3/5 Stars
Black Panther is the latest blockbuster film in the Disney/Marvel movie universe. It's also the latest to be touted by excited fans (and reviewers) to be the greatest one yet. Is it? Well, it depends on what you're measuring, and what you want from your film. I'll explain below.
Panther on it's face is a really cool idea. An African nation avoided colonization by European nations during the late 1800's by hiding from the world under an invisible bubble. They have a special mineral in their country's soil that they used to create advanced technology the world has never seen, creating a utopian country in Africa hidden from the world.
So it has a cool premise, but where does it go from there? It gets cooler with (*spoiler alert*) the only villain that would make sense with this awesome premise: an angry black American, who also happens to be Wakandan (Wakanda is the fictional country of Black Panther), who brings forth the question of why the world's most powerful black nation isn't helping its fellow man? He asks the King of Wakanda (the character Black Panther) and his council this, and then challenges T'Challa to a battle for the Kingdom, the winner dictating how the technology of Wakanda will be used.
The actors are all great, Michael B. Jordan especially shines as the layered villain Erik "Killmonger" Stevens. He's easily the most interesting villain in the MCU, and the most interesting character in Black Panther.
So, the premise is good, the acting is good, so why only three stars? Other than these awesome aspects (as well as other awesome things I didn't mention: such as the fact that the cast is almost entirely black, and it's not