Michael's Movie Grade: B+
An excellent Marvel film.
This is a Marvel film that for the majority of the movie does not focus on a customed hero. If there is a filmmaker to make such a movie it is Ryan Coogler (who not only directed but also co-wrote the film). Those familar with his Creed films or even the first Black Panther movie, will know that where he really shines as a filmmaker is with deeply human stories and that is just what he delivers here. This movie focuses on T'Challa's (the original Black Panther) sister Shuri. After the death of her brother (after a beautiful scene paying tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman (who played the original Black Panther)), she finds herself in grief and hiding herself from everyone else working in her laboratory on various inventions. From her she goes on a very moving character arc that is both sadly beautiful and uplifting at the same time. Her character always comes off as real and sympathetic, but at the same time she is deeply flawed and isn't always dealing with her grief in the healthiest of ways. Yet these flaws only make her feel more human and relatable to us. Adding to this is both a wonderful performance by Letitia Wright and the fact that Ryan Coogler is not afraid to slow down and take his time to tell this story. We take time with these characters and what they are going through. We can't rush through scenes dealing with the emotions these characters are feeling or else the believability will be lost. Instead, we are given the time to let all of these emotions sink in. Yet the film never drags or feels too slow. Even though this is a more serious Marvel movie, it still features some of the great humor everybody associates with the MCU. This is not as humor driven as many Marvel films. However even if there are less comedic moments, the ones that are here are really funny. This is also a superhero movie, where you don't always know what is going to happen next, which is very appreciated. This is especially true when it comes to Namor. This character was advertised as this movie's villain, but he is a more complex character than that. Fans of the comic book character will be very pleased at how well this character is used in this movie.
Unfortunately, even with how great this movie works emotionally; the action scenes leave something to be desired. These scenes are never as exciting as they should be. They are not paced well and unlike the best action superhero action scenes, they do not feel like they are building up to anything bigger. It is strange to say that the action scenes are the weakest part of a superhero movie, but that is definitely true here. The CGI in this film is also often too obvious and you can usually tell what is real and what is CGI. This is something that also hurt the action scenes, especially the climatic one.
This is an excellent and very moving superhero film. Not even its flaws can take away how wonderful so much of this movie can be.
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