Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Movie Review
Director: Ryan Coogler
Writer: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole (Screenplay)
Cast
- Letitia Wright (Black Panther)
- Lupita Nyong’o (Little Monsters)
- Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead)
- Winston Duke (Us)
- Angela Bassett (Strange Days)
- Tenoch Huerta (The Forever Purge)
Plot: The people of Wakanda fight to protect their home from intervening world powers as they mourn the death of King T’Challa.
Runtime: 2 Hours 41 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever starts in the aftermath of King T’Challa’s death. Queen Ramonda (Bassett) and Princess Shuri (Wright) lead the respect laid out to the fallen King. One-year-later Queen Ramonda must answer the world’s questions as they look to defend their homeland from new invaders.
Namor (Huerta) sees his home threaten and turns to Wakanda for unity or invasion. Being the leader of a new world, kept secret from the world. Queen Ramonda is left to make her first difficult decision without the strength of the Black Panther to fight back.
Verdict on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Characters
Shuri has failed to save her brother, despite believing she has all the science to do so. She is left to grieve and isn’t ready to move on with her life. When she gets to go out in the field, she gets to learn about another world the Wakandans never knew about. She is forced to confront her loss if she is ever going to be able to lead her people.
Queen Ramonda has taken the throne of Wakanda, she remains willing to work with other nations, as long as they don’t take from Wakanda. She is trying to help Shuri understand the changes coming her way and Namor’s appearance makes things more difficult. Queen Ramonda leads with respect like her son did before her.
Namor is the king of a secret underwater city, one that has remained secret for centuries. When it becomes threatened, he leads his army in defending it against a threat seeing Wakanda as the biggest threat and ally.
The returning supporting characters of Okoye and Nakia must face their own battles with the changes in Wakanda. They are both important to the story, with Okoye getting the most laughs in the movie. M’Baku is a lot more influential to the bigger story and fast becoming a character I want to see more from.
In the weaker side of the supporting cast, Everett Ross seems like a waste to most of the movie. As most of his side of the story feels more like planning for the next chapter of the story.
Performances
Letitia Wright steps up from the fun supporting role in this movie. She brings a much more serious side to her performance, one that brings real emotion. Angela Bassett steals the show with the best supporting performance in any Marvel movie. The returning cast is strong with Danai Gurira getting more screen time. Newcomer Tenoch Huerta does bring an interesting character to the table and does a great job with what he does.
Story
The story follows Wakanda as they deal with the loss of their king. As they have first stepped out for the world to see and now the world wants what they have. They face a new threat one they haven’t seen before, as well as needing to protect their own home.
This is a story that takes the very real tragedy of Chadwick Boseman and turns it into the loss of Black Panther. It uses the concepts Thor has been going through, as well as the general loss in the franchise. Everything is handled very well, giving emotion to losing an important part of their world. Showing a kingdom dealing with losing its king and invaders coming for its resources.
It offers up plenty on this side of the table and shows that the world could have other secret countries on it. Outside of the Wakanda side of the story, there is a filler story that feels like it is more about preparing for something more in the future.
Themes
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is an action-adventure comic movie, continuing the adventures in Wakanda. It continues to show the superior technology that is used in combat and defence of their kingdom. However, the movie takes on serious subjects about their place in the world. The underwater sequences look great, with the kingdom there.
Final Thoughts – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a great addition to the Marvel Universe and a movie that can stand alone with ease.
