“Black Panther” 1/2

PG-13, 2:20, action

“Black Panther” in brief: Wakanda was blessed by a magical substance called vibranium. The metal provides superhuman ability and turns the king of the moment into Black Panther. King T’Chaka expires, and his son, T’Challa, is crowned. There are two antagonists: Andy Serkis is vibranium fanatic Ulysses Klaue, and Michael B. Jordan is the American black ops ace known as Killmonger. He has ambitions for the throne and a belief in getting advanced weaponry in the hands of oppressed people. May Marvel learn its lesson from “Black Panther”: When a movie like this ends up feeling both personal and vital, you’ve done something right. — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

“Tomb Raider”

PG-13, 1:58, action

Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) is a 21-year-old working as a bike messenger, practicing martial arts, living modestly. In truth she’s the heiress to the Croft fortune, left by her adventurer father (Dominic West), now seven years missing. In an exposition dump, we’re treated to highlights from his research into the tomb of Himiko, the “Mother of Death,” located somewhere beneath the surface of an island. We go to the Mother of Death and the Chasm of Souls and the Island of Bug-Eyed Overacting, which brings us to the bad guy. Then, “Tomb Raider” turns Lara into a punching bag. Moviemakers may believe such grueling violence to be obligatory, a natural prelude to the usual digital fakery. — M.P.

“A Wrinkle in Time” 1/2

PG, 1:49, fantasy

Meg and her younger, “different” brother, Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), live with their physicist mother (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) in Los Angeles. Meg’s father (Chris Pine), a NASA scientist, has been missing for four years. Mr. and Mrs. Murry had been on the verge of cracking the secret of the tesseract, enabling humans to magically zwoop to other planets, new dimensions. Megan learns the ropes with the guidance of Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey). Together they tesser here and there, to the planets Uriel and Orion. Zach Galifianakis pops up as the Happy Medium, a seer who points the way to the missing father. — M.P.

“Love, Simon” 1/2

PG-13, 1:40, drama

Nick Robinson is Simon, a high school senior who describes his life as “totally normal.” He has a loving family and the same friends for years. Simon is gay but has kept his sexuality a secret from everyone. He finally finds an outlet after an anonymous post on the school’s online gossip forum. A student calling himself Blue confesses that he’s gay but hasn’t told anyone, and Simon writes to him, using a pseudonym. They begin an anonymous pen-pal friendship that turns into a deep connection. Simon’s life starts to unravel when the school’s class clown, Martin (Logan Miller), finds his secret emails. “Love, Simon” is a universal story, even if you’re not a gay teenager. — Sandy Cohen, Associated Press

“Game Night” 1/2

R, 1:33, comedy

Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) host a weekly couples get-together over charades and the like. Max is semi-dreading a reunion with his competitive brother, Brooks (Kyle Chandler), who bigfoots the game night with a staging of a kidnapping and murder mystery, involving hired actors. Then Brooks is kidnapped for real. Max and Annie scramble to rescue Brooks and save their own hides, while the other couples learn the truth behind the game at different junctures. — M.P.