The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has for better or worse changed the landscape of American cinema. Films cannot exist as a standalone experience anymore. They have to fit into a larger cinematic experience of interconnected films and characters that may or may not lead to a team-up of said characters. Call it the Avengers effect. I get it... why make one film when you can make a million? You see it everywhere. Cloverfield gets a universe! Transformers gets a universe! Hell, we're getting a sequel to The Passion Of The Christ soon (POTC 2: Christ Harder, I hope)! The knock on the MCU is that the individual films have lost their voice. They only serve as feeder films to the larger Avengers movies. Directors are there to work under a strict set of guidelines and are almost interchangeable. However, around the time of Thor: The Dark World, these films began to lose steam. At that time, the MCU took a turn for the better. Films like Guardians Of The Galaxy, Ant-Man and the most recent Thor film all felt like the work of a directors with distinct visions and voices. Yes, they still fit into the larger MCU, but they all felt fresh and exciting. With that being said, Black Panther (from extraordinary director Ryan Coogler) feels like the MCU's most realized voice yet. It's a vibrant world full of rich and interesting characters that is an absolute treasure. It will surely go down as one of, if not the best MCU films of all-time. It will surely make my 2018 top-10, and I can't see many films knocking it out of the top 5.
Black Panther picks up where Captain America: Civil War leaves off. Price T'Challa (played delightfully by the talented Chadwick Boseman) is the reluctant new king of Wakanda, a secret African Nation that possesses otherworldly technology. He must choose whether or not to keep the nation of Wakanda secret from the world, or to help other nations with its technology and prowess. It's basically this film's version of the Spider-Man "with great power comes great responsibility." The nation of Wakanda is under attack from the nefarious Ulysses Klau (a terrific, albeit limited role played by Andy Serkis), who wants to take their wonder element, Vibranium, and sell it out to the highest bidder. There is also a terrific, almost Shakespearean, story line involving long lost cousin (played with incredible gusto by the marvelous Michael B. Jordan), who wants to claim the crown for himself. All these outside elements test the new king in a way that could shape the world forever.
Like I said previously, Black Panther is the work of one of best working directors today, Ryan Coogler. It's as if Marvel gave him complete freedom to develop this world in a way that was unafforded to other directors in the MCU. And their trust pays off. From the music, to costumes, to the ancillary characters, there's nothing that gets slighted. My favorite character is T'Challa's sister, who almost acts as a Wakandan version of the Q branch in James Bond films. The all-female warrior guards are a sight to behold as well. Led by The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira, these warriors were a true delight. Wakanda is as rich of a world as there's been in recent years. Each character has a purpose and story that's important to the larger story. And the action is top notch. It's a world that happens to live inside the larger MCU, but also works on its own. Its vibrancy is almost unparalleled in modern cinema. I can't recommend Black Panther enough.
Black Panther is the first MCU masterpiece since the original Iron Man. Ryan Coogler is on his way to becoming a top-tier Hollywood director. His voice and vision is a refreshing addition to mainstream action blockbusters. 4 out of 4 stars.
Stay through the credits for the standard MCU advancing scenes. I can't believe I still need to say this, but there were people leaving during the credits last night.
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