'Black Panther' news: Screening reactions hail the movie as an exceptional cultural phenomenon

Promotional poster for "Black Panther"Twitter/Black Panther

"Black Panther" is on the prowl now in American cinemas and has gained much praise from critics and celebrities alike, with some even labelling the superhero film as an important cultural landmark.

It seems that the unanimous verdict for "Black Panther" was overwhelmingly positive with a majority of critics commending the film. One review even stated that "Black Panther" gives justice to one of the most discriminated races on the planet, which is African-Americans, or Africans, stating that the film reminds the world that it is through the efforts and toil of black people to which a lot of civilizations owe their success.

Granted, some critics stated that the action scenes were typical and even predictable even for a Marvel movie. Nevertheless, it is perhaps the first in the franchise to exhibit a sense of identity & history. This particular compliment was directed at the portrayal of Wakanda, which is the fictional nation of T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) a.k.a. Black Panther that is basically a futuristic civilization of Africans masquerading as a third-world country.

The icing on the cake seems to be the women of the film as well, where they are portrayed as strong female warriors and equal to men and are also given as much spotlight as the male protagonists and antagonists of the movie. This was quite important as Marvel and Disney have quite a large reach of audience due to how popular their recent superhero movies are.

"Something like Marvel has a way of really affecting popular culture, and to have that popular culture informed with things that are of African origin and people knowing they are of African origin...is powerful. Hopefully, it changes the general idea of what being an African is. Too often times we see Africa as a place that is wanting and here it's a place that you want to go," stated Lupita Nyong'o who plays warrior Nakia in the movie.

Regardless, "Black Panther" is set to be one of the most extraordinary works of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) so far.