When I think about how much this movie had to deal with and accomplish - the sad death of Chadwick Boseman, the introduction of a secret underwater nation and its charismatic leader Namor, the first appearance of Riri Williams (who will be familiar to fans of the Marvel comics), and then the introduction of a brand new Black Panther - and the fact that it largely manages to pull off all of this and still be an entertaining movie in its own right, it makes me even more impressed with Ryan Coogler as a director.

Yes, it has its problems and is much too long (the Riri Williams storyline, which is the weakest of those being jumbled and exists purely for future spin-offs
, could have easily been cut out of the movie), but the strong acting (particularly from Angela Bassett and Letitia Wright), the great costumes and impressive visuals easily compensate for much of this.

For a movie that has too much in it - most of which involves CGI things smashing other CGI things - the overall tone of the movie somehow smoothes over many of the problems. It's implicitly pacifist in a way that perhaps no other superhero movie has ever been, and there's a beating heart at its center that's surprising to experience. This is the seven stages of grief told through the modern medium of a comic book movie and, as the lead character finally accepts her loss and begins to move on, we - the audience - can move on with her. Wakanda Forever? I hope so. Bring on the next sequel.