It was hard to imagine the path Marvel would take with Black Panther. I didn’t think Shuri would be a great protector and I didn’t see how they could replace Chadwick Boseman. We all loved him and thought he was the perfect Panther, so it almost seemed like she couldn’t do it justice. However,  I think that when you watch the movie you’ll see that it worked out well. The movie takes place many years after the first one and some years after we last saw him in the MCU. Don’t worry, they will catch you up. I don’t want to give away what they have been up to, so we’ll work around that. The film starts with scientists that find Vibranium underwater and a community that lives deep in those waters and wants to keep them away. The leader of those people is Namor and he comes to Wakanda to ask for an alliance.

The acting in the film was great, but I thought that there were some performances that were lacking. I thought Namor seemed pretty monotone throughout the film and would have liked to have seen more passion and rage from him. I understand that he’s supposed to be controlled, but it felt like he just couldn’t be bothered. I got that same feeling from a lot of the people from the underwater community, so I am not sure if it was a result of direction.  I thought the film direction was ok. There was nothing innovative or remarkable about it but didn’t suck. Then again, that seems to be a theme with Marvel films.

The Cinematography was decent. There were some moments when I really thought they used some beautiful frames. There were others where I thought that using a dark palette and mood manipulation would be enough and we shouldn’t need to forego the lighting. Some scenes were dark enough to make GOT S8 ask questions.  The color palettes were all over the place but in a good way. I thought that it had a nice range and it helped show how the different sides were different though they shared so much in common.  The storyline seemed good to me, though I have heard some people think the conflict was unnecessary. While I can see they might have thought that I think it was more because Namor lacked the passion and rage behind his reasons than the story. Wanting to protect your people and avenge your mother and tribe are great reasons to oppose someone and seek an alliance. I just think it came across as smaller than it should have been to him. And that made it seem like faulty reasoning.  A couple of side notes: The soundtrack was really good! There were a couple of times I wanted to reach for my find to find the songs, but didn’t feel like having my phone taken away. Also, you should be warned that the cold open and logo flip is all about Chadwick Boseman. You will need tissues and some sort of plan for wiping your eyes without drawing attention from the person you attend with.

Overall, I thought it was a pretty good movie, and give it an eight. I had thought it would suck or that it would be boring, but neither was true. There are some great fight scenes, some emotionally wrecking scenes, and a few scenes that you didn’t expect. The cast did a great job and I know Chadwick would be proud, which I’m sure means more to them than any accolade I could give. Just a heads up for comic fans: pay attention to the names of the Dora Milaje and a couple might sound familiar. It wasn’t until the end of the film that I realized they were Aneka and Ayo, who were the focus of World of Wakanda (a comic series about a couple of Dora Milaje who fall in love and have to protect Shuri which was sadly short lived.)