Black Panther (12A)
Directed by Ryan Coogler
5*

Celluloid superheroes were once rare. Not anymore.

Hollywood has created a box-office bonanza by exploiting every comic-book hero from the X Men, Superman, Batman, the Green Hornet and Spiderman to The Incredible Hulk.

But, given that Black Panther was co-created by Marvel Comic’s Stan Lee — who make a modestly appearance here — I expected the usual mixture as before.

I was wrong, because while director and co-writer Ryan Coogler delivers all the comic-strip hero action that the most dedicated genre fan could desire and more, the subtext of wealthy countries exploiting poor and oppressed ones hits home hard and often.

The central storyline sees T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) return from the US to his African home country of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king.

There, facing treachery and danger on every side, he reverts to his superhero alter-ego the Black Panther to save his nation and, naturally, the world as well.

Fortunately for mankind Wakanda — a hidden futuristic city stunningly realised complete with skyscrapers and huge flying saucers – is the source of the magical element Vibranium that powers Black Panther to victory.

Stirring spectacle and action decorate a gripping and fast-moving story which alone are worth the price of admission.

Adding impact to a riveting superhero show that puts its predecessors in the shade, is the enthralling and credible blend of character and combat that grips and entertains over its two-and-a-quarter hours.

There’s everything from raging sword-and-spear battles featuring giant charging armoured rhinos to space fights and combat to thrills, chills and blazing action in darkest Korea.

Boseman scores strongly in his Jekyll-and-Hyde superhero role, while Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Michael B Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o provide potent support.

Andy Serkis is great as a villain from darkest Johannesburg — his South African accent is impeccable — while Martin Freeman, who fell from space in the flop film of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, hits the mark here as a heroic FBI agent.

Who could ask for more? I couldn't.

Alan Frank

Lady Bird (15)
Directed by Greta Gerwig
4*

WITH five Oscar nominations, this surprising indie coming-of-age comedy drama is taking the current award season by storm with its fresh insights into the adolescent mind and the turbulent relationship between mothers and daughters.

It's something that actress-turned-writer/director Greta Gerwig, shockingly only the fifth woman to be nominated for a best director Academy Award, captures to stark perfection.

“Do you think I look like I'm from Sacramento?” asks 17-year-old Christine, who insists on being called Lady Bird, of her strong-willed and no-nonsense mother (played superlatively by Laurie Metcalf). She points out that the question is irrelevant, as she is indeed from the Californian town.

Set in Sacramento in 2002, the film stars the sublime Saoirse Ronan as the artistically inclined and angst-ridden teenager, who describes herself as being from the wrong side of the tracks. She is desperate to escape her home town and working-class roots by going to study on the East Coast, the centre of art and culture, she believes.

Ronan channels the selfish, self-absorbed, confrontational and demanding nature of a teenage girl who wants to expand her horizons but refuses to accept that her parents cannot afford to pay for her artistic and cultural endeavours. Her mother, who is a nurse, is tirelessly working all hours to keep the family afloat after her father loses his job.

Metcalf and Ronan, both Oscar-nominated, portray the volatile mother-daughter relationship with realistic intensity. Many will probably relate to Metcalf's blunt and brutally honest mother who refuses to sugar-coat the truth, while Lady Bird's dad (Tracy Letts) — good cop to his wife's bad cop — is forever trying to keep the peace between the two. He promises to give his daughter everything she asks for, despite his precarious financial situation.

Although very little happens during the course of the film, Gerwig's snapshot in the life of a teen is, reminiscent of Richard Linklater's work, enthrals.

With a sharp and intelligent screenplay brought to vivid life by her stupendous cast, the director delivers a witty and amusing yet deeply moving comedy drama which will have women calling their mothers straight after.

MD