Movie Review: Black Panther

by Christina

ALNM Rating: 5/5
Directed by: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis.
Rating: PG-13
Available to watch: In theaters now
Review: I’m going to be straight forward. This is one of the best movies Marvel has ever come out with and one of the best movies I have seen in a while. I’m sure we will be talking about this on the podcast in the near future, and I’ll try to be spoiler free, but this film was able to successfully combine a strong self-contained story, charismatic characters, and (finally) a complex memorable villain in a way Marvel often isn’t able to do. I could devote an entire episode of the podcast to Michael B. Jordan, his portrayal of Erik Killmonger, and how he and Chadwick Boseman stand shoulder to shoulder as compelling leading men. The women of the film are complicated and badass and deserve all the movies, short films, and comics Marvel can devote to them. What really drew me in was the way this fantasy film was able to tie itself into our real world and its real issues in order to make it feel grounded and to make us feel emotionally invested. On a superficial level, the movie is gorgeous. The special effects, hair, makeup, costumes, and sets all deserve praise for their depth and beauty. We could go on for days about how this is a movement beyond just another superhero movie. But we can’t forget that this is also on its own a great movie. This helps upend the misguided Hollywood belief that a film needs a straight white cis male protagonist in order to be successful. This is a movie you have to see.