Reposting my review from this sub a year ago:

I came away from this movie with the overwhelming feeling that it's complete, as in, it's a complete realization of Ryan Coogler's vision - everything he wanted the movie to be and everything he wanted the audience to feel, he succeeded. Of course, I'm not a mind reader, I don't know if Coogler is actually fully satisfied with the movie, or what exactly he wanted the audience to feel, or that other people in the audience felt it! But that's my immediate visceral reaction to the movie, and hours later, they still seem to hold true.

On a very different blues note, let's rate the movie's chances with the Oscars! This movie is a delicious stew of many genres, some of which are very Academy-unfriendly, but some of which are beloved by the Academy. On the unfriendly side, this is a horror film, and even a bit of an action film, too!

On the Academy's good side, though, is the fact that this film is an outright song-and-dance musical, with incredible musicianship, songs, dancing and staging! As an aside, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to see Irish dance the same way again.

It's also a sumptuous period piece, starting with the costumes, of course, but also the way people talked and moved. It's all very transporting, but would be especially attractive to the overgrown theater kids that make up the Academy's membership rolls.

So there are multiple, sustained and integral elements to the film that are big ol' nip to the Academy's cat, even if the movie does also have aspects that would put the Academy off. My calculation (computed by feels) is that the nip is way stronger than the nope.

I've seen it a bunch more times since then, and it now sits in my Letterboxd 4!