3.5/5 Star Rating

Following the tragic death of King T'Chaka in Captain America: Civil War, Wakanda was in desperate need of a new King. In the latest Marvel cinematic production wearing a new enhanced suit, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is now officially crowned as King and protector of Wakanda in his solo feature, Black Panther.

Over time, generations of Wakandans have put in every effort to keep their advanced vibranium-based technology and the location of their nation, a secret from the rest of the outside world. Although unfortunately for these people, many challenges have caused disruption and chaos to their way of life. T'Challa (Boseman) is soon put to the test as the protector of Wakanda when he is needed to defend his people and their land from the notorious arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) and his new band of merry men including former soldier Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan).

This film definitely brings something fresh to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) table. It really is a 'superhero' film with a difference. Director and writer Ryan Coogler is known for his other directorial features Creed: The Rocky Legacy (2015), Fruitvale Station (2013). Each film in his career has shown increased ambition and being that Black Panther is only his third film, it's pretty impressive to add to his CV.

In the first few scenes of the film, the audience is shown a flashback in time to Oakland, California 1992. These initial scenes can appear a little confusing, I did find myself asking questions within my own mind while watching. But these scenes are not only crucial to the plot that unfolds within the film, but also possibly a little nod to the director's childhood as this location also happens to be his place of birth. At this point we see a group of young children 'shooting some hoops' into an old bottle crate basket on a community basketball court. The camera soon pans up to look at a rather tall and unkempt apartment building. Two men are then the focus in one of the apartments while appearing to plan some sort of heist or robbery. The two friends continue to converse when one of them is spooked upon hearing a knock on the door urging his friend to hide everything conspicuous in the room. After looking through the spy hole in their door, one of the men refers to their 'visitors' as "Grace Jones chicks with spears!" Upon opening the apartment, two women in what can only be described as traditional tribal clothing enter the room with a great amount of authority. These aren't just any women, they are Wakandan warriors! I won't divulge any deeper into this picture as it's a doorway for a large spoiler. I plan to keep this review relatively spoiler free.

Following these intense scenes, the audience is shortly taken on a trip to the beautiful location that is Wakanda. The home of the Black Panther. Wakanda is every bit as beautiful as it is made out to be. There are stunning views, fields and clifftops full of visually attractive vegetation and memorable monuments where you can experience "the greatest sunsets you will ever see". But this is not all what the nation of Wakanda has to offer. It has an abundance of futuristic industrial architecture. I personally thought it had some very Asgardian elements to it, some of the most important buildings had a lot of similarities to those of Thor's beloved home Asgard.

What is great about seeing both the dark, rugged streets in Oakland and also the visually enticing Wakanda so early on in the film has already been noted in this review. Did you notice the words I used to describe the two destinations? The films shows a great contrast between T'Challa's home and the outside world that surrounds it. It also shows just how diverse the people of the world are.

As the story progresses T'Challa unites with Lupita Nyong’o’s (known for roles including Maz Kanata in the latest Star Wars trilogy and the badly treated Patsy in 12 Years A Slave) who's character Nakia- and undercover spy and also the new King's former love interest. The two are able to ambush a collective of soldiers that appear to be trafficking groups of young girls. However, in the mean time Nakia's cover is blown forcing her to return to with her King to Wakanda once more.

Later on T'Challa's coronation is shown with the celebrations in full swing. Which is actually rather trippy. The whole nation unite to welcome their new leader to his throne and his new role as The Black Panther. A vital part of this ceremony is to become The Black Panther, the protector of Wakanda as well as it's ruler. Becoming such an important figure is not an easy task for the person taking on this new role. To become this feline protector, T'Challa and many Kings before him, have been required to ingest the nectar of a glowing, purple almost heart shaped herb. The herb then radiates throughout the new protector's body and is clearly seen glowing within their veins. As this sacred ritual progressed the new King is laid down and buried beneath a pile of what appears to be reddish sand or soil. As the being lays under this heap they travel to a sacred spiritual place to meet their ancestors - previous Kings and Panthers.

For me, this is where it all went a little too Disney. Yes I know that Disney owns Marvel now but allow me to further explain just exactly what I mean by 'too Disney'. The scene shows T'Challa in the middle of an empty yet beautiful landscape with ribbons of purple and pink hues throughout the night sky. Almost like the Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis. He then sees nothing but a tree in front of him with a handful of large, panthers draping their velvety fur and their tired bodies on branches as they rest, before then being startled by his presence. Are you thinking the same thing that I am when seeing this image? No? Let's develop this picture a little more. T'Challa then stares at the panthers within the tree, then before him, his father's spirit appears. Now are you thinking what I am? It's like this scene was taken straight out of the Disney classic animation, The Lion King. The Lion King is my favourite Disney film, so yes it was nice to feel the nostalgia from my childhood back in 1994 when the film was originally released. But it felt to me that it was exactly the same as the moment where Simba was taken out into the open to the lake by Rafiki so that he could then see his father (Mufasa) once more in his own reflection in the water and receive his guidance and wisdom. Just as T'challa does here. Except the lake from The Lion King is a tree in Marvel's Black Panther. Not exactly original material from a big screen production such as this.

Further into the new King's coronation ceremony we are further more introduced to new characters including T'Challa's mother Ramonda (Angela Basset), a shaman like character named Zuri (Forrest Whitaker), also the fierce warrior that is Okoye. The head of the Royal Guard and certainly isn't a woman you want to mess with. She is protrayed by Danai Gurira. And not forgetting T'Challa's younger sister Shuri, who was brought to life by Letitia Wright. This feisty little brain box of a character completely stole the limelight throughout the whole film. After her introduction on the big screen, I kind of thought to myself "T'Challa...who?" With her immature digs of humour (mostly aimed at her brother - particularly when he is wearing traditional sandals) and her ongoing passion for future technology and science, Shuri will be a great character to watch from now on. I know that I personally am looking forward to seeing her in Avengers: Infinity War in a few months time.

As well as seeing some new faces being presented to the franchise there are also a couple of familiar ones too. One of those famous faces belongs to English actor Martin Freeman. The actor was first introduced to the MCU during Captain America: Civil War as CIA agent Everett K. Ross. Freeman is most well known for his roles as the pint sized Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit films and starring alongside Dr Strange Actor Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr John Watson in the Television series Sherlock. I really enjoy watching Freeman in a variety of roles on screen and to be honest I think he does suit this role quite well, plus it was good to see more of him than I had anticipated within Black Panther. As much as I like him as an actor and many of his characters, his American accent still needs a little tweaking.

Of course anyone who has seen the other films from the ever popular Marvel franchise, they will know of the constant pain in Wakanda's side to be that of Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis). The character was first introduced to the MCU in Avengers: Age Of Ultron.

Klaue is a villainous mash up of many roles. A black-market arms dealer, smuggler and gangster. He is pretty much the jack of all illegal trades. In 2015, (during the Age Of Ultron movie) the character had been forced to sell his entire stockpile of the very sought after Vibranium (which he originally stole and smuggled out of Wakanda in the first place) to the menacing A.I. that was Ultron. During ongoing negotiations with the machine, Ulysses actually ended up losing an arm. It was shown, that upon his return in Black Panther, he had actually replaced his arm with a prosthetic limb which also happened to transform into a powerful cannon type weapon. And what was this weapon manufactured from? You guessed it, Vibranium. Early on, the feature shows him to be working alongside a young male, (plus a few others) while lurking on the streets of London and terrorising and even murdering museum staff and civilian visitors just to collect even more of the precious and rare metal. That young male is Erik Stevens, who prefers to be referred to as Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan - who is no stranger to a role as a Marvel Comics character as he has previously been cast in the not so successful remake attempt of Fantastic Four in 2015. The actor starred as the role of Johnny Storm AKA The Human Torch).

Little spoiler alert here. Killmonger's plans become more dangerous and thrilling as he manages to overthrow his gangster overlord employer. I won't say how. But what I will say is this. I was rather disappointing to see how easy this task was for him to accomplish, considering that as a collective neither The Avengers or Ultron were unable to apprehend the one armed bandit as he managed to slither away through the cracks. Long story short, Killmonger (Jordan) is able to locate the hidden nation and enter with ease. Which then reveals that his ultimate plan is to challenge T'Challa for the the throne and the mantle that comes with it. Jordan and Boseman were really well matched on screen while balancing both sides of the good and villainous scales. Particularly in the scene where the two are seen in combat at the top of a waterfall on a cliff, both with intimidating stares, intense physical strength and desperation to either take or protect the Wakandan throne.

As a whole, the film showcases plenty of action as expected. Even a virtual reality car chase racing through streets lit with neon signs. This is where the Black Panther can be seen surfing on the roof of a vehicle while in pursuit of Klaue and his law breaking comrades. This was definitely a highlight of the film for me. Action, thrills, humour, drama and more all rolled into a handful of scenes.

For many this film isn't just another movie about another Marvel superhero making every effort to take down villains. It is a film to celebrate traditional values within black history and people of the world who are of colour. This is also a film that people with feminist views will enjoy as it showcases an abundance of strong and independent women that are not seen to be sexualised in the film, but they are actually acknowledged and honoured for their morals, intellect and strength. Even though women on the silver screen are beginning to take more of a centre stage role in superhero films in particular, it is great to see the appreciation for the strong willed Wakandan women in Black Panther.

If you haven't yet seen the film and you are familiar with the running of MCU films, you will be aware of end credit scenes. Do not move from your seat right away as there are not one, but two end credit scenes for this feature. I won't reveal what they are but both are quite intruging to see how they will progress in what looks like to be a set up for Avengers: Infinity War. Black Panther is in my opinion not one of my favourite films in the MCU, but it definitely stands out from the rest and is not one to be missed.

(All images courtesy of Google)