REVIEW: Black Panther

The best word to describe this film is mediocre.  It resets all the good work that Marvel have done in the last few years with Thor: Ragnarok, Civil War, Homecoming, and both Guardians of the Galaxy films because of just how average it is.  It was quite uneven and I couldn't get into the film at all until T'Challa is defeated and thrown into the waterfall.  It was very unexciting for an action movie, and the fighting sequences were badly choreographed or badly shot, or both.  Michael B. Jordan is good, but Andy Serkis is a better villain (and he nails the accent).  Chadwick Boseman is just grating.  His voice is annoying, and his character is just boring.  He is essentially invincible as long as he has his suit on, which makes everything he does lose all risk, and therefore lose my interest.  T'Challa's sister was a nice inclusion.  Just a shame they couldn't make any of her jokes actually work.

I did like the occasional use of authentic African sounds in the score, and I had to laugh when Serkis blew apart that car and the African guard woman slid along the ground in just the car seat.  But considering its out-of-this-world hype, Black Panther is yet another SJW-infused disappointment.  And with Creed and now this, Coogler still has a lot to prove as a director.

C-