by Jeffery Rahming, Contributing Writer
After the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, continuing with a second Black Panther movie was in question. It’s a big task to move a franchise forward without your main character, especially with a turnaround of only two years. Wakanda Forever is an exercise in spinning multiple plates at once. It needs to pay tribute to a deceased actor, find a way to move on without its titular character, and turn supporting characters into full-fledged heroes of their own. Not to mention serve the grander story of the vast MCU franchise, which arguably has had its most lackluster year yet in 2022. Despite all the struggles that came with creating this sequel, director Ryan Coogler and the rest of the cast and crew were able to pull together a captivating experience that manages to pay tribute to Boseman, while still telling an engaging story.
We find the African nation of Wakanda mourning the loss of its former king. Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) suddenly find themselves leading their country during one of their most pivotal moments, as they deal with the effects of revealing their advanced technology to the world. Desperate to compete with Wakanda’s military and technological power, other countries have launched searches for vibranium across the globe. While looking for the rare metal in the deep sea, the U.S. ends up uncovering a new threat in Namor (Tenoch Huerta), a powerful king of an underwater civilization.
Even with the changes he had to make to his original Boseman-led script, Coogler still manages to expand on the themes of colonialism and the cycle of revenge present in his last project. Though I’m sure it was no easy task, the writers succeed in creating a believable path for the story to continue without T’Challa.
The Oscar-winning production team from the first movie returns in full force. The costumes and sets are all beautifully designed, making Wakanda and Namor’s underwater kingdom feel like authentic cultures with an attention to detail that you don’t see in most films. Ludwig Göransson also returns as composer and once again delivers a unique score rooted in African rhythms and instrumentation, rather than the usual overdramatic orchestras of other blockbusters.
Similar to the first Black Panther, the antagonist is one of the best parts. Like Killmonger, Namor is as sympathetic as he is hostile. His thirst for vengeance brings him into direct conflict with the Wakandans, who are already stretched thin dealing with other threats. Coogler gives his aquatic culture the same level of detail and care as the Wakandans, creating another fully realized fictional society. Huerta does a fantastic job of portraying Namor and all his complexity, alternating between a kind kingly demeanor and pure unbridled rage.
Not to be shown up, our heroes are also as enjoyable. All of the returning cast is just as great as they were before, but Shuri’s upgrade from tech sidekick to lead character gives Wright a chance to really shine. She proves more than capable of carrying her own Marvel movie. Shuri’s character arc is one of my favorites in all the MCU, as she has to deal with grieving her brother’s death and her inner conflict between Wakanda’s traditions and her futurist mindset. The journey the plot takes her on is both exhilarating and heartbreaking. It’s incredibly well written… until it isn’t.
At first, Wakanda Forever is firing on all cylinders, but, like many Marvel projects this year, it loses steam as it gets closer to the end. It feels like Coogler had great ideas right up until he had to find a way to wrap them up; then he falters. It’s a bit of a disappointment in a story that worked beautifully until then, and it does sour the experience a little bit, though not enough to ruin the whole film.
Wakanda Forever‘s almost three-hour runtime is both a drawback and a benefit. Arguably, with all that it has to handle, it earns its length, but after a while, it starts to feel overly prolonged. It never drags, but some characters and plot lines don’t serve the story enough to warrant being there. Especially a subplot with CIA agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), which seems to only exists to set up other plot lines within the MCU. It’s not that these scenes aren’t entertaining, but with so much going on in the main plot, it feels like they’re only there to appease Marvel producers (and that’s probably the case). For viewers who haven’t watched the Disney+ shows, that whole segment might not even fully make sense. On the flip side, the extended runtime allows for much more character development than other Marvel movies, which often feel like they’re rushing around trying to get to the next action sequence. While I found the amount of political intrigue and intellectual dialogue entertaining, others might find themselves bored by it. It’s about as close as a $200 million superhero movie can get to being a drama, which may disappoint those who came mainly for the action.
Wakanda Forever is almost great, and that’s what makes it so frustrating. With a few cut storylines and more development on the script, it had the chance to be even better than the first film. But as it is, it’s a good but flawed film and a touching tribute to Chadwick Boseman. It’s worth seeing in theaters, and is a reminder that Marvel is still one of the best in the business of superhero movies.
Score: 7/10
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently playing in theaters
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