Black Panther

While I love these original comic book stories, straight from the source, even animation wise, these Marvel Knights segments aren't my favorite to watch, great Black Panther story though!

This is the best superhero feature, animated or live-action, that I've seen in years. Though presented as six TV episodes, it's all one story...and what a story! A beautifully complex narrative of stories-within-stories ranges over vast time and space to convey the myth of Wakanda, the untouchable warrior kingdom of Africa, and its hereditary leader, the Black Panther, even as the present-day story steadily builds to a gripping final half, with Wakanda under attack by enemies on all sides. Along for this roller-coaster ride: Storm and the X-Men, Juggernaut, The Black Knight, Captain America, a scary Condoleezza-alike, and even President O himself.

The politics here will be controversial; this is an intelligent, funny, highly nuanced attack on imperialism of all stripes, from the White House to the Vatican. (So far as I can tell, although this was produced by BET/Viacom, it never seems to have actually aired on BET, and I'm betting the reason is the politics. I'd love to know the full story about this.)

The artwork is terrific, and the presentation is somewhere between regular animation and a highly evolved motion comic. I found the effect always interesting, sometimes awesome.

This movie kept me on the edge of my seat every minute. Superb!

For a series that sets it self apart so distinctly from other superhero cartoons, this was excellently done. I found the art style to be a different approach than the typically style. However, the strong storytelling and placement of Black Panther in the Marvel Universe was spectacular. What stands out most in this classic story is not Black Panther himself, but the Civilization and people of Wakanda. This is a story about a people never conquered that maintained in cultural heritage while developing advanced technology. This is the dream of many people who have been separated from their home, to have never been separated and stood strong in the midst of oncoming assaults, even if the charge is led by Captain America. I was sad there was only 6 episodes. All I wanted was more.

Art style was great but the animation style leaves something to be desired. The voice casting did a great job. Actors provided a living feel to all the characters. I was impressed with the selection of the villains. This story is definitely adult oriented. Storyline has such depth and complexity. I enjoyed how the story did not become a predictable, canned retelling of the origin of the Black Panther. The strong African nation that resolves it's own destiny is excellent. Unfortunately to end the story with such one sided politics shows poor judgment for a story that should have remained non-partisan. Still would recommend watching 98% of the movie.

While there are only six episodes, each one lasts 18 minutes. That means if your watching a DVD of this, there are less interruptions by constant titles and credits like other Motion comics have.

There are several cameos like Captain America, Storm and Cyclops but you can tell they were added to help sell the product to a particular demographic. None of them serve any purpose to the overall plot.

In episode 2, there is a scene in a brothel, and a line up of girls with one being chosen and taken into the back room, and murdered. It was completely unnecessary and was the start of this shows decline for me.

The show had its moments. Enough for me to watch it until the end, but it is not something I will ever watch again.

The animation style was better than all the other motion comics I've watched, with moving backgrounds at times. It has great audio, music, voice acting and lighting. But when my review is about such things and not the plot, it shows how low the bar is for motion comic shows.

As for the plot, its a full arc story but they really did stretch it out. I was bored by the second episode, waiting for the bad guys to get ready. Wakanda showed very little to demonstrate why it was more powerful than anywhere else and they had lots of flashbacks which while more interesting than the main story, is a problem in itself. I feel four episodes could have told a much tighter story that would have been more entertaining to watch.