That's the real feat here.

-Honor T'Challa
-Honor Chadwick Boseman
-Find a credible replacement for both
-Strike a reverent, respectful, mourning tone while giving us a fun adventure
-Introduce a new, highly revered character with his own mythology- and nail both
-Advance the existing characters and mythology, both in this film and going forward
-Give us real stakes
-Fit all that into the broader MCU

Even if you don't think they hit a home run with all of those, I'd say it's hard to argue that they didn't execute all of those at a relatively high level.

This was a tightrope act for the ages, and while not above reproach, it's an impressive accomplishment, particularly in light of the task at hand.

Spoilers






-Shuri's journey to the mantle was every bit as credible and engaging as T'Challa's. Frankly, hers was harder, and with far less room for error. And when she takes it, she owns it.

-Angela Bassett was fantastic. I won't be surprised if her monologue toward Okeye earns her a supporting actress nod. That and the fire she spit at the UN were both highlights.

-Ditto Danai Gurira and Winston Dukes. They both turned in stellar work in their roles. The supporting cast as a whole turned in just about the best work I can think of from a supporting cast in the MCU.

-I loved the political elements. Star Wars could stand to learn a thing or three from this. I wouldn't mind digging deeper into those elements going forward, the tribal council in particular.

-Riri was a breath of fresh air, and while I agree that she wasn't "necessary", she doesn't detract from this at all. She only added to the pot. Queen Ramonda's insistence on protecting her elevated both characters. Riri herself was an enjoyable, fun character. I'd have liked to have seen them dig a bit more on her being a Stark fangirl or something, to reference her comic relationship with Tony, but I digress; they already had a lot of lifting to do here. She neither slows things down or detracts from the main story here, and feels like a natural fit both in terms of her introduction, and her place within the rest of the film.

-Everett and Val weren't exactly wasted, but added very little, and we could have done the entire film without them. If there's anything that slowed the momentum of the narrative, I'd say it's them. But they were fine.

-Namor was extremely well executed, and will instantly top a lot of lists of best comic book villains. I loved that they kept him relatively ambiguous in the end. His comments at the end seemed to imply that he still has less than noble intentions toward Wakanda. His supporting cast didn't give me much to care about, but he chewed every second of scenery. His addition leaves a LOT to ponder going forward.

-That mid credit scene. That one got everyone in both theaters I was in (saw it Thursday and last night), and both crowds largely sucked.

But it was such a beautiful and exciting way to honor this character, and give him a legacy to carry through future films.

-The score hasn't gotten enough love. Or any attention at all, it seems, but it was such a critical element here. Rihanna's closing song in particular, the theme when Shuri arrives to the council as the Black Panther, the guitar-based songs throughout, all of it. The score felt as thoughtful and engaging as the story and performances.

-The writing absolutely shines in certain areas. Shuri's impassioned exhortation that she wants to burn the world down, and virtually everything said by Namor, M'Baku and Ramonda are great examples, and Namor's ultimatum after he kills Ramonda, and Okoye's response to Ramonda both struck a chord with me.

All in all, they hit every note they needed to hit. For whatever criticism there is, I don't see a credible argument that they didn't do a fine job on all the important elements of the story. If you don't feel every word of every line and every moment of the film, I get it.

But I'd guess most will, bare minimum, feel every letter of every word and every note of every chord of the love, mourning, and overall thoughtfulness that went into it.