Jason watches BLACK PANTHER

Well that was kind of fantastic. There are many layers that many better writers have analyzed way better than I can. And there's no reason for me to be the thousandth person to tell you it's great. I'll just point out a few things I liked.

The MCU has followed it's funniest entry (THOR: RAGNAROK) with it's most serious, dramatic entry. So much for complaints that all MCU movies have to follow the "house style" and all end up being the same.

I love that it starts and ends in Ryan Coogler's hometown of Oakland. It grounds the film very well. It's like it doesn't just take place in the same world as the Avengers, it also takes place in the same world as FRUITVALE STATION.

Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan--the Michael Jordan of Ryan Coogler films) gives us a rare well-rounded, complex Marvel villain. You can root against his violent vision of a global black uprising while still understanding the pain and frustration that motivates him. It's important that the answer to his violent vision isn't just to oppose it, but to acknowledge that Wakandans--the black people in power--haven't provided a compelling alternate path to improving black lives.

In short, this is a movie based on ideas. It's dressed up in superhero antics, but those ideas are even more relevant in the real world. Because it takes place in a world that overlaps the Avengers and FRUITVALE STATION.

Running Time: 134 minutes
My Total Minutes: 470,816