Black Panther
Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther Marvel

Marvel Studios looks like it has another huge hit on its hands after an enthusiastic reception by critics at the first press screening of Black Panther.

A social media embargo was lifted overnight, with the embargo for full print and online reviews still to pass ahead of the film's release on 13 February.

The initial reactions to director Ryan Coogler's culturally significant blockbuster, however, are a great indicator of the larger critical response to come.

Black Panther is the first solo movie for the first black superhero in mainstream American comics. Chadwick Boseman portrayed the character in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, leading up to his first adventure with top billing.

Entertainment Weekly writer ReBecca Theodore-Vachon wrote a string of tweets heaping praise on the movie, calling it "everything I wanted and so much more".

She went on to praise the film's visual design, particularly the costumes, as well as its depiction of the many female characters and the performances behind them.

"Shuri, played by [Letitia Wright], is absolutely delightful," she wrote. "I love that Shuri is so at ease with her brilliance and genius. And her scenes with T'Challa are so funny! Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurai bring the heat... Their action scenes had the audience cheering and clapping. I loved every second."

Fandango's Erik Davis called the movie "exceptional - the James Bond of the MCU".

He added: "You've seen nothing like this in a superhero movie - it's bold, beautiful and intense, but there's a depth and spiritualness that is unlike anything Marvel has ever done. It's 100% African and it is dope af [excellent]."

Peter Sciretta of SlashFilm said:

"Black Panther is incredible, kinetic, purposeful. A superhero movie about why representation and identity matters, and how tragic it is when those things are denied to people," wrote the LA Times' Jen Yamato.

"The first MCU movie about something real; Michael B Jordan's Killmonger had me weeping and he's the villain."

Indeed, there was a ton of praise for Jordan - who has previously worked with Coogler on Rocky successor Creed.

Collider's Steven Weintraub said Jordan's character Erik Killmonger was the best Marvel villain since Tom Hiddleston's Loki. The character "absolutely kills it", he said.

Filmmaker BenDavid Grabinski said: "Killmonger is the best and most interesting villain out of any of the MCU movies. Michael B Jordan is so good."

Geeks of Colour heralded Black Panther as "the best MCU movie ever". It continued:

LA Times' Tre'vell Anderson said: "Black Panther is a love letter about blackness, to a world that often ghettoises it without realising that it is on black backs that this planet revolves."

Along with Boseman in the title role, Black Panther stars Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman and Daniel Kaluuya. It's the final film before the Marvel Cinematic Universe unites for Avengers: Infinity War in April.

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