Black Panther (2018)

With an almost entirely black cast and a positive, afro-centric storyline Black Panther has become a very celebrated film amidst somewhat heightened racial tensions domestically in the U.S. (though when are racial tensions ever at a  'good' level in the U.S.). Chadwick Boseman reprises the Black Panther character first introduced to the MCU in Captain America: Civil War in 2016. A royal from the isolated African kingdom of Wakanda, a country that secretly possess advanced technology and wealth derived from Vibranium, a metal with near magical qualities queried from a meteor deposit that is also the source of Black Panthers kinda vague super powers, mostly super strength and healing. The movie picks up in the weeks after the events of Civil War and the chief villain of the piece, Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) is an unusually organic bad guy for a super hero movie, you can actually see and appreciate his point of view. Also of ironic interest for a movie called Black Panther, one of the good guys is a white CIA agent (the always welcome Martin Freeman). The supporting cast is good and the number of positive, strong black roles, especially for women, are quite impressive. This movie doesn't try to be like other superhero movies, its very much its own thing and its story structure is more akin to high fantasy or a national myth then typical superhero heroics. Also that mission Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) was on near the beginning, I'm pretty sure that was Boko Haram she was supposed to be fighting, that's awesome. ***1/2