It's funny: When the flick was over, I racked my brain trying to figure out what I had witnessed. In the end, I formulated an essential question: Did I fail this flick, or did the flick fail me.

After some time to reflect on the nature of the production and directorial decisions, I think I can say with some assuredness that the flick failed me.

Black Panther is operatic, played out in a big budget Hollywood flick.

This means that a fairly simple mythology--and scenarios which play out modestly reticulated developments stemming from that mythology--are stretched out over a skein work of standard-issue over-the-top action sequences.

So, in the end, I think I "got" this flick. It's just that I'm 1) not an opera buff, and 2) tend to not be impressed by CGI and interminable over-the-top action.

While I can see ways that direction/production may have thought they were "throwing a bone" to snobs like me (e.g., cleverly down-to-earth writing style), it wasn't enough to redeem the exercise.

It also niggles because of the way real artfulness in filmmaking has been taking it on the chin lately. The idea that films like Black Panther represent the kinds of money-making stuff that sop up all that money... just rankles.