Black Panther

Helping chip away at the notion of superhero movies as the preserve of white males is acclaimed writer/director Ryan Coogler (Creed). Set one week after the events of Captain America: Civil War, the 18th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe operates almost entirely as a standalone feature. Taking place in the fictional land of Wakanda, a secretive African nation hiding from the world, it sees Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa return home to be crowned king. Although his eyes glisten with integrity, he suffers crises of conscience and challenges to his leadership. T'Challa's chief adversary is Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, an angry, fatherless man, embodied with punky swagger and visible self-loathing by an electrifying Michael B Jordan. Boseman makes a singularly majestic hero, yet Danai Gurira steals the show as his ferocious right-hand woman. By the time the armoured rhinos are unleashed in the climactic battle, things have descended into overstuffed spectacle. But the movie mostly delivers on the action front, routinely placing its female characters on the front line. Passionately performed and lavish in its love for African culture, Black Panther is a franchise film with a distinct individual identity.