Here it is. My favorite Marvel movie yet, and easily the most important one in the franchise. Black Panther is everything we dreamed it might be and then some. Suave and sophisticated, action-packed and thrilling, dazzling and gorgeous, it also doesn't skimp on relevance, timeliness, originality, and fun. It features some of the most rounded, dynamic characters I've ever seen in a superhero movie -- especially its antagonist -- and pairs them nicely with rich, thoughtful production design.
The basic story is simple: T'Challa returns home to Wakanda after the events of Civil War to find his throne challenged. His struggle to reclaim and reunite his homeland leads him to the contested decision of whether or not to open Wakanda to the world. Its "Afrofuturist" (as I read some calling it, magnificently) grandeur, scientific wonders, rich tastes and fashion, and technology could help liberate oppressed peoples around the world at the cost of breaking tradition and revealing their secrets. Their vulnerability, however, is no match for their warriors, led by a cadre of badass women, or their weapons.
There are so many fabulous things about this movie it would take a book to list them all. To start, Black Panther is a fresh take on the superhero story because it's about people rather than aliens or monsters or robots. The tense drama comes because we see real people arguing about real issues, albeit with laser guns and vibranium armor. Similarly, while to some extent the "hero" trope continues, this film is less concerned with Black Panther's individualism and single-handed macho victories than it is with his (and others') efforts to unite groups of people. It's a film about community first and foremost. The characters all seem radically interested in liberating their people, as well as people of color around the world. They listen to each other, support each other; there is no hierarchy of age or gender, and so we have elite women and elders who defer to youth.
Along these lines, we also see some great redemption and reconciliation between people sharply at odds. An early challenger to T'Challa, though not initially welcome, is saved from death and allowed to rejoin Wakanda society. Later, the antagonist Killmonger is similarly invited to rejoin the community. Perhaps this stems from his views on liberation; he doesn't attack or kill or terrorize for pleasure or chaos but for wanting to empower the oppressed. This is framed effectively by the flashbacks to his youth in 1992 California. Though he seeks violence as the answer, it's hard to shake his empathy and desire for justice.
And, actually, we don't have to shake it. A final scene features T'Challa addressing the United Nations, opening Wakanda to share its resources and advancements with the world. He declares that looking after each other "as if we are one tribe" must be the effort to avoid global catastrophe -- a unique perspective in a franchise about intergalactic alien conquest. While it's not the same solution as Killmonger's vision of a Wakandan global empire, it shares its beating heart: remaining isolated and secret in fact endangers the world and helps no one. Radical, violent empathy inspires and affects democratic change in policy and advances social justice. That's a lesson I can get behind every damn day.
There's more to say, but I don't want to go on forever. The acting is, across the board, stellar, though Michael B. Jordan, Danai Gurira, and Angela Bassett stood out to me. Letitia Wright plays Shuri, T'Challa's younger sister and scientific genius, in a fabulously funny role, and Andy Serkis reprises his role as a totally bat-shit-crazy Ulysses Klaue for a final time. I was really interested in Martin Freeman's role as the former CIA agent, as he goes through what, I think, white audiences go through in the film. His is a minor story arc of enlightenment as he journeys into the world of Wakanda and learns through experience not to be just an ally to the black nation, but rather to get in the thick of it and actively help them. He listens rather than talks, takes orders compliantly, and finally risks his life to save Wakanda. That's another lesson we would all do well to learn.
As a final note before I (hopefully) go see the movie again, just know: Black Panther is awesome. Go watch it, and then go watch again. Buy it later. Buy two. Give one as a gift. It's important, beautiful, fun, and brilliant.
IMDb: Black Panther
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