MOVIE REPORT CARD: BLACK PANTHER

DATE: 2/16/18
TITLE: BLACK PANTHER
DIRECTOR: RYAN COOGLER
STARRING: CHADWICK BOSEMAN, MICHAEL B. JORDAN, LUPITA NYONG'O, DANIEL GURIRA, DANIEL KALUUYA, LETITIA WRIGHT, MARTIN FREEMAN, ANDY SERKIS

GRADES

ACTING: 90
DIRECTING: 85
SCREENPLAY: 75
EDITING: 80
CINEMATOGRAPHY: 90
SOUNDTRACK: 95

FINAL: 86/B+

COMMENTS

Black Panther is a shot of fresh air, for a franchise that started to feel awfully familiar a long time ago. Despite some glaring faults, Black Panther entertains. The film has a bad pacing problem. It's just over 2 hour runtime, is felt- hard. The narrative struggles to keep pace throughout its bloated middle section. Keeping the film afloat, is Chadwick Boseman as the titular character. Michael B. Jordan does a solid job, although, he tends to delve into hammy territory at times. Given Marvel's track record with its villains, he fits right in. Lupitia Nyong'o and the rest of the surrounding cast, help out Boseman along the way. However, it is Letitia Wright, who steals the show here. Martin Freeman, has a surprisingly juicy role along with Andy Serkis. And with Serkis, twice in one film, Marvel cements their villain problem as more of a plague. Disney also needs to consider hiring better CGI people. Some of the work here, is just awful. The soundtrack to the film, is probably the best in the library of Marvel films to date. Black Panther succeeds on more levels than it should. It's one of the stronger entries in the MCU, as its content and message add more to the film at its core.