Please accept my apologies for the late review. I was assigned the movie review a while ago and due to personal circumstances, I have struggled to get to the cinema. I work a normal full-time job and Comic Universe doesn’t get early access to movies so everything we do here, we do off our own backs. Nonetheless, here’s my full review of the film.
It was clear from the off that Director Ryan Coogler had a monumental task on his hands. We know his script for the Black Panther sequel was complete before Chadwick Boseman’s sad and untimely death.
Since then, many people have not just been nervous, but curious about how the film will be handled. Will T’Challa be recast? Will Shuri take the mantle? A lot of questions that even the trailers didn’t answer a lot.
The people of Wakanda fight to protect their home from intervening world powers as they mourn the death of King T’Challa.
imdb synopsis
This review does contain major spoilers.
Overview
As soon as the movie begins, we get our answer for T’Challa. He dies very quickly from an undisclosed illness that Shuri is trying to save him from. Unfortunately, it’s too late and he passes within a few minutes of the runtime. I did like this, as much as one can like the way a real-life death is handled in a movie.
It paid homage to not just T’Challa, but Chadwick as well. We as fans got a chance to mourn his death even though it’s been over 2 years since he passed. We got a full funeral in the movie and it was very difficult to hold back tears.
The entire movie was beautiful. It had everything you could expect. I’ve seen some complaints about it but personally, I enjoyed every second of it. This is essentially how the Black Panther story would have progressed if Chadwick didn’t pass away, they just had to get to this side of it quicker than it would’ve been.
As always with the Wakandan side, you get exceptional action scenes throughout with very creative aspects of technology used. This is why I’m a huge fan of the Black Panther movies, it allows that creativity that they can do a lot of things with it. It’s what I wanted from the Thor side and Asgard as well.
Overall, I loved this. It was beautiful, it was visually stunning, it was emotional and each progression made to the Black Panther story was done with great care. That’s why I admire this as much as I do.
Story
The story doesn’t just focus on T’Challa’s death, it actually more focuses on Wakanda being on the brink of war with the likes of the USA, France, and other UN Nations who are desperately trying to get hold of vibranium. This is where Namor comes into it. He also has a secret sort of nation underwater that also has access to vibranium. Adding onto the fact he wants to destroy the surface world with the help of Wakanda.
This is where I’ve heard complaints, that the story was messy in sections and a bit all over the place. I didn’t feel like that at all during this. I felt like it flowed well with the right time spent on each section, despite having a runtime of 2 hours and 41 minutes. To be fair, the movie had a lot to cover as it was obviously going to spend time on T’Challa and the new Black Panther mantle on top of Namor and close to war.
As I have already mentioned, Ryan Coogler had quite the task on his hands with this movie and he’s done very well given the sudden circumstances, especially when he already had his script written for how the second movie was to progress. Things had to change dramatically, not just for this film but for the MCU moving forward as well. We know now Shuri is our Black Panther, and honestly, I am okay with it.
Despite the complaints, the story is the section I found myself so engrossed in. I understand people are entitled to their opinions but I really did enjoy how the story went. My colleague, Phil, wrote in our MCU movie-ranked article that he’d put Wakanda Forever 6th in 30 films, and I think now I agree. It wasn’t as good as the first film don’t get me wrong, but it was very damn close.
Characters
Most people are probably aware that Shuri is now our Black Panther. I’ve already mentioned I’m okay with it. Letitia Wright isn’t someone I ever expected could be a good Black Panther but she proved me wrong in this. The minute she put that suit on, I just felt this overwhelming feeling of shivers up my spine, I was so ready for it but I wasn’t at the same time. Wright deserves so much applause for her performance in this.
Next up I’d like to give special shoutouts to both Okoye and Nakia. Okoye is a character I’ve slowly begun to admire more and more since her introduction into the MCU. In this, she was absolutely fantastic. One of the best parts of the movie. Her willingness to protect the throne and Shuri at all costs, whilst donning that beautiful blue suit at the end despite her hesitance to wear it.
Then there’s Nakia. Now, Nakia wasn’t a character I particularly enjoyed in the first movie. In this, it was completely different. She was the one to save Shuri and Riri, she was the one that assisted Shuri in the Panther ritual. She was a pivotal part of saving Wakanda and she looked amazing doing so.
Then there’s Namor. Another character I was super skeptical about before the movie launched. I’ll be brutally honest, I just didn’t care for Marvel’s villain variant of Aquaman but again, I was proved wrong which I do love when it happens. Namor’s backstory allowed me to feel somewhat empathetic toward him. He has his reasons for doing what he’s doing. Granted, I didn’t agree with the fact he wanted to go full Thanos on the world but I understood why he sought out Wakanda, especially after being close to being revealed. A solid character that I hope gets further screentime moving forward. I expect with how the film ended, this won’t be the last we see of him.
Last up on the list of characters I want to praise is Riri Williams. Dominique Thorne did an outstanding job as Ironheart. The minute she put her makeshift suit on, I almost jumped out of my seat, even more so when she created her full iron suit alongside Shuri. This entire film with her in it has got me beyond hyped for her Disney+ show now, she’s going to be an amazing addition to the MCU.
Honestly, I could write all day about the characters. There wasn’t a single character that I didn’t like in this. There are still the likes of Ross, M’Baku (especially M’Baku for guiding Shuri), Queen Ramonda, and others that I’d love to write huge paragraphs about but I feel like I’d never stop typing. Every character got a good amount of screentime to shine and they took it. I loved every single character in this. Bravo Ryan Coogler.
For the full cast list, you can visit IMDB by clicking here.
Hype
I’m 29 years old and I think the only other time a movie coming out has had this weird type of effect was Fast and Furious 6. I can’t begin to imagine how difficult it is when a star character dies mid-way through a franchise/series. Then having to write that when the Directors probably already have an idea of where they want to go with it.
The movie was always going to be hyped due to how the first one did. It has done well so far on the Box Office Mojo. You can see what the movie is earned at the box office since its release by clicking here.
5 Top Moments (in no particular order)
1. The moment Shuri put on that suit and dropped into where the Wakandans were holding shelter via M’Baku. The moment she drops, she and M’Baku have this beautiful moment as they shake hands and arm wrestle a bit but it was just beautiful. It really was.
2. Nakia coming out of nowhere and infiltrating Talokan to save Shuri and Riri was fantastic. We kind of had a feeling it was coming but the fact Nakia was able to do that entirely by herself was amazing.
3. The final fight scene between Shuri and Namor was so damn entertaining. The fact that Shuri was able to hold her own against Namor and find further courage after being stabbed by her visions with Killmonger was admirable.
4. Namor going ape shit on Wakanda definitely threw a spanner in the works. Even more so that he killed Queen Ramonda on the back of it as well. He didn’t even hesitate after Nakia saved Shuri and Riri, he just took a small portion of his army and made Wakanda look like a basic country with limited defensive capabilities.
5. The final scene and after-credit scene were interconnected but this was the moment I was a wreck. She thinks about T’Challa and we get scenes of the two together in the first movie. It was so beautiful. Then we get Nakia and T’Challa’s secret son which I loved. They’ve effectively recast T’Challa without recasting T’Challa as their son is called T’Challa. This was just honestly so amazing in every way.
Dislikes
The ONLY dislike I have in the film is that Riri was left to go home without her suit. We know in her series she’ll create her own suit. I do wish that Shuri allowed her to take the suit back with her as we know how it’s going to go anyway. That’s it though, and that’s the ONLY thing I disliked about this movie it’s so minor, it didn’t affect the experience in any other way.
Recommend?
100%. I am absolutely devastated I had to wait 9 days to see this. Thankfully I avoided all spoilers with the exception of how T’Challa died. As I mentioned earlier, it’s not as good as the first but it is so close and for me, it’s still a 10/10 movie, just like the first Panther film is.
Verdict
Ryan Coogler did a phenomenal job with this film. After everything thrown his way, he still managed to capture me in so many ways, I was beyond entertained from the very first minute. The Black Panther films are slowly becoming one of my favorite sets of movies.
Rating 10/10
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is available in cinemas worldwide. You can visit here for more information on IMDB.
The Review
Story - 10
Structure - 10
Quality - 10
Action - 10
Characters - 10
Entertainment - 10
Antagonist - 10
Hype - 10
10
PERFECT!
Ryan Coogler did a phenomenal job with this film. After everything thrown his way, he still managed to capture me in so many ways, I was beyond entertained from the very first minute. The Black Panther films are slowly becoming one of my favorite sets of movies.
