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The Rotunda
Monday, July 14, 2025

The Reel Life: "Black Panther" (2018)

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"Black Panther" (2018)

With the character’s introduction and importance to the story of “Captain America: Civil War”, many fans were left equal parts concerned and excited for what the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) could hold for T’Challa, the Black Panther. Now, director Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”, “Creed”) and co-writer Joe Robert Cole (“American Crime Story”) have brought T’Challa back to the nation of Wakanda and delivered one of the most visually striking and nuanced films the genre has ever seen.

Unlike past Marvel films, which have been centered largely in pre-established worlds, like Earth, or have featured other worlds for only short periods of time (“Thor: Ragnarok”), “Black Panther” faces the challenge of establishing the Afrofuturistic nation of Wakanda as a living, breathing world. It succeeds thanks to Coogler’s attention to the smaller details of worldbuilding, with the citizens' outfits, mannerisms and development of people living on the outskirts of the nation.

The costumes and visual designs are particularly strong. The wonderful mixture of African designs and futuristic technology delivered a unique look to the world. The filmmakers clearly have a reverence for this nation that shines through, thanks to the strong worldbuilding and performances, strengthened by the excellent camerawork from cinematographer Rachel Morrison.

The film’s timely themes and story is never forced. While there are certainly real world parallels to the events, the movie overall carries a kind of family drama overtone like those found in films like “The Godfather” and even “The Empire Strikes Back”. Chadwick Boseman’s calm and collected performance as T’Challa is excellent, though he’s almost overshadowed by the bravado and extravagance of Michael B. Jordan’s Kilmonger, an electric villain.

Jordan succeeds in delivering the best villain that the MCU has seen since Loki in “The Avengers”. They say a good villain is one the audience can sympathize with, and Kilmonger draws empathy. He’s a hurt individual and shares the same wishes as T'Challa, but with differing ideas for solutions. However, as imposing as Kilmonger is, he isn't even remotely the scene-stealer.

That honor belongs to the women of Wakanda. The strength and power of Danai Gurira’s Okyoe, the leader of T’Challa’s guards, matches perfectly with Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia, T’Challa’s former lover and Wakandan spy. They steal the limelight for just about every scene they're in, but it’s his little sister, Letitia Wright’s Shuri, who steals the entire film. Her sense of fashion, sibling goofiness and overall sense of pride in her inventions pushes the film into a new realm of character storytelling that elevates it beyond other superhero films.

Time is balanced equally throughout the characters, preventing the sense of fatigue that normally comes from the focus on one character in these kinds of films. It’s replaced with an excellent sense of pacing that makes sure the film never drags and ends up leaving this two-hour-and-fifteen-minute epic feeling closer to an-hour-and-a-half.

Marvel’s overindulgence in humor is also not an issue here. While it works in films like “Ragnarok”, “Black Panther” is not a comedy. It’s a serious superhero tale, well-balanced on the spectrum of the overt silliness of a film like “Ragnarok” and the dire situations of a film like “Logan”. Its careful construction removed the need to cover up spotty worldbuilding with jokes at every turn.

Colorful visuals in both the costumes and designs lend to some of its inventive action sequences. The car chase through South Korea is a highlight, thanks to unique mechanics introduced by Shuri’s inventions and the third act feels epic and breezy, mainly because the action isn’t broken up every few minutes for a joke.

The supporting cast of engaging characters, like Martin Freeman’s Agent Ross, Winston Duke’s M’Baku, Forest Whitaker’s Zuri and Angela Bassett’s Queen Ramonda helps to flesh out an already engrossing story and engaging world by giving it even more character and internal conflict. Simply put, the film is so engaging purely because it has so much character.

“Black Panther” has so much excellence packed into one film. Its timely and nuanced plot is bolstered by an engaging villain and a cast of delightful characters who breathe life into an already excellently built world. With swagger, style and character to spare, “Black Panther” leaps over expectations to deliver a film that truly belongs at the top of the genre. Long live the king. 5/5

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