Black Panther review: The game-changing black superhero movie from Marvel

Marvel’s Black Panther has a lot going for it. In the off chance that this Marvel movie didn’t have much going for it, one could still say it was one of the best looking movies from the company ever. Black actors on Wakanda have never looked so good.

Black Panther rocks the Afrofuturism and anti-imperialist worldview. It’s bold and probably the most radical superhero movie till date. No other superhero movie till date has gone to the lengths of showing African scientists tower over their western counterparts. No other superhero movie has had as many black actors, especially in the lead roles.

Ryan Coogler’s film has gone to the lengths other superhero movies have not. In fact, the only two non-black actors – Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman – acted in Lord of the Rings movies.

Black Panther, at the end of the day, is a lively and entertaining movie that is not afraid to embrace its blackness. Plus, it’s got all the hallmarks of a great Marvel movie. The grand VFX, the likeable characters, the big battle sequences and a memorable villain.

Black Panther may not be new to the viewer – the character was introduced in Captain America: Civil War – but the actor that plays the titular hero, Chadwick Boseman is truly a boss. If Black Panther is anything to go by, Boseman will soar in Avengers: Infinity War. Black Panther needs no Avengers to introduce its titular character

T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is the new king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda after the death of his father, King T’Chaka, back in Captain America: Civil War. Wakanda, is the most technologically advanced nation in the world and the weapons it possesses can wipe out any nation.

T’Challa takes time getting used to his new role. It’s a whole other ball game than just zipping around with the Avengers. His first task is to get Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis), back to Wakanda. In a ‘Skyfall’ type casino shootout in South Korea, this movie, with all its gadgets, may seem more like James Bond than any other Marvel movie.

Besides bringing Klaue back, T’Challa is challenged for the throne. Not one, but twice. One of them is Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), who is intent on taking over Wakanda and threatening the nation’s way of life. Some would argue that Killmonger is the most complex Marvel villains to date. At the end of the day, Killmonger, is a human, like all others. He wants to use the Wakandan knowledge and technology to reclaim power across the world from those that have abused it.