Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Starring Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Dominique Thorne
Rated M
3.5/5
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a poignant, exciting superhero film that sadly fumbles its action.
A year after the death of King T’Challa, the hyper-advanced African nation of Wakanda clashes with the underwater kingdom of Talokan over the security of their lands.
Chadwick Boseman, who played T’Challa/Black Panther in the 2018 Black Panther film and the later Avengers films, died of cancer in 2020, and Wakanda Forever succeeds in mourning the actor and character while moving forward with an engaging new conflict.
T’Challa’s sister, the headstrong genius Shuri (Letitia Wright), anchors the film with an affecting arc, as she learns to deal with her grief and not let vengeance consume her. The plot has strong forward momentum despite its 2.5-hour runtime, the characters are compelling and nuanced, and much of the tension comes from good people in desperate circumstances making their situation worse through pride or bad choices.
Like Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange 2, Namor (Tenoch Huerta), the king of Talokan, is an excellent example of the difference between antagonist and villain: he is a ruthless foe, but driven by loyalty and protectiveness toward his people rather than a desire for violence or conquest, and Huerta has a very charismatic presence.
Riri Williams/Ironheart (Dominique Thorne), a young inventor who built her own Iron Man suit, has fun friction with Shuri, but she is mostly a Macguffin, as the largely-passive focus of Namor’s brutal campaign. The film’s biggest flaw is its action: the fights and battles carry emotional weight, but are tangles of motion shot too close and cut too quickly (which is a common problem in the Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a moving, character-rich superhero drama burdened with unfulfilling action, and is playing in most Victorian cinemas.
– Seth Lukas Hynes
