Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Review

Legacy & Tragedy

Stepping into what I anticipated would be quite the tear jerker of a cinematic journey, one of the first things that I immediately took notice of with Wakanda Forever was the special thematic link that the movie shared with its central characters. That steep uphill battle of emotionally sensitive obstacles that needed to be climbed with the utmost delicateness to reach a place of fulfillment and progression. That battle of course being the passing of the franchise’s lead actor, Chadwick Boseman and how such an event drastically shifted the entire story and direction of an entire franchise expanding movie. Just the fact that the movie itself had to walk that fine line of honoring and moving on with a highly celebrated actor’s passing in a manner that would satisfy everyone (an impossible task) while the characters themselves had to struggle to reach a point of transition with the death of their king was an incredible and equally touching event to witness. And guys…they succeeded.

Without getting into any major spoilers, let me just say that everything that I personally hoped to get out of this movie once the sequel was announced and undergoing its marketing phase, I felt I got once the closing credits begun. The emotional impact that needed to be felt from the weight of a nation’s noble king, a beloved family member, an incredible actor, and a human being was felt from the very beginning to the very end. The way in which the narrative both brilliantly and beautifully surrounds this crucial component keeping it in the backdrop without ever once coming across like an audience manipulating gimmick was admirable. Keeping things in a very spoiler safe territory, what they do with the Black Panther's legacy will certainly rub some people the wrong way while others like myself will immediately embrace it with open arms. 

If you’ve followed the Black Panther character and universe within the MCU and outside of it, I can’t imagine why the movie’s response to “Who should be the next Black Panther?” wouldn’t work for you. But I’m fully aware that everyone will have their own thoughts on the matter which, again, is what makes this such an impossible task to please the entire fanbase. Thankfully, the second that portion of the movie happened, I was fully onboard with the decision and was excited to see what would come next as a result. It also helps significantly that the performances were absolutely incredible surrounding the cast of T’Challa’s circle of family and friends helping to sell the cataclysmic impact of loss centralized in the story. 

The Villains

As you guys may know by now, if you’ve been following my movie or TV show reviews for years, I justhave to shine a huge spotlight on the villains. One of my favorite things to dive into in regards to any comic book superhero property has and will always be the way the villains are being presented. In this particular case, I went into this movie with an open mind when it came to Namor the Sub-Mariner considering that I knew only little from the comics. I trusted in Ryan Coogler to adapt the character in a way that would feel rich and multifaceted just as he did with Killmonger in the previous entry. However, the new challenge here wasn’t just to introduce a new villain figure for the Black Panther solo franchise but an entire new race and nation to the world of the MCU. So, did he succeed? Well, for my money, Wakanda Forever did a phenomenal job at presenting the audience to the world of Talokan, the origins and character sensibilities of Namor, and the much needed empathetic elements regarding his motivation as an antagonistic figure. 

There’s a conversation that happens between Namor and another character where we essentially get the majority of his backstory, and to be frank, I could’ve spent the rest of the time just watching that history unfold without ever feeling bored or disinterested whatsoever. Much like Killmonger (perhaps even more so to an extent), I have to give major admiration points to how Coogler and the team took a villain who could’ve easily just been another one dimensional “world conqueror and destroyer” and instead gave him a fully understandable and rich with lore backstory. The way in which Namor’s origins connected to real world history of colonization and disease mixed with fantastical mythology was one of the more fascinating things that I’ve seen introduced in the MCU’s rogues gallery. And though I wouldn’t have mind just getting a few more minutes on Namor’s intriguing story, thankfully, we got just enough to get all of the essential bullet points across in a satisfying enough fashion.

Also, checking off one of my biggest desires and concerns going in, Namor and the warriors of his nation were most certainly threatening, interesting, and badass villains in their own right. As a matter of fact, the Talokans (Namor’s people) with just their introduction alone became my favorite villain faction of the entire MCU. Te moment you see the highlighted fighters of Wakanda face off against them, you definitely get a sense of their formidability right out of the gate. The surprisingly eerie and chills inducing manner in which the movie shows off their legitimately threatening power while also simultaneously showing their vulnerability as three dimensional people as opposed to just background canon fodder was a major accomplishment for the franchise.

Something that I was also worried about Namor going in, me being the huge nerd for character design that I am, was how they’d adapt his comic book appearance. I’ve never been a fan of Namor’s traditionally minimalistic comic design and was hoping that the movie would opt to lean in on some of his later appearances having more armor elements involved. To my utter surprise, I was completely sold on how the movie took his classic look and made it work naturally overall. I also liked the design of the Talokan’s vibrant blue skin and Mayan inspired wardrobe giving them an ancient, tribal and culturally exotic aesthetic to match their mysterious underwater nation as opposed to just a bunch of generic armored baddies. And just in case you may think that Talocan will completely take over the movie’s world building spectacle throwing Wakanda off to the sidelines, we get occasionally reminded of the awe inspiring and visually majestic presentation of the Black Panther culture that we've come to know and love. 

Nitpicks & Overall Thoughts

Now, despite all of my praises, this movie is certainly not without its flaws. Without getting into any major spoilers, there are two specific side characters who were given a couple of scenes that honestly didn’t feel necessary to the extensive runtime. These were interaction bits that could’ve easily been edited out to allow more time for fleshing out on any of the focal story points. That being said, these were just a few moments that went by rather quickly and didn’t entirely hurt the movie. However, one final edit could’ve made this 2 hours and change runtime flow a little bit more tightly by omitting certain small segments that wouldn’t have been missed in the overall narrative. Scenes like an ex couple having awkward comedic exchanges or a new supporting hero reacting to her current situation just stood out as feeling like less of a Black Panther addition and more of an obligatory MCU franchise advertisement.

There’s also the traditional superhero movie final battle set piece that takes place here that honestly didn’t have the impact that it should've. It’s a solid scene overall, but considering how Coogler and the production team built up the action elements prior with some great individual fight scenes and atmospheric elements, I was expecting something much more memorable and spectacular with the final action heavy segment. Let’s just say that the setting of the fight makes sense, but it didn’t offer much to be excited and dazzled over. That being said, overall, I really enjoyed this movie. The action scenes were solid for the most part and the movie delivered on some amazing cinematic imagery at times. I got teary eyed by some of the emotional character moments while simultaneously being shocked at certain unexpected story points (a feat that the MCU can still manage to pull off after all these years).

I left the theater with an immense feeling of satisfaction taking in the bittersweet gravity of what I just experienced and was happy that I didn’t wait until the streaming release to see it. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, much like Spider-Man No Way Home and the Avengers ensemble titles, is a special event movie that shouldn’t be missed. Watch this at the theaters for the incredible experience that it is.

Rating: 9/10