Marvel’s first movie of 2018, Black Panther, directed by Ryan Coogler, has just been released and people cannot stop talking about it. The film, debuting on the 16th of February, features amazing actors and actresses that attracted viewers outside of your regular Marvel fans. In fact, the movie broke the record for highest advance ticket sales of any Marvel movie ever. And it now is in the top five of highest grossing Disney movies ever. Starring, Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, and Danai Gurira, amongst other big names, Black Panther has left everyone in pure awe.

The plot of the actual movie falls perfectly into the Marvel timeline. It starts after the king of the believed third-world African country of Wakanda, T’Chaka (played by John Kani), is killed at a conference during the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War. The film goes over the history of Wakanda and how it became a hidden country brimming with Vibranium, a highly valuable metal in the world of the movie, protected by a Black Panther who is also king of Wakanda. Furthermore, it follows the aftermath of T’Chaka’s death and the rise of his son T’Challa (played by Chadwick Boseman) as the new king of Wakanda and the new Black Panther. Along the way, an Erik Killmonger (played by Michael B. Jordan) comes along to cause conflict amongst the people of Wakanda. Without, giving too much away, his and T’Challa’s fates are interconnected in a way that will leave viewers in shock. Overall, the storyline is fast-paced, however not at all in a bad way. It explains a country’s history as well as Black Panther’s all while introducing conflict to the present characters spectacularly, never letting the audience leave the edge of their seats. The action scenes were executed amazingly well, with the amazing effects and technologies used commonly today, all while still keeping that excitement and superhero feel of all Marvel movies that viewers love.

The cast does not disappoint either. Like I mentioned before, talents such as Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurari, Forest Whitaker, and Angela Bassett make the movie greater than just the plot. Their incredible acting skills leave the audience completely attached to every single character and their stories. One that has particularly been talked about a lot amongst younger Marvel fans is the character of Shuri (played by Letitia Wright), T’Challa’s sister and the princess of Wakanda. The character, at the young age of 16, designs all of Wakanda’s and the Black Panther’s technology. Her levels of intelligence were even compared to those of Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, the owner of the technological Stark Enterprise. Shuri’s character is loved for the humor she brought to the film as well as for the inspiring role-model she became for young black girls. The rest of the characters also had great storylines that played out over the film. Erik Killmonger had a shocking yet incredible story that left audiences talking. However, personally, I believe T’Challa’s character growth stood out more as he went through the loss of his father and the responsibilities that came with becoming king and Black Panther. It is truly inspiring to see how much he grew into himself throughout the whole movie and I hope that he has more involvement in the upcoming Marvel movies.

The cinematography in Black Panther was also noteworthy. The beautiful aerial shots of the country of Wakanda (actually filmed in South Africa, Zambia, and Uganda) showcased the natural magnificence of African countries. In contrast, another part of the movie filmed in Busan, South Korea provided a more modern and technological setting that gave off a sleek and cool feel for audiences. Furthermore, the unique clothing seen throughout the movie displayed traditional African and Filipino attire, exposing the audience to the charming sides of the cultures. The alluring and fun way the film includes this representation of different cultures really makes it special for viewers. In addition to this, the music featured in the film also includes aspects of traditional African as well as African American culture. “Black Panther: The Album” produced and sung partly by Kendrick Lamar was number one on the Billboard 200 Chart for about three weeks. The album itself featured rap and trap music as well as African beats and lyrics in African languages. Some of the songs could be heard throughout the movie while others were only part of the album. Overall, the album showcased African and African-American culture perfectly for viewers leading it to be as big of a hit as the actual film.

Black Panther truly is a new era superhero film that fit splendidly for today’s entertainment climate. It was able to draw in the usual Marvel audiences with its classic storylines and exciting action scenes. In addition to this, it was able to draw in a much broader audience because of its amazing representation of African culture which has never been seen on such a big platform. This movie will definitely be talked about for a long time as it will hopefully be the first of more culturally diverse films being highlighted across huge public stages.