‘Black Panther’ Gets Officially Certified Fresh On Rotten Tomatoes

With a week to go until its official release, Rotten Tomatoes has confirmed that the latest film from Marvel Studios, Black Panther, is certified fresh with a score of 99%.

The review aggregator site made the announcement on its Twitter page featuring a clip from one of the film’s most exciting action sequences.

With 80 reviews for the film submitted, the site describes, “Black Panther elevates superhero cinema to thrilling new heights while telling one of the MCU’s most absorbing stories — and introducing some of its most fully realized characters.”

The character quickly became one of the standout elements of Captain America: Civil War, merely whetting audiences’ appetites to learn more about T’Challa, King of Wakanda.

ComicBook.com’s own Brandon Davis praised the film, giving extra acclaim to the female characters in the film.

“If Black Panther had not included the Dora Milaje, especially Danai Gurira’s General Okoye, it would be lesser. They help carry the throne and movie to royalty as director Ryan Coogler coaches these women toward profound achievement. The fighting skills on display and technology accompanying them thanks to [Letitia] Wright’s brilliant and wildly fun Shuri offer some of Black Panther‘s most entertaining and jaw-dropping moments. One sequence in particular, involving Gurira, a spear, and a car chase, will leave moviegoers giddy in their seats.”

Many critics have noted that, while the film unfolds in a fictional nation, the overall themes are incredibly relevant to our current cultural climate.

“While the themes are deep, Black Panther is at the same time a visual joy to behold, with confident quirkiness, insane action sequences and special effects, and the glorious reveal of Wakanda,” USA Today claims.

Interestingly, the only current “Rotten” review of the film still gives it a rating of 3 out of 5 which, statistically speaking, could be interpreted as mediocre to above average.

Films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe often debut to strong reviews, with the following weeks resulting in a film’s score dropping percentage points. The first chapter in the MCU, 2008’s Iron Man, still holds the highest rating with 94% positive reviews, with 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers and last year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok sitting at 92%.

Black Panther hits theaters on February 16.

[H/T Twitter, RottenTomatoes]