The Marvel comic universe has made up for its prior lack of black superheroes on the big screen in a huge way in this story of Black Panther, a young man whose leadership skills are tested when he becomes king of the secretly technologically-advanced African nation of Wakanda.
Director Ryan Coogler injects eye-popping visual effects, fantastic costumes and a rousing score into the now predictable but still entertaining Marvel machine, making this latest installment an uplifting, albeit at times cartoonish, good time. Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan, Angela Bassett, Daniel Kaluuya and Danai Guirira lead a powerhouse cast that includes a laundry list of charismatic big name stars, but it is relative unknown Letitia Wright who steals her every scene as the new king’s wisecracking, brainiac sister in this film that is inspirational on a multitude of levels. B+
