Isa Didio ’18

Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther” is a perhaps the best Marvel movie to date. A combination of emotionally appealing characters, stunning visuals and impactful messages, the film is almost guaranteed to be liked by people of all ages.

The movie is a continuation of the events that occured at the end of “Captain America: Civil War,” where viewers were introduced to King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and his superhero alter-ego Black Panther, who returns to his home of Wakanda as king. When villain Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) shows up, T’Challa is drawn into a battle for control of the kingdom.

Many online reviews have praised Marvel Cinematic Universe for finally expertly using visuals and computer-generated-imagery to create a new aesthetic that Marvel has struggled with in previous movies. The nation of Wakanda is depicted in a way where the visual elements help viewers explore and immerse themselves in the culture of Wakanda.

Aside from the visual and musical aspects of the movie, Black Panther is able to embrace diversity and uses the culture of the kingdom of Wakanda to address issues of race. When T’Challa has to make a decision about what to do with the threats to Wakanda, he has two viable options: ignore the outside world and not get involved in order to protect his kingdom or use Wakanda’s newly advanced technology to seek revenge after years of injustice. However, the filmmakers decided that neither would work and the only way to break the cycle of destruction in their world is by bettering education, global leadership and guidance.

Marvel fan or not, I would say that this is definitely a movie worth watching.