In 2008, Marvel Studios released Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr.  The movie seemed like it was just another good entry into the superhero craze, fueled by the popularity of Cristopher Nolan’s up-and-coming Dark Knight trilogy.  Iron Man, however, proved to be a different beast entirely.  Later that year, Marvel released The Incredible Hulk, which didn’t put up quite the box office numbers that Iron Man did, but it helped usher in the age of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Beginning with the two 2008 installments, Marvel went on to release another movie in 2010 (Iron Man 2), and two more in 2011 (Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger).  While the movies all focused on different characters and plotlines, they were all connected through a series of Easter eggs and references to each other.  Everything finally came together in May of 2012.  Marvel took a bold risk and combined its four superheroes (Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor and Captain America) into one movie.  Many critics said that it wouldn’t work, that it was too many stars for one movie.  Almost in spite of the critics, The Avengers had a massive $207 million opening weekend, beating the previous record by almost $40 million.  The Avengers also received a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, becoming one of the the highest ranked superhero movies of all time.  While all these numbers have been beaten by other movies, the formula that Marvel created with its Cinematic Universe singlehandedly changed the face of an entire genre.

Fast-forward to early 2018.  Marvel has now released 17 full-length movies in its Cinematic Universe, including another Iron Man movie, two more Captain America and Thor movies, a second Avengers film, two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and three movies focusing on new characters.  None of these movies, however, has generated as much hype as the upcoming film Black Panther.  As the first big-budget superhero movie (Black Panther‘s budget was around $200 million) with an almost entirely African American cast, it caught the attention of everyone from Marvel diehards to casual movie fans.  Early reviews of the movies ranked it as one of the best, if not the best, superhero movie ever released.  The hype was increased when the soundtrack was released a week prior to the release of the movie itself.  The soundtrack featured many songs by Kendrick Lamar, who won five Grammy Awards a few weeks prior.  Finally, on February 15, the movie hit theaters.  And boy did it hit hard.  Its $202 million opening weekend was the fifth highest by any movie, and it did more than enough to back up its excellent reviews.

Black Panther begins with a few strong opening scenes that give a background into the country of Wakanda, where most of the movie’s action takes place.  There are also some action sequences early on that help set the tone for what proves to be a thrill ride of a movie.  Practically everything about this movie is done extremely well, from the action to the plot to the practical use of CGI.  The plot mainly focuses on Prince T’Challa, the Black Panther, who has become the king of Wakanda after his father’s death.  His story focuses on his acceptance of his new role, and how he chooses to lead his country in an ever-changing world.  Chadwick Boseman, who plays Prince T’Challa embodies every quality of his character, perfectly balancing the royal demeanor of a king and the surrealism of a superhero at the same time.  No hero, however, is complete without an equally good villain, which is delivered by Michael B. Jordan’s performance as Killmonger.  His character’s backstory is explored in great depth and gives the audience a more personal connection to him.  His acting as the “bad guy” is extremely convincing and manages to create feelings of sympathy and hatred at the same time, a key to any good villain.  The supporting cast of Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and Martin Freeman, also help to expand on the world of Wakanda.  One of my biggest problems with big action movies lately has been the overuse of CGI, and this was a concern of mine entering the theater.  As the movie progressed, that fear was proven to be nothing to worry about.  The CGI was used quite heavily in some spot, but only helped immerse audiences in the movie, instead of detract from the performance of the actors.

Overall, Black Panther is one of, if not the, strongest installments into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  It met every one of its lofty expectations and did so with confidence and swagger.  I would give it a solid five out of five stars and would highly recommend purchasing a ticket to go see it as soon as possible.  Hopefully, Marvel can continue making movies at the same quality as this.