Black Panther

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Infinity Saga

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Well, once again Marvel has accomplished a hell of a feat, now holding five of the ten titles in the top ten all-time opening weekend list. This comes in at #5, right in between the first two 'Avengers' movies. Oh, and it's now a higher grossing movie than 'The Avengers', so... I think T'Challa here will be ultimately the safest character in 'Infinity War'. 

The film begins with an origin story involving the creation of the Black Panther, and how the powers and suit have been handed down through the generations to a royal African family. In the spotlight now, is T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), and the film tasks him with stopping a lethal thief named Klaue (Andy Serkis who has seemingly found his way to Wakandan technology, and intends to steal it. However this leads the Black Panther to an even bigger challenge involving Klaue's parnter in crime, Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan).

Serkis, as Klaue, has this twisted craziness to his personality that wasn't quite as abundant in 'Age of Ultron', so for me, he was the more enjoyable villain. Killmonger, for whatever reason, didn't strike me as quite as much a threat. It also just showed in their respective acting skills. Not that Jordan was bad, but he struck me as more of a jockish bully whereas Serkis was relishing his every second of screen time as this crazy dude. Shades of The Joker came through, for me. Not a direct comparison, mind, just shades.

The favorite character in this for me was probably Shuri (Latitia Wright), who is T'Challa's sister, and essentially his "Q" - making the gadgets for him to go out and fight with. She brings a very charming sense of humor to it all as the bratty but fun little sister figure. That said, everyone does a good job here with their respective roles, and this movie kinda knocked it out of the park with what it was all about.

The studio definitely knew what the hell they were doing with this. While DC did a great job with the big female superhero, Marvel got it right with the black superhero - released throughout Black History Month, no less. But the movie transcends racial boundaries with it's audience, and that's the real beauty of this movie. It brings ALL the Marvel fans together for a great story, no matter their skin color. I'll repeat, this is now a higher grossing movie than 'The Avengers'! It's so far the most successful Marvel film of all time. 'Infinity War' is bound to be hot on it's heals, but for now, an impressive feat for a solo title!

It may not be at the tip-top of my Marvel hero list, personally, but all in all I still enjoyed it quite a bit. In the end, it represents a nice piece of cinematic history, and it's something I really think everyone should check out if only to get a different, forward-thinking perspective on things.

4/5

MID-CREDIT SCENE: T'Challa appears before the UN to reveal Wakanda's technology to the rest of the world.

POST-CREDIT SCENE: Shuri is seen helping Bucky Barnes with his recuperation, after having gone back under the ice in 'Civil War'

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