Yes, there are battles, but they're sci-fi and cartoony––it's a Marvel joint, after all––so Jack and I sat through the 2:42 run time to appreciate the magnificent wardrobe and colorful cinematography in a story about the mythical country protecting itself from new foes. This sequel begins with the death and funeral of King T'Challa, presumably because the filmmakers and others are mourning the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman, who played T'Challa in the first Black Panther.
Angela Bassett has a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nod for returning as T'Challa's mother. Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, and Martin Freeman are among those reappearing, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus adding her usual comic relief.
Ryan Coogler directs from the script co-written by him and Joe Robert Cole and Ludwig Göransson's score, available on Apple Music and elsewhere, includes some contemporary songs mixed in with the traditional soundtrack
Ruth Carter's gorgeous wardrobe is Oscar-nominated along with Makeup/Hair, Visual Effects, and Original Song. Autumn Durald Arkapaw is the talented director of photography.
Bassett was last blogged for Soul; Wright for Small Axe; Gurira for Avengers: Infinity War; Nyong'o, Freeman, Coogler, Cole, and Carter for Black Panther; Louis-Dreyfus for You People, and Göransson for Tenet. Arkapaw has shot eight other features and lots of shorts and TV work in her fifteen year career.
Rotten Tomatoes' audiences are forever loyal, averaging 94%, while its critics might leave a bit sooner at 84.
Marvel Cinematic Universe movies traditionally have at least one bonus scene at the very end, so the faithful do not leave or turn it off when the technical credits are onscreen. This has an important one at 2:31 but the last bonus, simply a card at 2:42 that says BLACK PANTHER WILL RETURN, is a disappointing copout. The opening MCI flipping comics pages are another tribute to Boseman.
We watched it with our Disney+ subscription on February 1, the afternoon of the first day it streamed there. One of the many benefits of watching at home is that I can pause to read credits, when the music and locations listings are at the end. Every streaming platform is a little different but they all shrink the viewing window to offer another show when the credits are rolling, which causes me to curse as I fumble the remote. Not surprisingly, the Disney site crashed around 7pm on the movie's first day, just as I was cursing and fumbling. I watched the credits days later, and rewatched them just now.
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