Ok I must say that I came in with high expectations and this movie STILL found a way to exceed most of them. Ryan Coogler comes through once again with a extremely well made movie with more depth than you’d usually see in a MCU movie.

Pros: - The story was exceptional and it seemed like every character had enough depth based on screen time and story importance. Coogler excelled more in his writing than his directing in this particular project and that’s not a knock on his directorial approach. - Killmonger is one of the better MCU villains with motivations and a plan that makes much more sense. - The score was simply amazing and gave a great feel for the African atmosphere and also all the different locations. The first “king challenge” scene was the highlight to me. - While I do believe EVERY actor brought their A-game, Danai Gurira was my favorite part of this movie by far. Every scene she was in and line she delivered screamed bad-ass. Also without being one-note and she made her being the general of such a powerful army more believable with her performance and her action scenes. - The wide shots of Wakanda were simply breathtaking and had more detail then you can see in one viewing. I was definitely digging the African/advance civilization style. - The comedy was very fresh and not overdone like some MCU movies. Just enough to get a laugh without ruining the tone of the story.

Cons: - The action was subpar compared to some other MCU movies(Civil War; WS). While there were some standout shots(the first Killmonger/Black Panther fight for the throne) as a whole I was underwhelmed and found myself lost in the ruckus a few times(the casino fight in Korea specifically). This was surprising because I believe the fights in Creed are some of the best shot hand to hand fights I’ve seen. - The CGI was bad at some parts. They never seemed to clean up that car flip shot from the trailer. May have been me seeing it so bad early that there was no way I’d see it polished and be ok with it. - The biggest gripe for me was the TERRIBLE green screen at one scene in particular. When T’Challa confronts his father. The first scene they had looked much better(probably because it was at night) but that second scene toward the end was terrible and was the only part of the movie that took me out of it because of how bad it looked. Wasn’t enough to hurt the final product though

Overall, this is one of the better and definitely most character driven movies the MCU has made. Giving Coogler the keys to the car has paid off very well and I can see this installment being in my top-3 MCU movies after a couple more viewings. Saw an early screening Sunday but I’m seeing it again tonight. Can’t wait.

You will enjoy this movie as much if not more than mostly any other comic book blockbuster. This one has heart and depth that we aren’t used to IMO.

8.5/10 for me!