"Black Panther." Did I miss something?

[bif]

After hearing all the great reviews about it, I decided to watch it yesterday. What a huge disappointment. I'm not a fan of superhero movies, but I thought this might be something special. Nope. Watched about an hour and a half of it and gave up. Decent premise and special effects, but the storyline and acting were so-so. Anyone else feel the same way?

[Glorfindel]

1. I think a bit of a letdown was inevitable, considering the hype

and all the glowing reviews. I watched the whole thing, however, and enjoyed it for what it is. I actually thought "Solo" was a better movie, and seemingly nobody else liked it.

[bigbrother05]

3. Particularly liked the premise that their technology must be hidden from outsiders

Turned the whole "Dark Continent" myth on it's head.

Also really enjoyed Solo, can see a few sequels to fill in the timeline. Along with Rogue One fills in the storylines following birth of Luke & Leia.

[MarianJack]

2. I liked it a lot, but I'm a life long superhero nerd.

I guess that this is one of the reasons they make ice cream in more than one flavor.

RESIST!

[Nitram]

4. I would have to agree that I was underwhelmed. Perhaps my expectations were too high.

Every superhero cliche was employed, and the plot was typical Hollywood blockbuster. I did not think the random mixture of different African cultures did anything to further an understanding that the enormous continent of Africa has many, many very distinct cultures. I am so tired of people lumping everything in Africa into one big lump.

I lived deep in the Liberian countryside for two years, and travelled extensively in West Africa. I've studied different aspects of various regions and cultures on the continent. I believe the actual history is interesting enough to have formed the basis for this story, in the Songhai or Mali Empires, for example, without the far-fetched notion of a secret "superior" technology. But I realize that a major role of the superhero genre is to give powerless people some hope and a feeling of self-worth. The movie strongly resonated in the African-American community, and that is proof that it succeeded as a movie. I hope future movies can pick up where this one left off, and build the story on a firmer foundation that is rooted in the actual history of real African cultures.