Movie Review: 'Black Panther'

'Black Panther' is a really enjoyable MCU standalone movie. As although I've seen the previous movies, I didn't really know much about the characters or needed to know what happened previously before going in, which is handy for people like me who aren't Marvel fan boys or know too much about the original comics. Therefore my expectation levels are somewhat low in the beginning and can just enjoy the movie, which I did. What exposition you do need to know though, and anything from the previous MCU films, are told through flashbacks, so you are still kept in the loop.

The performances of the cast are really good. It's great to see such great representation too, everyone should have something or someone to inspire them. From Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa and Michael B Jordan as Erik Killmonger (a decent Marvel villain for a change!), to Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye (the Dora Milaje warriors she leads are totally bad ass), Letitia Wright as Shuri (loved her Q-like character, similiar to the James Bond movies with all her gadgets and tech) and Martin Freeman as Ross and Andy Serkis as Klaue, who steals the scenes that he's in.

Wakanda looks great too! I love the futuristic Sci-Fi elements of the film, with them making great use of the Vibranium technology at their disposal like the flying ships, the armour and weapons and the gizmos etc, but at the same time, we also see the African tribal roots, giving a sense of the traditions the characters and world was inspired by.

I did get a Lion King vibe at times from the plot, as well as the movie feeling like a James Bond spy movie too, in the early part at least. But as a whole, it works very well as a standalone movie, much like Wonder Woman did in the DCEU, as opposed to trying to shoehorn in things to setup future movies or dropping Easter Eggs from other movies of the MCU.

Is it the best MCU movie ever? Not for me, the best ones for me are the ones that have the least superhero elements to them, like the first 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' (which is still my favourite), 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' and the first 'Iron Man' movie, but 'Black Panther' definitely deserves to be up there in that select group, and is well worth seeing. So go see it!

Don't forget to stay for the two end credit scenes too (one mid and another right at the end). I'm still surprised to see people leave the cinema as soon as the credits roll on a Marvel movie!