Black Panther (2018)

I've seen Black Panther multiple times now and it just keeps getting better. the Afrofuturism design is something rarely matched in cinema. If you haven't watched it yet, clear your evening.

The music in Black Panther is so deeply married to the images that you almost can't separate them. It stays in your head days later and when you hear it again the emotions return immediately.

I usually avoid this kind of film but gave Black Panther a chance after constant recommendations. Completely converted. Ryan Coogler transcends genre entirely. It works as pure human drama first.

Every actor brings something to Black Panther, but the lead performance is genuinely extraordinary. The subtlety involved, the way the character changes without announcing it — it's a masterclass.

Every choice in Black Panther feels deliberate. The framing, the pacing, the Korean casino chase — Ryan Coogler is operating at a level most filmmakers never reach. It's the kind of film you study rather than just watch.

Black Panther has been praised so heavily that no film could live up completely. It's an excellent film — Michael B. Jordan's compelling Killmonger is genuinely remarkable — but it's not the untouchable masterpiece some claim.

Some elements of Black Panther show their age, but the core of it — colonialism and identity, Michael B. Jordan's compelling Killmonger — hasn't diminished at all. Films this good age better than almost anything else.

I didn't expect Black Panther to affect me so deeply. The way Ryan Coogler handles a king's duty to his people is unlike anything I'd seen before. I came out of it looking at the world differently.