Black Panther

T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) following the murder of his father in Captain America: Civil War is now the King of Wakanda, a nation closed off from the rest of the world that has advanced technology thanks to a vast quantity of metal called Vibranium. But one descendent of Wakanda is unhappy that technology is not being used to help their brethren around the world and sets out to right that wrong.

Black Panther is refreshingly different from Marvel films to date. Firstly it carries a deep and meaningful message about isolationism versus helping those outside of your borders and secondly it has easily the best multi faceted villain in Marvel history. It also has to do more heavy lifting in the plot department than recent Marvel films introducing us to an entirely new set of characters and world.

Thankfully all that heavy lifting and moral messaging is wrapped up in a film that is at turns fun, action packed and full of interesting characters. Chadwick Boseman is great as a compassionate king but the most exciting characters are those around him. Letitia Wright gets to play Princess Shuri who is essentially Black Panther’s Q, dishing out cool gadgets. Andy Serkis gets to return to his South African villain Klaue and have a whale of a time cracking jokes as he causes mayhem. But head and shoulders above the rest is Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, our villain. Killmonger might have an obvious name but his motives are believable in the world created for him and he oozes style and conviction. Writer/Director Ryan Coogler has relied on Jordan to deliver the dramatic goods in all three of his features now and it’s a partnership that has excelled.

Invest yourself in the slower start than normal to a Marvel film and you will be rewarded with a unique comic book film. As ever stay for the mid and end of credits stings.