The introduction of then-prince T'Challa (Chadwick Bozeman) to the Marvel cinematic universe in Captain America: Civil War was the high point of the film. That wasn't really a surprise: one of the things Marvel does best is introduce new characters to its ever-expanding universe, and the already-announced Black Panther movie already had a lot riding on it. But that scene in Civil War held out the promise of two separate things; the Black Panther movie we now have only delivers on one.
With T'Challa's father killed in Civil War, the young prince is clearly next in line to the throne of secretive and super-advanced African nation of Wakanda. It turns out to be a very long line, as it's roughly forty-five minutes into the film before the story finally kicks into gear. Not that what happens before T'Challa goes on the hunt for resource-plundering bad guy Klaw (Andy Serkis with a gun arm) isn't interesting or important; the lengthy sequence where T'Challa has his Black Panther powers (basically super strength and healing powers gained via a magic plant, plus yet another super-suit) stripped from him so others can challenge for the throne pays off later in two different ways.
The best superhero movies are constantly moving forward - dynamism is part of the genre's appeal. Black Panther takes its time introducing everyone in its extensive supporting cast, including T'Challa's ex (Lupita Nyong’o), the leader of his all-female guards (Danai Gurira) and the nation's chief scientist-slash-Q from James Bond-slash-T'Challa's little sister (Letitia Wright). Then there's Forrest Whittaker and Angela Basset as elders, Michael B Jordan as big bad guy Killmonger, and Martin Freeman as the token link back to the rest of the Marvel Universe; the way this film juggles a massive cast and makes them all useful without grinding to a complete halt is one of its more impressive achievements.
Over the last few Marvel films it's become increasingly clear which elements individual directors are allowed to put their own stamp on, and which ones are standardised across the Marvel brand. Interestingly, production design is one area where directors are given somewhat free reign; after Doctor Strange's Inception riffs and Thor's bright Jack Kirby settings, director Ryan Coogler takes Black Panther full Afrofuturist with Wakanda's capital. Together with the large cast, this makes it a location that hopefully we'll see more of in future films.
But while T'Challa's introduction in Civil War promised an opening up of the Marvel universe, pointing the way towards a film with a largely black cast and mostly black creatives behind the camera, it also involved one of the more breathless and thrilling action sequences in the Marvel universe. Unfortunately this doesn't stretch that boundary, instead serving up a handful of standard action sequences before an all-in climax that features a number of decent ideas (combat rhinos!) but also a lot of firmly average CGI-heavy fighting that feels generic in a way much of this film firmly pushes against. The average action is even more disappointing as Killmonger is one of the best Marvel villains to date, a true counterpoint to T'Challa with an evil scheme that actually makes sense as something more than an excuse for drone shoot-outs and fist-fights in the path of a speeding train.
Black Panther does so many things right that it feels mean-spirited to focus on the by-the-numbers elements that increasingly drag down Marvel's films. Where previous films have countered the rote nature of what they're required to do with humor or action, this focuses on world-building, creating a cast and setting that deserve more than a single film. Which is presumably what Marvel intended: action is fleeting, but a nation's story can run and run.
Anthony Morris
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