A king will rise.
This review contains spoilers. 

"Black Panther" is directed by Ryan Coogler (Creed); Coogler also co-wrote the film alongside Joe Robert Cole (American Crime Story). The cast includes Chadwick Boseman (42), Michael B. Jordan (Creed), Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave), Martin Freeman (The Hobbit), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Letitia Wright (The Commuter) and Angela Bassett (What's Love Got to Do with It). "T'Challa, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king". "Blank Pather" is an important film; it has evolved past its 135-minute run-time and has become a cultural moment. Does it live up to the hype?

Watching "Black Panther" was a cinematic experience like no other. It has been a long while since I have seen a film where the audience cheered at the BBFC rating certificate, gasped and shouted throughout and screamed and applauded when it finished. It would be interesting to see if I feel as positive about "Black Panther" in a quiet crowd; I definitely think this is a film that should be experienced opening weekend when the excitement is at its peak. I've seen better superhero films and I've seen better Marvel films but the importance of "Black Panther" outweighs many of those. Just like "Wonder Woman" was an important film for women, "Black Panther" is an important film for the black community. What puts the cherry on the cake? Not only is "Black Panther" an important film, it is also a pretty great one. 

The casting directors have assembled an ensemble of talented actors. "Black Panther" is a refreshing superhero film in many ways but having a cast made up of primarily black actors, those who are criminally underrepresented in Hollywood, is a tremendous feat. The performances in this film are excellent, they raise the bar for the level of charisma and enthusiasm that should be expected from actors in a superhero film. Chadwick Boseman is excellent as T'Challa; Boseman's performance is very nuanced yet full of charm and personality. I would liken Boseman's performance to Gal Gadot's portrayal of Diana in "Wonder Woman"; both actors made their characters feel personable. This is not only Boseman's break-out role but also a career-defining one for him; I would welcomingly like to see him portray T'Challa for years to come. T'Challa is a different kind of leader; he is peaceful and kind; he struggles to make tough and potentially violent decisions but his heart is in the right place. The only issue I had with T'Challa was that the character did not get much development; the audience is left knowing the same information about the character at the end of the film as they did at the start. I was expecting more of an origin story and was surprised when this was speedily covered in less than 10 minutes at the beginning. Boseman didn't let this lack of character development constrain his performance though; T'Challa still felt like a multi-dimensional character thanks to Boseman's great work. 

Everyone in this cast is splendid. For me, it was Letitia Wright who stole the show; she had some hilarious moments and also delivered a very likeable performance. The sibling relationship between T'Challa and Shuri (Wright) was a joy to watch. Wright successfully replicates the 'What are those?' vine and refers to Martin Freeman's Everett as another white boy that has ended up in Wakanda to be saved; both of these moments elicited roaring laughter from the audience as well as Wright's many other funny scenes. Some will argue that all of the female characters are stuck in supporting roles; while this is technically accurate, the writers have ensured to flesh out each female with different skills and personality traits; Shuri is the technical genius, Ramona (Bassett) is the queen and Nakia (Nyong'o) and Okoye (Gurira) are kick-ass warriors. Angela Bassett delivers a wonderful performance. Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira are a great duo, they steal so many scenes. One of which is at the conclusion of an action sequence when the car they are in is destroyed and while Okoye has to jump on to a piece of scrap metal, Nakia is left in the remainder of the driving seat. Other than her appearances in "The Jungle Book", "Star Wars" and "Non-Stop", this was the first time I've actually seen Nyong'o act. I believe this role is very different to what she usually does, but she certainly was not out of her comfort zone; Lupita Nyong'o delivers! Her character is Boseman's love interest but love does not define her. There is a great moment that epitomises the strength and power of her performance; Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger has just overthrown T'Challa as the king; Nakia refuses to accept this and says that she will stand for her country, not its leader. This line is not only politically poignant, but it made the character even more likeable; the audience literally cheered her on. 

We're not done yet with this superb cast. Michael B. Jordan and Andy Serkis play the film's villains. I have seen mixed reactions online to Jordan's performance; some think he was miscast, some think he does not make that much of an impression. I thought Jordan was great; he balances comedic moments with moments of radical evil. Jordan's Killmonger may just be one of the best villains in a Marvel film; the character is developed and his motivations are clearly outlined. Andy Serkis starts out as the film's main villain but narrative twists (talk about that soon) result in him being absent for the second half. Serkis is clearly having a lot of fun with his performance; he's wacky, full of energy and had the audience laughing non-stop. Daniel Kaluuya was good; his role was very small which meant he was not given the opportunity to showcase his talent but it was nice to see him in a major blockbuster. Forest Whitaker also finds himself in a small role but delivers all of his lines well and even though his character's death didn't feel as impactful as intended, Whitaker should still be pleased with his work here. Winston Duke also has some funny moments. 

Narratively, "Black Panther" did not feel like a superhero film at all; it is very small scale, but the stakes are still high. In terms of Marvel films, its narrative is most comparable to "Ant-Man" which also told quite a small-scale story. However, "Black Panther" surpasses "Ant-Man" in all areas. The same atmosphere is created as in an "Iron Man", "Captain America" or "Avengers" film where it is an end-of-the-world kind of situation. This shows how strong the world-building in "Black Panther" is; the audience care enough about Wakanda, its heritage and its natives. It was also refreshing for Marvel to once again make a film where it truly feels like a standalone story; this does not really connect to the bigger picture which makes it all-the-more accessible to those who are simply seeing "Black Panther" because of its cultural importance. The narrative is structured similarly to most superhero films but manages to add a level of significance to the action sequences; rather than the story pausing for spectacle, the action helps the narrative to unfold. The action sequences are sparse but exhilarating to watch; the one in Korea was fun to watch and the third-act battle was also entertaining. "Black Panther" tells the story of what it is like to be a king; balancing being a good leader, fighting for what is right and dealing with the opposition. Twice in the film, T'Challa's position as king is challenged. I liked how this was executed; T'Challa is stripped of his panther powers and must fight the challenger. The second of these battles was intense and brutal to behold; it ends with T'Challa's 'death' which was emotional and a great narrative choice that allowed the audience, and natives of Wakanda, to experience life under the leadership of Killmonger. 

The narrative isn't predictable and generic though, there are twists and timely commentary that sets "Black Panther" apart. The film begins with a scene with T'Challa's father, when he was the Black Panther, N'Jobu (Sterling K. Brown) and Zuri (Whitaker). T'Challa's father kills N'Jobu as he has stolen vibranium. N'Jobu's son is left fatherless. It is later revealed that N'Jobu is T'Challa's father's brother and therefore T'Challa's uncle...and the abandoned son grows up to be Killmonger. I did not suspect this twist coming and thought it did wonders for the narrative as a whole as well as the development of Killmonger. It also made T'Challa's father's comment about kings not always being good people relevant; T'Challa's father made the choice to leave a fatherless son to grow up alone. Killmonger's masterplan is very timely; he frowns upon Wakanda for not using the powers of vibranium to assist the black community during times of oppression; he now wants to take over Wakanda and distribute vibranium throughout the world to allow the black community to use it as a weapon against oppressors. This is a relatable and empathetic masterplan; even though it is also quite radical, audiences are able to understand where Killmonger is coming from. In contrast, T'Challa stands for peace and only fighting when necessary. T'Challa makes a speech in the first post-credit scene that embodies this. I was also surprised to see a Marvel film kill off significant characters; of course, T'Challa was always going to come back alive somehow but I did not expect to see the deaths of Klaue (Serkis) or Zuri. This is a promising turn for Marvel as a common complaint has always been, no matter how high the stakes are, the main characters always survive and are unharmed. There is also a rewarding post-credit scene that sees Bucky wake. 

Visually, "Black Panther" is a delight. The visual effects are terrific, I particularly liked how T'Challa's Black Panther suit could reflect the vibranium power back on to the enemy; it was a cool visual. "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2" is still Marvel's strongest film visually for me, but that amount of visual effects is not required for this film (even though I'm sure the characters were not always in Africa). The green screen was sometimes a little off, it wasn't as horrific as "Thor: Ragnarok" but Marvel still need to work on their use of green-screen. The landscapes and elaborate production designs were amazing. The costume design was also very good. Visually, everything worked together well to create a bright and culturally appropriate colour-palette. When it was announced that Kendrick Lamar was composing 'Black Panther: The Album', I was expecting the film to have a really prominent soundtrack a la "Suicide Squad". However, none of the songs on the soundtrack made an impression on me until the end credits, Kendrick Lamar's "All The Stars" with SZA. Then again, I think the album was to produced to be a piece of the "Black Panther" movement; its purpose was not to make "Black Panther" a music-heavy film. The score was good though, it incorporated many African sounds effectively.

Finally, it feels necessary to address the cultural importance of "Black Panther'. This is a film that is a landmark for Hollywood; the first superhero film with a black lead. It is also an important film for members of the black community and supporters of diversity in Hollywood (it's absurd to even think someone would not support this!). It is marvellous (no pun intended) that Marvel has made a ground-breaking film that's quality matches its level of importance. I truly hope that "Black Panther" makes all of those that were rooting for it incredibly happy (it should do!). 

"Black Panther" is a refreshing entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; not only is the film incredibly progressive with such a diverse cast in comparison to past superhero flicks, the film's narrative is relatively small-scale. Chadwick Boseman leads an incredible cast, Chadwick Boseman IS Black Panther and one of my favourite Avengers. The action is thrilling, intense and exciting; the twists are genuinely surprising; the film is visually stunning. It was crucial that such a culturally significant film was good..."Black Panther" is great.