Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Review
One of the most popular Marvel movies was Black Panther. It was one of the best written and acted movies in the series. Everything looked great to duplicate that with a sequel.
But then Chadwick Boseman tragically died.
It was an option for Marvel to recast the character. Plenty of superhero movies have done that in the past. Instead, they decided to write the death into the story.
In many ways this is not a Black Panther movie as Black Panther actually only appears on scene for a small portion of the movie. Instead this is a Wakanda movie (hence the subtitle).
How do those who were closest to T’Challa mourn his death? How do they heal? How do they move on? What does Wakanda look like after the vision the king had set for the movie.
The main character is T’Challa’s sister Shuri. She couldn’t save her brother. Can she save herself?
Add into this the appearance of another secret kingdom, the underwater city of Talokan and its king Namor (his nickname here). Namor wants an alliance with Wakanda against the surface world. What will they do?
If you are not familiar, Namor is one of the oldest Marvel characters, dating back before there was a Marvel. He first appeared in the golden age of comics, back in the times of Captain America.
In this movie, they changed his origins from being the king of Atlantis to that of an underwater kingdom with Aztec origins. I was skeptical of the change but it really worked here.
Namor is an interesting character. Not only can he breathe and swim underwater, but he can fly and he has strength at Thor levels. Is he a good guy or a bad guy? In the comics, he is a bit of both. This movie shows some of this and I think they captured his personality well.
This movie introduces some new characters, including Ironheart. She is like a young Tony Stark, with a better moral compass, and even develops her own armour. We will see more of her in future movies.
I really enjoyed Wakanda Forever. They could have just relied on sympathy for Boseman’s passing but they actually put together an entertaining and moving story.
No spoilers are required to state that they introduce a new Black Panther. I liked how they did it and and the inner turmoil was believable. I’m looking forward to where her story goes.
Of course there is an after credit scene. Some of the MCU after credit scenes are not worth sticking around for but this one is. It is vital to the story.
Black Panther: Wakanda is the best Marvel movie since Spider-Man: No Way Home. It captures the spirit and the heart of what makes these movies interesting and did not rely just on cheap laughs.
