https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/movies/best-movies-21st-century.html
96. Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018)
There’s so much to love. It’s a superhero spectacle that actually has something important to say, about how identity, history and responsibility intersect. Wakanda, the Afrofuturistic world where the story takes place, is a visual wonder. The women (played by Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o and Letitia Wright — all excellent) aren’t just sidekicks or love interests. Michael B. Jordan, as the tragically villainous Killmonger, has never been more swoon worthy. And, of course, Chadwick Boseman shines in the title role, sadly one of his last before dying of cancer.
That’s there take. I think context and audience makes a huge difference, so I’d rank it higher.
I remember the experience. I watched it at the Rave Cinema at the Baldwin-Crenshaw mall, in Leimert Park. And let me tell you: the theater was so fucking amped. This theater was built by Magic Johnson in a part of LA that hadn’t had a nice theater, and it’s held up well. The neighborhood has really come up around it, too, so when Black Panther played, it was filled with folks dressed to the nines. There was LA street fashion, Panafrican garb, kids grown-ups, elders… The movie was good to start with, but it was just hard not to get caught up in the energy in the air. It truly was an event.
that says nothing about the movie, which is what the list is about.
I’m just reminiscing, man.
I remember when going to the theater was a whole EVENT. I can’t remember the last time people lined up for movie tickets. Lord of the Rings?
It was this whole communal thing of a shared experience together.
TBH, yeah, lining up for tickets and lining up again to get into the theater was kind of a pain in the ass, but still, I miss talking to other people in line and what not.