Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
That opening. That ending. And Angela Bassett. Rest in peace Chadwick. We miss you.
Offers a well-rounded villain, with a compelling story, to push these characters in new and exciting directions.
Different in tone and feel to most, if not all, Marvel movies to date. Borne out of sadness and wrestling with grief, there is a lot weighing on the mind throughout Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
NO
Maybe the most melancholy superhero movie to date. Some will want less sad and less drama and more action and levity.
The socio-political content and musings may frustrate some viewers who want Marvel to remain apolitical. If movies are to reflect society, then there’s no problem. If you just want mindless entertainment, Wakanda Forever may not be your cup of tea.
Continues connecting and building to properties and IP that folks are not fully going to grasp unless they are consuming all things Marvel - in theaters and on Disney+.
OUR REVIEW
Often lost in the fantastical adventures and escapism fans love in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is the fact that when pure heart-wrenching emotion is needed, there have been some truly powerful moments captured among the 30 films which comprise four phases of the MCU.
The Blip shocked audiences by causing some beloved superheroes to simply disintegrate right before our eyes, with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man/Peter Parker among them, crying out “I don’t want to go!” Iron Man/Tony Stark’s passing and subsequent funeral in Avengers: Endgame was equally as moving, as was Holland again having to say goodbye to his beloved Aunt May in Spider-Man: No Way Home. There are other moments which could be mentioned, but maybe nothing hits as hard or as deep as how Black Panther: Wakanda Forever pays loving tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who starred as King T’Challa and lost his life to colon cancer in August 2020.
While the 2018 Black Panther was an ensemble effort, Boseman embodied the heart and soul of the film as the youthful king who ensures Wakanda is safe from his villainous cousin Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). Boseman’s death came as a shock to the industry, with so many who were close to the actor not knowing he was sick. Without spoiling specifics, the opening of Wakanda Forever addresses a country reeling from the shocking death of their king and his family searching for answers to understand a tragedy they could not prevent. Director Ryan Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole address it head on. They simply had no other choice.
Wakandans celebrate T’Challa, and we are reminded that in this world, “death is not the end.” As his portrait looms over a funeral celebration, Marvel pays tribute to Boseman in the best way possible. Seriously, if a tear doesn’t reach your eye during these moments, I truly feel sorry for you.
As this prologue subsides and we shift to a year later, Shuri (Letitia Wright), T’Challa’s sister, and their mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), find the world’s eyes locked onto their country. Under the Queen’s leadership, the United Nations are circling like vultures trying to find opportunities to manipulate Wakanda or take, through force, the country’s powerful mineral vibranium. In another classic moment early on in the film, Queen Ramonda (Bassett at her very best) delivers a fiery rebuke to world leaders and makes it very clear that Wakanda is not weak and Wakanda will not cower to aggression threatened against their homeland.
Mortality, loss, and honoring and embracing heritage are themes which resonate perhaps most boldly through Wakanda Forever. As the characters navigate their emotions and attempt to chart a new path for their country, their impenetrable walls are violated by the arrival of Namor (Tenoch Huerta), a human/aquatic hybrid whose native country, Talokan, also possesses vibranium. With the world aware and desiring Wakanda’s powerful resource, Namor is defiant on defeating anyone who tries to seize power or take control of his people and his country’s reserves. Namor’s eventual true intentions for visiting Wakanda may have dire consequences for the Queen and her people.
In most ways, this is a completely different film from the 2018 Oscar-winning predecessor. Where everything felt new and alive and the stories and visuals were breathtaking, exciting, and full of vitality, Wakanda Forever dulls the enthusiasm and offers perhaps one of the more melancholy superhero movies in the MCU’s history. To say the film is “heavy,” may not be wholly accurate, but there is a lot on Coogler and Cole’s minds here. While the film has some fantastic action sequences, and some intricately drawn out characters, including Namor, this is a film exploring pain and loss, while also unpacking colonialism, racially-charged imperialism, and the significance in preserving culture and heritage.
An extended sequence where Namor provides Shuri the history of Talokan, and provides the reasons why he feels the way he does, is fodder for a spinoff all its own. Coogler and Cole draw a fascinating parallel between two mythical countries, effectively drawing us into a conflict threatening to tear both countries apart.
When at its best, Wakanda Forever makes us care. However, at 161 minutes, the film is prone to meandering around and seems to have occasional struggles in balancing a dramatic plot with intense action sequences, and spicing in some humor and levity to lighten the mood.
The levity is where the film struggles the most. Where Boseman and Wright generated effortless chemistry together, Wright tries to recreate that same spunk with a 19-year-old MIT student that Wakanda recruits to assist them in creating a machine that can track vibranium. This introduces Ironheart (Dominique Thorne) into the MCU, and she will next star in a Disney+ series in late-2023.
A few fun moments aside, the humor doesn’t quite land because we are watching a film built and structured around grief. No matter what occurs, the motivations behind people’s actions are driven by loss and recovery. And that’s potentially a lot to ask of any audience, much less a Marvel fanbase, to contemplate for over 160 minutes.
Ruth Carter’s costumes are simply on another level when it comes to inventiveness, creativity, and beauty. Whether we are looking at the elegance of the Queen’s costuming, or some fun “real-world” costuming of Okoye (Danai Gurira), still a badass special forces leader trying to blend in at MIT, or the multicultural visuals this film creates, another Oscar nomination for Carter should be a no-brainer.
The visual effects work is largely impressive, though some of the flying effects from Namor and his Talokan warriors look a little herky-jerky. The set design is impressive, the locations vast and tangible, and immersing yourself into Wakanda Forever’s world is a breeze.
Finding a way to carry on with a Black Panther sequel, without its iconic lead, could not have been easy. Props should be given to Coogler for conceiving a premise, concept, and story that moves us all past the emotional pain of losing a brother, a friend, and, in this world, a king.
As Rihanna’s stirring ballad “Lift Me Up,” reminds us that celebration and mourning can somehow, inexplicably, co-exist within us all, Wakanda Forever tugs ever so effectively at the heartstrings.
For all of its successes however, the film seems to leave a lot on the table when it comes to addressing the very real, very significant, societal and cultural issues it raises. Perhaps, that’s for another time. For now, we simply contemplate and consider, and honor and remember, a powerful, once-mighty force who left us all far too soon.
CAST & CREW
Starring: Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, Winston Duke, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, Dominique Thorne, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Richard Schiff, Robert John Burke, Lake Bell
Director: Ryan Coogler
Written by: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole (screenplay); Ryan Coogler (story)
Based on the Marvel Comics series, “Black Panther” by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Release Date: November 11, 2022
Walt Disney Studios