Black Panther

I can unequivocally say that Black Panther is the best comic book film adaptation since Thor: Ragnarok, and it very well may hold that distinction until May of this year.  Perhaps you sense a little comic book fatigue, which would be an accurate assessment.  Singer's X-Men and Nolan's Batman Begins heralded a Golden Age of comic book movies, but also opened the floodgate to studios greenlighting every project that comes their way.  For every excellent adaptation, there are at least five or six mediocre offerings.  The director of Black Panther, Ryan Coogler should be given credit for a valiant effort, but there are flaws which have become all to common in recent comic book movies:

1.  Too many uninteresting characters steal precious time from the central characters.
2.  If you can't make the digital effect look good, just leave the scene on the cutting room floor (or drag and drop to the recycle bin...).
3.  If you want the film to be a political commentary, own it.  Don't insult the audience with thinly veiled allusions to contemporary politics.

Coogler got some really important elements right, enough to redeem an otherwise bland movie:

1.  Costume design is amazing, vibrant, and is the visual thread that holds the film together.
2.  Casting Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther, Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia, Forest Whitaker as Zuri, Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger, and Andy Serkis as Klaue was right on, each of these performers were excellent in their roles.
3.  The soundtrack by Kendrick Lamar and score by Ludwig Göransson combine fluidly to create a distinct atmosphere throughout the film. While I liked Thor: Ragnarok's multiple uses of Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, I can admit that the action sequence montage is one of the clichés that detracts from comic book movies. Coogler smartly avoided this by using fresh music instead of depending on classic or popular compositions, which makes the film feel new and distinct.