By Matt Alexander
Finally, the long-awaited superhero flick arrives just in time to not be around blockbuster season. Which is nice, because this movie is better than that. An impeccable story arc combining inter-tribal strife, isolationism, and global risk-taking occurs as Prince T’Challa becomes king of Wakanda.
Charming jokes from Marvel this time fit the story better than the usual campiness. There’s also plenty of intense hand-to-hand combat to balance out the jokes. Some cinematography choices are inspired, and there are numerous gorgeous landscapes, but there’s also a few bad green screen moments. Still, the movie is a stylistically pitch perfect combination of American and African with a twist of Korean, and the source material meshes with the MCU threads seamlessly.
“Black Panther” has a truly all-star cast. Michael B. Jordan brings the pathos, Chadwick Boseman brings the gravitas, and a bunch of bald ladies. Forest Whitaker and Angela Bassett shine in their roles, and there are plenty others. Token Martin Freeman plays a part in connecting the story to the outside world, but even the implications of Wakanda handing vibranium out is not as intriguing as the story of the royal throne. For a Marvel Phase 3 movie it feels like an intimate family tragedy, though Aeschylus likely never comes paired with Kendrick Lamar.
Roll deep with your bros to see this one. It’s under 2 hours (minus the long credits) and it feels smooth the whole way.
9/10 BroFists (6 + vibranium claws + spaceships + ancestral lands)
BROEST BROS YOU KNOW 