It has its flaws, but Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is an ambitious and mostly satisfying sequel and a heartfelt tribute to Chadwick Boseman.
Overall Score: 9/10
Image: Marvel Studios / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Losing a loved one often feels like it’s the end of the world. Time is needed for you to heal, but spending too much or all of your time grieving won’t do you any good either. You wouldn’t be healing your wounds, you’d be letting your grief consume you.
A tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is about a nation mourning the loss of its king, a mother the loss of her son, a woman the loss of her partner, and a sister the loss of her brother. But like people, the film knows that it has to find a way to move on, and in doing so it explores two very large and sometimes scary questions: What do you do when all seems lost? How do you find the strength to carry on and live?
I won’t be diving into the details of the plot — to avoid spoiling anything — but I’d like to start by saying that Wakanda Forever is by far one of the best superhero movies I’ve ever seen. It’s big, bold, and epic, yet it’s unconventionally and refreshingly poignant and intimate. It’s not the kind of Marvel film that makes you go “Wow! That was amazing!” Instead, it elicits a quieter and more emotional response, and it’ll impact you much more deeply — believe me, I cried at least twice and still tear up just thinking about it.
Wakanda Forever’s relatively light in terms of action as it mostly focuses on the journeys its characters are on. It deals with their sorrow and grief deftly and delicately, and it does so slowly and in a manner that makes it all seem real (something quite rare for a film of this genre). The movie is able to do this effectively because writer-director Ryan Coogler knows how to write rich and compelling characters. They’re all fleshed out and they feel, well, real, which for me, solidifies the fact that the Black Panther film series has the best and most realized characters of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Of course, this all comes hand in hand with the fact that this is one of the best-acted superhero movies of all time. Every member of the cast has their moment to shine and they each give grounded, soulful, and extremely powerful performances. But while everyone is undoubtedly great, I think that two actors, in particular, stand out: Letitia Wright and Angela Bassett. Let’s start with the latter. Bassett gives an amazing performance and she packs so many layers of complexity into her character. She portrays Queen Ramonda as being fierce, commanding, loving and caring, compassionate, angry at the world, and broken by the death of her son. All of this requires an actor with range and Bassett absolutely brings her A game. Speaking of range, Wright also gets to show off the full extent of her acting ability and she mostly plays Shuri with a sense of sorrow (deeply affected by the loss of her brother and her inability to save him). It’s a very realistic portrayal of grief and she’s also able to perfectly channel the darker emotions that often result from feeling lost and like everything has been taken from you. If she were the first person to be nominated for Best Actress for a superhero film at the Oscars, she’d be more than deserving and I’d be very supportive of that — and hopefully, Angela Bassett will be up for Best Supporting Actress too.
When it comes to villains, the first Black Panther is widely credited with having one of the best and most memorable in the MCU. Killmonger was a revolutionary whose methods were brutal and unethical (and hence went about things the wrong way), but he was ultimately right when he pointed out that Wakanda stood by and did nothing while black people were enslaved and oppressed around the world. If those aren’t big enough shoes to fill, then I don’t what are. Fortunately, Wakanda Forever also has a great villain: Namor. That’s right, the Sub-Mariner’s finally made his long-awaited film debut, and, like Killmonger before him, I think that he’s made a lasting impression. His worldview is interesting and we spend enough time with him to understand where he’s coming from and why he does certain things in the movie. But of course, I can’t talk about Namor without talking about the actor who plays him. Tenoch Huerta brings so much to this role as he’s able to make Namor seem menacing and imposing, confident and charismatic, and yet human and vulnerable all at the same time. What he does is quite impressive and I don’t think that anyone else could’ve pulled it off as well as he did.
Moving on, I think that the world-building in this movie is also rather remarkable. While the first Black Panther was already grand in its own right, its scope was smaller as it told a simpler and more focused story. In contrast, Wakanda Forever is far more ambitious as it deals with so much more. It shows new aspects of Wakanda and its culture, sets up a conflict between it and the outside world, and introduces Namor, his people, and the underwater kingdom of Talokan. That’s a lot to establish within one film, but Wakanda Forever accomplishes this large task by laying out all of its pieces patiently and meticulously, resulting in what I think is one of the most epic pieces of superhero cinema.
Another thing that caught my attention was the score by Ludwig Göransson. Back in 2018, Göransson served as the composer for the original movie and subsequently won an Oscar for his work — which was very well-deserved because that score was brilliant. So, when I heard that he was returning for the sequel, I got really excited and had very high expectations. And now, after having seen the film, I’m super happy to be able to say that Göransson absolutely knocks it out of the park. Several cool and louder tracks accompany the more action-packed or tenser scenes, but a lot of the score is dominated by quieter, more emotional ones that reflect the experiences of the movie’s characters. What’s also nice is that Göransson incorporates a variety of African instruments — many of which are obscure — and Mesoamerican ones to create unique sounds and themes for both the Wakandans and the Talokanil. It’s a really solid score overall and it does a good job of complementing the film, its world, and its characters. Oh, and while we’re still on the topic of music, I’d just like to add that Rihanna’s "Lift Me Up” is very moving and that it perfectly closes out the movie. It’s soft and slow and it gives you all of the feels. And now, I’m not so sure if Lady Gaga’s "Hold My Hand” for Top Gun: Maverick winning Best Original Song is as sure of a thing as I initially thought it was going to be.
Regarding the new Black Panther, while I’m not going to say who it is, I’d like to commend the film for taking the time to properly develop that character so that when they do take on the role, it feels like they’ve really earned the right to do so. Wakanda needs a hero and a protector, but she doesn’t get one until the time is right.
Okay, on to some more negative thoughts. First of all, like its predecessor, Wakanda Forever suffers from certain problems with its third act. It’s not bad, it’s just that it’s a little weaker than its first two, so it’s easy to feel disappointed. Some parts feel slightly rushed and others feel like they’re maybe too short, but in the end, I really don’t think that it’s that big of an issue — especially considering how the film ultimately finds its footing again and ends on the right note. Aside from this, however, there’s one other thing that bothers me: the inclusion of a certain character. They start by being integral to the plot but quickly lose their importance once the focus shifts away from them. The more I think about it, the more I fail to understand why this exact character had to be in the movie (as it literally could’ve been anyone else), and I suspect that it was because Marvel had to set them up for a future project.
But all in all, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a great film. It has its issues, but it accomplishes the impossible task of continuing the story set up by its predecessor, forging its own path, and honoring the legacy of and paying tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. It’s epic in terms of scope and scale, but at its core, it's an intimate story about grief, the pain of losing a loved one, and finding the strength to move on. This is a fine example of a superhero movie transcending its genre, and while I’m still unsure about whether or not it’s truly a Best Picture contender, it should at least be given all the praise and respect that it deserves.
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