The year, 2011. The film, “Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger. Half way through this early offering from the Marvel Cinematic Universe there is a scene where Steve Rogers receives his brand new shield from Howard Stark. It was explained to the audience at the time that this very same shield was made from the rarest metal on earth…. VIBRANIUM. To the uninitiated this could have been much ado about nothing. But for the rest of us, we knew of the only place in this universe where one could acquire such a rare commodity was the nation of Wakanda. The question at that point wasn’t if we’d ever see Black Panther on screen, but when would this momentous occasion take place.
Finally, in 2018, after whetting our collective appetites by having the Black Panther appear in “Captain America: Civil War”, Marvel has turned the reigns over to director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) and he directs what not only amounts to one of the best MCU entries and a ‘top ten comic book movies of all time’ candidate. Coogler has crafted a solid film overall with a great pace, a dynamic cast where almost all get to shine, exquisite and lush environments, breathtaking action set pieces and an interesting villain.
The movie opens by explaining the history and importance of Vibranium and its relation to the people and culture of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. Isolated and shrouded in secrecy for generations from the rest of the world, the time has come where the people and more importantly their King must ask themselves why they would not want to share their prosperity, other-worldly next level technology or their way of life with the rest of mankind. Then there are those who do not share in that sentiment and see all that tech as a way to punish those who have oppressed so many for so long and take their rightful place at the head of the table.
Writers Coogler and Joe Robert Cole take the time to set up, explain and flesh out certain characters, themes and the Wakandan way of life all the while giving our villain proper motivation that makes sense. On the technical side, Wakanda is a visual wonder. Thanks to beautiful production design by Hannah Beachler (Creed), cinematography by Rachael Morrison (Fruitvale Station, Mudboud) and costume design by Ruth E. Carter (Malcolm X, Serenity) … all three should have Oscar nominations this time next year.
In front of the camera we get King T’Challa, also known as the Black Panther, superbly played by Chadwick Boseman. As with his performance in ‘Civil War’ Boseman continues to explore this character and has fun in doing so. He has a quiet charm and brings a certain amount gravitas to this portrayal where he is officially in the ‘I can’t imagine anyone else in this role’ category. Michael B. Jordan plays the main antagonist, Erik “Killmonger” Stevens, and thankfully the writers have given him a lot to work with. I was moved by his motivation for wanting to take Wakanda into an entirely new direction…not the way I would’ve handled certain situations, but I get it. Jordan doesn’t go over the top as a mustache twirling, I’m evil for no reason bad guy. He has real concerns. Real issues. Real motives that spark his actions. Other standouts of this stellar cast include Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye (both characters are soldiers in the Dora Milaje. A super elite-special forces unit of bodyguards to the King himself. Well deserving of their own movie, Netflix series, video, board and trading card games.) Winston Duke is absolutely pitch perfect as M’Baku. But my favorite performance belongs to Letitia Wright who is tasked with playing Shuri.
Shuri is the headstrong, super genius princess of Wakanda. She’s the “Q” to T’Challa’s “James Bond”. The tech that she can conjure up, thanks to Vibranium, would make Tony Stark himself speechless. Wright plays her role with an unabashed exuberance and her level of enthusiasm matches that of the audience.
When its all said and done Black Panther is a colossal success. 18 movies in and Marvel refuses to let their formula go stale. This movie is an exercise in Afrofuturism and how things can work well when you trust the talent you hire to translate rich source material to the big screen. I’m looking at you Warner Bros. and D.C. Ryan Coogler and company have served up one of the best comic book movies of all time. Jack Kirby himself (creator of the Black Panther) would be proud of this incarnation of his character. With Avengers: Infinity War coming this summer we won’t have long to wait until we visit this world yet again. Until then let us celebrate the newly crowned King of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel Studios Presents
Black Panther
Directed by Ryan Coogler
Produced by Kevin Feige
Written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole
Based on “Black Panther” appearing in Marvel Comics created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee
The Eddiot Savant 
This review is very well put together. I couldn’t find any points in which I could debate a difference in opinion. If I said you could’ve done better I’d be lying. You tied the relevance of Captain America to Black Panther and even explained all the way down to the amazing cast and behind the scene workers. Very Informative, but not too much to have spoiled the movie.
This was definitely worth the read for those that have and/or have not seen the movie.
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