Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a fantastic effort against some tragic, unforeseen odds. What do you do when your main actor is no longer with us? Especially one as loved, respected, and admired as Chadwick Boseman. It is a scramble to write a script that will move the story forward and give fans a film on par with the first installment.
Black Panther is in my top three Marvel films of all time. Maybe a close second. Wakanda Forever had big shoes to fill. Sadly this one turns in a mediocre attempt. It is hard to pinpoint or lay blame on anyone. As mentioned everyone was called on to take on roles and positions that were never intended. Therefore there is little in the way of organic delivery. The emotion is there, obviously, but other than a few amazing speeches by Angela Bassett the rest of the film is void of anything memorable.
With the Black Panther no longer there to defend Wakanda they are in a position never before experienced; vulnerable. It is the one year anniversary of the death of their beloved King T’Challa. With other nations trying to get there hands on vibranium, and unforeseen enemies attacking, Wakanda has to find answers, and fast.
Queen Ramonda (Bassett) not only has to keep the nation together, but this film as well. She seems to be the only stable element in any of this. We also get strong moments from Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Okoye (Danai Gurira). Shuri (Letitia Wright) on the other hand seems lost and struggles to carry the mantle put upon her in this sequel. This is no reflection on Wright. When in her characters element – genius of tech – she is amazing. But she lacks the physical presence to dominate the more physical tasks.
The enemy in this one is weak too. Led by an amphibious warrior named Namor (Tenoch Huerta) these creatures seem like a cast of Avatar rejects. A lot of the nearly 3-hours of this film deals with their backstory and motive. Neither of which is engaging. An even more unnecessary story arch has to do with Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). It was probably there for continuity, but every scene could have been cut with no impact to the film as a whole.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is what it is. I feel for all those involved as well as for Marvel fans. I am not sure anything could replace the amazing King T’Challa. The film is rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, action and some language.
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