the budget was stretched thin; the CGI rhinos and greenscreen dream sequences look hideous. The score for the film is creative at least, but the blend of hip-hop and African-inspired music really doesn't mix well and no scenes are really complemented by anything beyond Killmonger's theme.

Lupita Nyong'o, who played Nakia, is a rather unassuming love interest for the film; Nyong'o really just seems to be in the film so that Boseman has some degree of a relationship. Daniel Kaluuya, who played W'Kabi, seems to have connections to some characters but is never given the time to show a meaningful relationship between anyone else; his development into a minor antagonist is the least surprising development within this predictable feature. Sterling K. Brown, Atandwa Kani, Denzel Whitaker, who played N'Jobu, Young T'Chaka and Young Zuri respectively, feel so out of place mixing it as Wakandan spies who are posing as American gangsters for little apparent reason; Kani's Black Panther is a stoic two-dimensional copy of what we already know. Angela Bassett, who played Ramonda, is quite a stiff to watch regal role; Bassett's role is boring and you feel that she's playing her character far more distant than she needs to be. Forest Whitaker, who played Zuri, hasn't learnt a great deal since Rogue One; his wild ranting character is ridiculous and you don't much care when he's killed off. John Kani, who played T'Chaka, doesn't do a great deal more than dish out exposition in this film; Kani is dull with his line delivery and you don't much care about the moments of reunion between him and Boseman.