Running time: 162 minutes
Starring: Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Tenoch Huerta, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke
Directed by: Ryan Coogler
The story: In the wake of King T’Challa’s death, Wakanda faces a mysterious new threat.
The verdict: The Marvel Cinematic Universe is well known for providing audiences with films that are world building and character driven. Along with those elements are impressive action packed sequences that often become the focal point of the films. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is arguably one of the few MCU instalments where the character driven element overrides the action. It is important to note that certainly doesn’t mean that the action is not good or that the film lacks action, but this film is definitely more about the characters and how they deal with the aftermath of King T’Challa’s death.
With the above in mind, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has a much more introspective and sombre tone. There is still some of the trademark humour and I did laugh aloud several times, however on the flip side, I also shed some tears.
One of the aspects I liked most about the film was that the female characters take centre stage here and they are all such strong and powerful characters that it was great to see. As well as a strong female identity, the film also has a strong cultural identity and I fell in love with Wakanda all over again.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sees the introduction of Namor. He is an intriguing character and I feel that rather than perhaps making him a completely rounded character, this film felt like it was setting him up as an even bigger player in the future. What the character of Namor does provide though is an introduction to an amazing underwater world. In film it is incredibly difficult to achieve realistic underwater effects and make the visuals look right and I was really impressed with how well this film did it.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has a pretty hefty running time at 162 minutes (which I was actually unaware of before going in) but the time absolutely flew by and I couldn’t believe that it had been that long. I felt that I could have watched more and I am excited to return to Wakanda again.
I cannot deny that I sorely missed Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther and I do think his absence is tangible throughout. However, I also felt that the film deals with his loss extremely well and as a result this is the most poignant and profoundly sad film in the franchise. In particular the how they did the Marvel Studios intro had me in tears.
“For our friend Chadwick Boseman.”
The rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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