T'Challa, the newly crowned King of Wakanda must battle to protect his country after the death of his father. Especially when an outsider comes in to challenge him for the throne. Can the technologically advanced African country stay hidden and safe from the rest of the world stealing the precious resources they use?
After the events which unfolded in Captain America: Civil War we are taken to Wakanda to see where Black Panther is actually from and how he has the resources. T'Challa becoming King is a big step and something he does not feel ready to do. This creates some very good and interesting scenes to set up his origin story. But was his father really the man he thought he was?
That is something which is tested many times throughout this film. I was impressed with the depth of the character building and pleased we didn't have the Avengers piled into this one. It had to be a standalone film and it had to have a great story and build up. That is certainly something I felt it achieved and that added another layer to the Marvel Universe. I guess a similar comparison can be to Guardians of the Galaxy and how that is close to merging together with everything else.
When Erik Killmonger turns up at first I was concerned that it was going to totally spoil the flow of the film with his American upbringing and therefore views. Especially with his military background, but that made the plot even better really. How everything that had happened to him brought him to Wakanda to seek the truth and fight for what he thought was his right.
Another standout aspect of this film had to be the fantastic female roles, something that Marvel haven't really done well. Up until now that is, Nakia, Okoye and Shuri are all fantastic and show that women really can do anything they want. The first being a spy, the second an incredible warrior and the third in charge of the technology. This really does send out amazing messages from start to finish. That also meant amazing performances all round as well. Considering I wasn't overly excited about this one I really did enjoy it a lot and think it is the best all round film Marvel have given us in a long time. I think because it is fresh with new characters and leaving out the ones we already know.
The thing with Black Panther is that this could very easily be viewed as a standalone film from the Marvel Universe and still be enjoyed. You don't need to know everything else about Marvel or to have seen everything else, I would certainly love to know if anyone has seen this without the rest of the films?
So a very good outing for a new superhero to join the Marvel ranks and it was something that I found impressive and well like a breath of fresh air. The action while not constant was impressive and used as part of the story and not for needless moments.