I really loved the character’s debut in Captain America: Civil War but my initial impression of his solo debut from its trailer wasn’t that great. Like everyone else however, I was shocked by its success. The critical reception it received is perhaps understandable given its status as a black superhero film but its box office returns are amazing as well. This meant that I did have to watch and having done so I am sad to report that I found it to be overrated.

T’Challa officially ascends to the throne of Wakanda following a ritual form of trial by combat. It is revealed the due to the presence of vibranium in the country and the technology that it enables, Wakanda is probably the most advanced and powerful country on Earth though it keeps that fact hidden. Meanwhile the mercenary Killmonger teams up with Ulysses Klaue to steal a Wakandan artifact in a British museum. However he turns out to be a cousin of T’Challa who has been raised in the US and all this is a ploy to return to Wakanda. He believes that it is stupid for Wakanda to keep itself isolated and wants the country to conquer the rest of the world with its advanced weaponry in the name of black people who are oppressed everywhere. He launches his own challenge to T’Challa for the right to be king and as these things usually go, succeeds.

Director Ryan Coogler doesn’t have much experience with big budget action films before this and I think it shows. Its most obvious failing is that its action scenes are only mediocre and I was especially disappointed by the poor fight choreography. The Russo brothers managed to create a very distinctive fighting style for the first appearance of the Black Panther yet here he looks like just another elite brawler. I also dislike how his suit has been massively upgraded until it now seems like it’s more resilient than Iron Man’s armor and his reliance on it devalues him as a skilled martial artist. The chase scene set in South Korea is okay and I was amused that it seemed to be drawing on the James Bond franchise as inspiration. The final showdown is just plain bad. I felt throughout the film that the CGI was only lackluster and they seemed lazy about properly creating a visually impressive and detailed Wakanda. The land of the dead in Coco for example beats it hands down. Their design for Wakandan technology leans heavily on being flashy and sleek. I think that is a mistake because it only makes it more obvious that it is all CGI. Having traditional African warriors with force fields just looks stupid.

What this film does have going for it is that its themes aren’t bad. Killmonger does rather have a point and the debate over whether Wakanda should be a closed society or one that seeks to actively engage with the world is one that mirrors the real world. The idea of Wakanda being secretly the world’s most powerful country is a cool if somewhat implausible idea. Plus of course it’s nice to see the film draw from a wide variety of African cultural sources even if it’s a bit caricatural. Unfortunately poor directing and perhaps lackluster casting prevent those themes from being fully explored. Killmonger simply has too little screen time, being king of Wakanda for too short a time to make enough of an impact on the audience. They should have had him kill Klaue in his very first appearance so that he can show up in Wakanda immediately afterwards. I don’t believe Michael B. Jordan looks quite menacing enough to play the character and it would have been much better if he had actually started doing some damage to the world outside of Wakanda as its king. Most important of all is the fact that the film chooses to make Killmonger a thug. Whatever merits that his argument that Wakanda should share its wealth with black people all over the world has is undermined by the simple fact that it is being championed by a thug who knows only how to kill.

Overall I find the critical reception in its favor to be overrated and I’m puzzled by how well it seems to be doing commercially. It’s still a decently entertaining action movie and I’m not adverse to the signalling effects of a black superhero movie. However I’d rate it as thoroughly middle of the pack.