I kind of hate that I wasn't more impressed with this movie. I know this is probably going to be met with a lot of blow-back, but I just found it.....lacking.
I'll start by saying that Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa was excellent again in this role. This time we get to meet T'Challa's sister, Shuri, played by Letitia Wright and who was fantastic!!! I'm really hoping that we get some scenes with her and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in the upcoming Avengers movie. She was a also funny as shit!!! And rounding out T'Challa's family is Angela Bassett as his mother, Ramonda. As always Bassett carries herself with absolute grace and beauty that really lends itself to her being the queen of Wakanda.
Rounding out the side of the good guys we have Lupita Nyong'o as Nakita, the love interest of the new king and a real humanitarian. Then you have Okoye, played by Danai Gurira, otherwise known as Machine from TV's The Walking Dead. Okoye is the head of the badass royal guard that is made up entirely of women. And playing the hilarious, anti-hero of the rival Wakandan tribe, M'Baku. is the perfectly cast Winston Duke. Duke has some of the best comedic timing that I've seen in a secondary character in a very long time.
Returning as the vibranium thief, Ulysses Klaue, is Andy Serkis. Serkis, one of the most underrated character actors of our time, gives such a great performance once again. Klaue has some upgrades this time around and we see the possible future of his comic like character, Klaw.
I just want to give full disclosure here, I'm not a fan of Michael B. Jordan. However, I believe his character, Killmonger, had the potential of being one of the greatest villains in the MCU. This is where my problems with the movie comes in. Because of the time spent chasing after Klaue, the whole introduction of Killmonger to Wakanda seemed very rushed and very hindered. We get small glimpses as too the motives behind why Killmonger wants to change how Wakanda relates to other places on Earth.
Maybe it's because I'm expecting more from my comic book movies? I don't think I need constant action anymore. I want great character building and well developed motives. I really feel like Black Panther doesn't totally deliver.
Overall, Black Panther was a good movie, I just expected more. It's appropriate for all audiences, and I would give it a rating of 4.5 out of 7. LOL! It did leave me foaming at the mouth for Infinity War.
