"Black Panther" - SPOILER ALERT

I had just finished watching and reviewing "Thor: Ragnarok", another epic movie creation (in my opinion) revolving around the mighty god of thunder and his witty sense of humor. I was optimistic and excited to watch the next MCU movie that followed. A positive frame of mind, I was in.

I watched "Black Panther" three times after having watched its predecessor. The first time around left me with a feeling of utter disappointment. It was a much more serious movie than "Ragnarok" and I wasn't ready for that. I also had a difficult time following the story line.

As I have done with most MCU movies, I watched Black Panther again. This second experience was much different than the first one. I was mentally prepared for a more serious movie and I was able to focus more on the story line. I also began to appreciate the humor in it, which there was in fact a lot of.

I still felt like something was missing, so I watched it again. The third time was most definitely a charm. I understood the story line, appreciated the underlying themes, and "got" the humor. Something suddenly clicked and I came away from it that time feeling like it's one of the best movies in the MCU. (Thor still takes the top spot for me.)

It begins with some background information in a storytelling format, and the questions, "We still hide? Why?" It then switches to 1992 in California, then to present day. When the Black Panther returns to Wakanda for the first time in the movie, the scenes of his homeland are breathtakingly beautiful. It clearly appears to be a thriving culture. The cinematography was spot on.

The depth of the plot and the underlying themes contributed to why I grew to appreciate this movie so much - most notable to me, helping others (and what can happen to ALL of us when we don't) and changing our ways as the world around us changes. And the plot was executed well by the depth of the characters. Oddly enough, my favorite character in "Black Panther" was Killmonger. I don't justify what he did, but I did feel his pain. Oftentimes when people act or react a certain way, it is because of past experiences. This was the perfect example of that - a child who was left behind. He wasn't just an evil villain who came out of nowhere. There was so much more to him than that. In fact, the depth of Killmonger played a huge role in King T'Challa's decision to reach out beyond Wakanda.

Another character I loved (in addition to the Black Panther himself) was Shuri. This girl knows her stuff!  I mean...she made the Black Panther's suit! How cool that she did this for her brother! She is both witty and intelligent. She's also a go-getter. The relationship she has with her brother is admirable. They tease each other, as siblings often do, but it's also obvious that they have a great deal of respect for each other.

I couldn't help noticing the similarities between "Thor" and "Black Panther". One was the sibling relationships - very different in each situation, but both still prominent. Another similarity was that both Thor and the Black Panther had visions of their dads mentoring them. A bit redundant, yet equally powerful. Although, that question that the Black Panther's dad asked him, "Have I ever failed you?" was thought-provoking when we found out what really happened. Yet another similarity between the two movies was that a once enemy ended up, in a way, saving the day. Again, a bit redundant, yet equally powerful in both movies.

The Black Panther's relationship with Nakia is interesting. She is one of the heroes in this movie, as she plays a paramount role in his decision to help others. It's funny that a recurring joke in the movie is that Nakia makes King T'Challa "freeze". On the contrary, she motivates him to take action and make a profound and positive change.

There was one part that made me laugh out loud each time I watched the movie and that was the chase scene in South Korea, specifically when Nakia's car was blown apart and she drove up next to Okoye (who had just soared through the air as if she were a witch on a broomstick, which in itself was bizarre in a most comical way) with basically just the steering wheel and the rest of her vehicle gone. I also loved when Shuri was "magically" (she would rightfully disagree that this was magic) appeared in a vehicle in South Korea, then back again in her lab. Other scenes were comically well done also, but this one stood out to me more than any other comical scene did.

One thing that had me scratching my head at the end was the quote, "What can a nation of farmers have to offer the rest of the world?" Ummm...okay. Clearly, the guy was unaware of the Wakanda true way of life (I imagine it was the intention of the quote to demonstrate this), but more so than that, this guy was unaware of what farmers can offer the rest of the world. I have complete and total respect for farmers and I know they have a lot to offer the world. We can't survive without them! It was a poor choice of words, in my opinion. Maybe I'm reading into it too much, but it seemed like an insult to farmers.

One might argue that this was a timely movie and that has everything to do with its success. True, it was timely (and I believe everyone could benefit from watching it again as current events continue to unfold), but it was so much more than just MCU's successful attempt at diversity and sending a powerful message. Apart from all of that, it's just a really great movie that I will most likely revisit again sometime in the future. I hope you'll join me for the viewing party.