Directed by Ryan Coogler

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Andy Serkis

The king has returned. And with all the hype surrounding this film you'd expect his return to be momentous. And with every Marvel film, there's always something different. Well, kind of. But Black Panther is a film that feels like your average Marvel flick but is actually something quite revolutionary. The most obvious element would be that yes, we have a fantastic black cast, with only a couple of white actors being in the film - which is something quite special and a great progressive stand point for movies. But for me, this film is a different Marvel film, and that's because when I watched it, I forgot it was a Marvel movie. That's a good thing, and that's because it was a very fresh experience.

Continuing after the events of Captain America: Civil War, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns to Wakanda to take the place of his father as King. However his newfound responsibilities begin to take a toll on him, as he learns new truths about his family, his heritage and the world around him. With the outside world eyeing Wakanda for it's extremely valuable Vibranium, T'Challa takes action to keep his nation safe from Erik Killmonger (Michael B.Jordan).

I have to say first of all, that this cast is extremely talented. Every cast member brings their A-game, and the directing goes so far to show us these interesting characters shine. Boseman is great, Jordan also plays a captivating villain and I loved T'Challa's sister, who played a quirky and interesting companion character. There's not a dull moment with this cast. The music is also probably one of the best scores I've heard in a Marvel film, with some superb sounding African style music that really helps this film feel it's own. It's paced very well and it fits into each scene comfortably, with Coogler executing it with excellent precision. 

It's very well wrote and the story feels very fluent and interesting. It doesn't follow a repetitive structure *cough* DR STRANGE *cough* so this adds to this movie's freshness. There are some story elements however that don't really feel genuine, some of the motivations of the characters and how they act, whilst being portrayed well, feel a bit out of touch, and I think the villain's arc is good but not really anything revolutionary. There's not as much humour in this film as past Marvel entries but when humour does crop up... it falls flat. Some of it is alright but there are also jokes that are so badly timed and executed *cough* the WHAT ARE THOSE joke *cough* that they will make you cringe if you are like me. Quite embarrassing at times.

I have to say though that the film looks gorgeous. The colour palette is exquisite and the costume design is also very well done. The cinematography is pretty clever and it makes the action scenes look very fantastic - including one scene in particular that seems very Kingsman, and that's a compliment! However I do have to point out though that the CGI is appalling in this film. From some Jurrassic World style rhino's to a video game looking end fight scene, it does come across very sloppy.

But all in all, this is very much an improvement on your average standalone Marvel superhero movie. Sure we've already been introduced to this character but he feels so inclusive in this movie, and if it were not for Coogler's direction and vision, plus this great cast - I doubt I'd like it as much. Yeah it feels like filler but it's still a very enjoyable experience, and a great start for Marvel's 2018 run.

7/10