Review: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

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In the wake of her brother King T'Challa's (Chadwick Boseman) death from an illness, Shuri (Letitia Wright) feels lost. She tried to recreate the purple heart shaped herb to save him, but it didn't work. Now, one year later Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) tries to keep Wakanda together while Shuri struggles with her faith. With Americans wanting access to vibranium, they start seeking it out underwater. This brings in Namor (Tenoch Huerta) a god like figure who rules an underwater kingdom. He seeks out Wakanda to help him wage war on the surface world.

You have to hand it to director Ryan Coogler. He had an impossible task making this film. Black Panther was such a cultural phenomenon and to lose your lead actor and friend who inspired so many two weeks after you finish the original script is devastating. I think he handles it with grace. This film is about grief, and is a lovely send off to Chadwick. It's the most somber MCU film to date. He takes his time (the film is nearly 3 hours, but doesn't feel it) and really brings us through Shuri's journey. 

Letitia Wright is up to the task, though sometimes I think it was a lot to ask of her. The standout performance for me was Angela Bassett. She is fantastic and gets more to do this time around to show what a powerful figure she is. Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, and Lupita Nyong'o all return with characters I grew to love. My girl Michaela Coel shows up too, though she doesn't have a ton of screen time. 

Let's talk about the villain, because Coogler is great at writing them. Much like Killmonger, we understand Namor's points, even if he's going about them the wrong way. I loved how they handled him and his Kingdom. The reason they stay hidden makes sense (far more than The Eternals to be honest) and I really can't wait until we see more of him.

I really only have one major critique with this film, and it's that DP Rachel Morrison is severely missed. The cinematography is the only thing that's lacking. Overall, I loved this film though. It's very emotional, it makes me sad, but it also makes me excited for the future in the MCU. This is the best thing about Phase 4 by a long shot. 

Grade:A 

Comments

  1. Candice FrederickNovember 14, 2022 at 10:53 AM

    i think i am in the minority that the cinematography was great here, and i love the fight scenes! and, to your point, Bassett is very good in the movie (of course), but i think the MVP is Danai Gurira. She is SO good in a reduced role (HATE that she had such a reduced role). I had other nitpicky issues with the film too, but like you I think Namor is great, but I think Wright was unfit for her expanded role

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    1. Brittani BurnhamNovember 15, 2022 at 9:00 AM

      I can always use more Danai! I would've loved it if she had been the new Black Panther honestly. I love Shuri as a character so that's why I'm happy with her role, but I do think Wright needs to put in a bit more work to make it really soar.

      Delete
  2. thevoid99November 14, 2022 at 3:29 PM

    While I don't think it's as good as the first film and I do think the first film is still better visually due to Rachel Morrison's photography though I don't think there's anything wrong that Autumn Durald Arkapaw did since Morrison wasn't available. I still enjoyed and I didn't mind the long running time as I felt they did a lot right with the run-time.

    I really liked what Tenoch Huerta Mejia did as I hope to see more of him in the future while I would be fucking pissed off if Angela Bassett didn't get a fucking Oscar nomination. She just put on a god-like performance in my opinion. I agree with you that it's the best thing from the Phase 4 so far and the best thing from the Multiverse Saga so far with Ms. Marvel a close 2nd (I fucking love that show). Remember, there's one more thing later this month to close Phase 4 and it features Kevin Bacon!

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    1. Brittani BurnhamNovember 15, 2022 at 8:58 AM

      Oh that's right! The Christmas special is hopefully going to be great. I really liked what Tenoch did as well. I hope we see more of him.

      Delete
  3. ruthNovember 14, 2022 at 8:22 PM

    This is a somber movie but also a hopeful one. I miss Rachel Morrison's phenomenal cinematography as well, I mean the South Korea scenes are still one of the best of the MCU!

    ReplyDelete
  4. BirgitNovember 15, 2022 at 1:36 PM

    This is a movie I do want to see.

    ReplyDelete

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