“Black Panther” handles covering a remarkable amount of content and story surprisingly well without managing to drag, over what could be an eternal 2 hr 14 min run-time in the hands of a poor director or editor. Casting could not have better for such an ambitious project, even with my general distaste for anything involving Forest Whitaker (who still did good). Most of the films flaws are trivial and due to the confines of the genre.
An important entry for film culture regardless of its equally important black cast, “Black Panther” hits every mark needed to be an excellent Marvel flick in a universe already saturated with great stand outs. With interesting social-political overtones and a dynamic story more nuanced than standard good vs. evil archetypes, “Black Panther” is a cinematic flash point that survives the cult hype put behind it, signaling an evolving industry able to create great content outside of stale comic fables.
8.9/10 B+
As AJ Thinks 